Welcome to Zoho IOT's Diesel Generator Tutorial! This tutorial will provide you with step-by-step procedure to create a real-world IoT-based monitoring solution using Zoho IOT. In the process, you'll explore various features and functions and learn how to use them effectively in your application.
Who is this guide for?
This tutorial is intended for users who want to learn about the Zoho IOT platform and create their own custom
applications.
What you will achieve by the end of this tutorial
Following the instructions provided in this tutorial, you will be able to create your own
application to monitor a diesel generator. The final Zoho IOT application will feature a comprehensive
dashboard and detailed
report, encompassing power output, fuel level, and engine temperature of the diesel generator. Additionally, the application will include fuel level
alerts to provide timely notifications when fuel levels are low.
What you will see at the end of this tutorial
By the end of this tutorial, you would have created the following dashboard and report displaying the vital metrics.
Dashboard
Image: Final dashboard view
Report
Image: Final reports view
Phases in Creating the Zoho IOT Application
Any solution built using the Zoho IOT platform generally follows six phases to achieve the result, with one or more steps in each phase. The phases range from Designing to Deployment as given below.
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Step 1: Identify the various components, entities, and attributes involved in the solution.
Step 2: Create a blueprint to categorize the various devices, assets, datapoints, dashboard, reports, and alarms.
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Step 3: Create your account in Zoho IOT and gain access to the developer environment that comprises the Developer Application and End Application.
Step 4: Create devices, assets, and locations, and configure the respective datapoints.
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Step 5: Connect the physical gateway device to the Zoho IOT application using the connection credentials.
Step 6: Listen to live messages to ensure data is being received.
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Step 7: Create a dashboard with widgets to display the required information.
Step 8: Generate a report using the data collected from the assets and devices.
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Step 9: Establish alarm rules with conditions to issue alerts.
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Step 10: Create new profiles and invite users to access the application.
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Sample Diesel Generator Setup
Consider a simple diesel generator (DG) setup that has an engine with a temperature and energy meter, and a fuel tank with fuel level sensor. These sensors are connected to a
Raspberry Pi device, which acts as a gateway device that communicates data using the MQTT protocol.
We will now build a Zoho IOT application to monitor this diesel generator.
Application Design
First, we will break down the setup and list the components and parameters to be managed by the application.
For the diesel generator setup, the
Raspberry Pi is the gateway
device, and the diesel generator is the
asset being monitored.
The sensors connected to the Raspberry Pi measure the various parameters and transmit the values to the application. These values are extracted and stored as datapoints. By utilizing these
datapoint values, you can monitor engine temperature, power generated, and fuel level directly from a
dashboard. Additionally,
alarm rules can be set up to alert you to any incidents of low fuel, enhancing the monitoring process.
Finally,
profiles with limited access to the application can be created and assigned to users, allowing them only to view the application.
For the diesel generator setup, we will have the following:
- Components: Diesel Generator (Asset), Raspberry Pi (Gateway Device)
- Parameters: Temperature, Power Output, and Fuel Level
- Connectivity Protocol: MQTT
- Profile: Technician
Here is a breakdown of the components to be included in our diesel generator monitoring application:
Design
| Device
| Raspberry Pi
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Asset
| Diesel Generator
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Datapoint
| Engine Temperature, Engine RPM, Fuel Level
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Visualize
| Dashboard (Widgets)
| Engine Status, Fuel Level, Engine Temperature
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Automate
| Alarm Rules
| Engine Temperature (High), Fuel Level (Low)
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Deploy
| Profiles
| Technician
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With the requirements identified, let's start creating the application.