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Eclipse VOLTTRON
VOLTTRON™, developed at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and available as an open-source tool, provides an environment where data and devices connect seamlessly and securely to make decisions based on user needs and preferences.
Business, research and academic communities agree that VOLTTRON™ is an important and versatile resource for improving building system performance and creating a more flexible and reliable power grid. But the technology’s adaptability has significantly expanded its potential beyond buildings and the grid; users are applying the platform in ways not originally envisioned.
VOLTTRON™ is open source and publicly available from GitHub, and its ongoing development benefits from a highly collaborative approach. The U.S. Department of Energy views the technology as a central component of buildings-grid integration, and provides funding support. Updates and other advances are carried out by a PNNL research team working in concert with an active nationwide community of users.
Eclipse VOLTTRON provides secure, extensible, and modular integration middleware for the Internet of Things, that supports the development of a wide range of loosely coupled, but tightly integrated connected applications.
The Eclipse VOLTTRON software platform is Linux-based and capable of running on small, single-board computers as well as in the cloud. It deploys applications known as V-agents that gain access to energy data via automation systems, identifying and diagnosing problems such as erroneous temperature settings. The technology offers passive capabilities that report a problem, as well as active approaches that actually fix the problem. VOLTTRON can be configured to use any protocol needed to interface with devices or data sources.
The platform comprises several components and agents that provide services to other agents. Of these components, the information exchange bus (IEB) is central. All other VOLTTRON components communicate through the IEB using the publish/subscribe paradigm over a variety of topics. For example, a weather agent would publish weather information in a weather topic to which interested agents would subscribe. Drivers collect data from devices connected to the platform, publishing device data to and taking commands from the message bus (the platform includes supported drivers for BACnet and Modbus protocols). Historian applications store device data and analyze it, while a web-based user interface allows for management of VOLTTRON nodes and agents.
There are no legal issues. All trademarks have been transferred to the Eclipse Foundation.
The Eclipse Foundation provides an environment where VOLTTRON can be developed by a much broader audience of software developers and adopted by businesses looking for state of the art solutions. Engaging these entities will enhance collaboration and strengthen the platform.
SkyCentrics, New City Energy, DOE, PNNL, ORNL, SES Consulting, ipconnect, Intellimation, Kisensum, ICF, Avista Utiities, PG&E, Southern Company
All source code, open source software agents and documentation for VOLTTRON is located at https://github.com/VOLTTRON/volttron.
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