This project provides a utility which can be used to read info and binary logs from the Voltcraft Energy Logger 4000 as sold by Conrad. A setup file (setupel3.bin) can also be read and written, this allows you to configure the device via the SD card.
To use this program, you will need the following:
- A Python interpreter (version 2 or 3). Almost all Linux distributions have this already installed. For Mac OS X and Windows users, see Pythons download page.
- (Recommended) A SecureDigital card to communicate with the EL4000. The EL4000 manual recommends a 4 GB card which which works fine for me.
- (Recommended) A Voltcraft Energy Logger 4000. It should also work with a EL3500 since it has the same file format, but I could not test this.
This program has been tested with a Voltcraft Energy Logger 4000F (with a French power plug and a German adapter, bought via eBay) on a Dutch energy network.
Since this program is a console application, you need to open a terminal (or cmd) first. Available options:
$ python el4000.py --help
usage: el4000.py [-h] [-p {raw,base,watt,va,csv}] [-d DELIMITER] [-v]
[-s [key=value [key=value ...]]] [-o]
binfile [binfile ...]
Energy Logger 4000 utility
positional arguments:
binfile info or data files (.bin) from SD card. If --setup is
given, then this is the output file (and input for
defaults). The order of files are significant when a
timestamp is involved
optional arguments:
-h, --help show this help message and exit
-p {raw,base,watt,va,csv}, --printer {raw,base,watt,va,csv}
Output formatter (default 'base')
-d DELIMITER, --delimiter DELIMITER
Output delimiter for CSV output (default ',')
-v, --verbose Increase logging level (twice for extra verbose)
-s [key=value [key=value ...]], --setup [key=value [key=value ...]]
Process a setupel3.bin file. Optional parameters can
be given to set a field (-s unit_id=1 for example). If
no parameters are given, the current values are
printed
Given a data file A0810702.BIN, you can write a results.csv file with:
$ python el4000.py -p csv A0810702.BIN > results.csv
Its content may look like:
timestamp,voltage,current,power_factor
2014-06-27 13:13,237.1,0.215,0.420
2014-06-27 13:14,236.5,0.206,0.420
2014-06-27 13:15,235.7,0.199,0.420
2014-06-27 13:16,237.3,0.204,0.420
...
If you happen to see "1970-01-01" as timestamp, be sure to include the info
files (102 bytes) before others (and use --data-only to hide the contents of
this info file). Compare:
$ python el4000.py -p csv A07EF88B.BIN
timestamp,voltage,current,power_factor
1970-01-01 00:00,238.5,0.000,0.000
1970-01-01 00:01,239.5,0.000,0.000
...
$ python el4000.py -p csv --data-only A07EF88A.BIN A07EF88B.BIN
timestamp,voltage,current,power_factor
2014-06-25 16:53,238.5,0.000,0.000
2014-06-25 16:54,239.5,0.000,0.000
...
The information file is 102 bytes, its contents can be examined just like a data file:
$ python el4000.py A0810701.BIN
header_magic b'INFO:'
total_power_consumption 0.534 kWh
total_recorded_time 2119h 04m
total_on_time 2115h 15m
total_kwh_today_min_0 0.1 kWh
...
total_kwh_today_min_9 0.0 kWh
total_recorded_time_today_min_0 3h 42m
...
total_recorded_time_today_min_9 0h 00m
total_on_time_today_min_0 3h 42m
...
total_on_time_today_min_9 0h 00m
unit_id 0
tariff1 0.221
tariff2 0.227
init_time_hour 16
init_time_minute 53
init_date_month 6
init_date_day 25
init_date_year 14
end_of_file_code b'\xff\xff\xff\xff'
The available setup options and values can be displayed with the the --setup
option (or its abbreviation, -s). Example:
$ python el4000.py setupel3.bin --setup
header_magic b'\x00\x00\x00'
unit_id 0
hour_format 0
date_format 0
time_hour 0
time_minute 0
date_month 0
date_day 0
date_year 0
currency 0
tariff1 0.0
tariff2 0.0
To actually set values, specify one or more options to --setup. Definitions
can be found in the file defs.py. Overview of options:
unit_id: ranges from 0 to 9.hour_format: 1 for 12h format, 2 for 24h format.date_format: 1 for mm/dd/yy, 2 for dd/mm/yy display.time_*anddate_*: set the initial clock. Note thatdate_yearis in abbreviated form. Instead of2014, use14.currency: 1 for£, 2 for Sfr, 4 for$and 8 for€tariff,tariff2: ranges from 0.000 to 9.999.
To modify (or create) the setupel3.bin file for a 24h clock, dd/mm/yy date
format and euros, use:
$ ./el4000.py setupel3.bin -s hour_format=2 date_format=2 currency=8
Changing hour_format from 0 to 2
Changing date_format from 0 to 2
Changing currency from 0 to 8
WARNING:Format:Invalid value 0 for name date_month
WARNING:Format:Invalid value 0 for name date_day
Setup file: setupel3.bin
header_magic b'\xb8\xad\xf2'
unit_id 0
hour_format 2
date_format 2
time_hour 0
time_minute 0
date_month 0
date_day 0
date_year 0
currency 8
tariff1 0.0
tariff2 0.0
If you have issues, questions, ideas or suggestions, feel free to contact me at peter@lekensteyn.nl or open a ticket at https://github.com/Lekensteyn/el4000/. Pull requests are also welcome.
Copyright (C) 2014 Peter Wu
Energy Logger 4000 utility is licensed under the MIT license. See the LICENSE file for more details.
- References for EL3500: http://wiki.td-er.nl/index.php?title=Energy_Logger_3500
- Energy Logger 4000 User manual (German, English and Dutch): http://www.produktinfo.conrad.com/datenblaetter/125000-149999/125444-an-01-ml-VOLTCRAFT_ENERGY_LOGGER_4000EKM_de_en_nl.pdf
- File format documentation: http://www2.produktinfo.conrad.com/datenblaetter/125000-149999/125323-da-01-en-Datenprotokoll_SD_card_file_Formatv1_2.pdf