THE TOMTECH ENVIRONMENT MANAGER
The Tomtech Environment Manager software allows an IBM compatible PC to be connected to Tomtech control systems to
provide many additional facilities in addition to those provided by the control computers themselves. The software may be
used with any combination of HC80, HC120 and HC160 environmental control computers and also IC2 and IC20 irrigation
computers.
The major facilities that this software provides are:
System Monitoring
The current status for all controlled areas can be displayed on the screen which will show the readings for all sensors showing
temperatures, humidities etc. for all control computers on the screen together with control information showing vent opening,
heating status etc. in a format which automatically updates every 15 seconds. Should a measurement alarm threshold be
exceeded the P.C. will show the relevant parameter highlighted in a different colour. The alarm may be cleared from the P.C.
or from the individual control computer. Change from one monitor display to another requires only a single key press.
Gathering Of Statistics
The individual control computers retain a record of measurement and control data for the last 3 days. At any time this
information may be transferred to the P.C. to update data files on the disc system. If the P.C. is un-manned for a longer period
or is not in use for other tasks this updating can be set to occur automatically so that the disc files are permanently kept up to
date.
Data Analysis
The data transferred from the control computers can be viewed graphically or in numeric form. Graphs can be superimposed
for up to six sets of data at once. This can be any six sets, so for example the temperature can be compared for a particular
date in a number of different houses or it might be compared for the same house on up to six different dates or a complete
profile for a zone may be drawn showing temperature, humidity, light, heating demand, screen position etc.
The time scale of the graphs may be selected to be 24 hours, 1 week, 4 weeks or 3 months allowing analysis of longer time
periods. By using cursors any period of time between 15 minutes and 3 months may be chosen. Statistics show the maximum,
minimum, mean, percentage above a threshold etc. for the full graph time scale and for the cursor period.
Graphs may be drawn in integral mode to obtain total energy from light information for example. All graphs may be drawn as
integrals and these integrals may be related to thresholds so for example temperature ‘T’ sums may be drawn and
susceptibility to botritus examined directly on the screen.
Remote Programming
The setpoints for all the control computers may be examined and changed from the P.C. Un-authorised changes are avoided
by password protection. Up to 5 different passwords may be defined with different access for each one so that a number of
users may have access to the system from a single P.C. without interfering with each others areas of responsibility. The
setpoints for individual control computers may also be saved on the P.C. disc system. This enables setpoints to be restored to
an earlier profile very quickly at the end of a growing period.
The heating and ventilation setpoints may be modelled on the PC screen. By selecting the corresponding setpoints for a house
the interaction between the heating and ventilation will be shown as a graph on the screen for heating and venting target
temperatures, heating maximum temperature, and venting minimum temperature. Light influence may be also be modelled for a
range of light intensities for different seasons to check that the selected light rise will also give the expected results. This
provides a simple means for checking the programmed environment before implementing set point changes.
Crop Costings
The P.C. may be used to produce an account for each individual zone of running costs against either the zone as a whole or
against crops produced from that zone. This account may be for any time period and will show the relative heating, lighting etc.
costs for all zones. This part of the programme is very useful for determining the ‘cost effectiveness’ of a particular regime.
Connection To The PC
Tomtech computers can communicate with each other to share information like weather station data. An RS422 link is used to
provide this transfer and this link is used to connect to the PC either directly via a cable, or to another site by using modems
and the public telephone system. In either case an interface is required which is supplied with the software. Two types of
interface are available:
The PC Link1 simple interface allows connection between one control computer and the PC. This may be used with the
current installation. If, however, the control system is extended with additional control computers in the future it will need to be
changed to the PC Link2.
The PC Link2 intelligent interface will allow any number of control computers to be connected to a PC. It may also be used
with modems to connect to a PC via the public telephone system. This interface also provides visual indication of an alarm
condition regardless of whether the PC is in use or not and has a remote alarm output connection.
Where modems are used two are required, one for each end of the telephone line. Unlike other control systems ALL
Environment Manager functions may be used including full data gathering without a private phone line as the data gathering is
carried out by the control computers which keep a record of all measured parameters and all control data for the last three
days. Connection to the control system is therefor only required for a few minutes once every 3 days to save all data.
PC Requirements
The software and interface options above can be used with any IBM compatible PC providing it has the following minimum
specification:
A hard disk with at least 2Mbytes spare space
A floppy disc to allow the software to be loaded
A serial port for connection to the control system
A colour screen VGA or EGA graphics
A minimum of 640Kbytes of memory
If a PC is not available one can be supplied with the system. PC specifications and prices vary widely. I would suggest
choosing a middle range PC that may be used with the Tomtech software and can also be used for other tasks.