Introduction
The most straightforward way to integrate any of your energy system devices with Enapter Cloud is to use Enapter UCM - Universal Communication Modules or software UCM - Virtual or Standalone UCM.
UCM is an edge device used for data acquisition or control of a connected 3rd-party device on the one hand and delivery to/from Cloud or intelligent site controller over a secure wireless channel on the other hand. Support for a variety of devices is provided by a built-in Lua interpreter which allows to run Lua-based integration scripts called Enapter Blueprints.
Unfortunately, there are many situations when you cannot obtain a UCM or the functionality of the software UCM doesn't fit your application. Luckily, there's an alternative solution called Enapter UCM Kit.
It is specially designed for makers, students and researchers to test, learn and teach IoT and Smart Energy.
Enapter UCM Kit is based on several important open-source and free-to-use components. This opens possibilities for personal technology development and hardware prototyping which are extremely helpful for developing innovative, cost-efficient environment monitoring and smart energy solutions for emerging markets.
What is UCM Kit?​
UCM Kit is a combination of a PCB designed by Enapter, a firmware for ESP32 DevKit, and development tools.
From hardware point of view UCM Kit can be treated as an "extension" and as a "shield" board for ESP32 DevKit that enables it to communicate and control a wide range of various energy devices: inverters, batteries, loads, etc.
UCM Kit consists of three parts:
- Shield PCB that can be assembled using designs from Enapter's Open Hardware Library.
- Espressif ESP32-DevKit-С.
- Enapter ESP32 IoT Firmware.
Why UCM Kit is needed?​
- Simplify customer service, troubleshooting and R&D for your existing products. Integrate your devices into a reliable, state-of-the-art ecosystem.
- It provides a quick and easy start, helps you to analyse energy data, and allows you to benefit from free service and open architecture.
- Know your energy system better, optimise energy usage and employ automatic control.
- Or just make your very own smart switch.
Any of those use cases don't require you to acquire custom hardware from Enapter. Your integration works on a software solution, cloud storage, and standard hardware that is widely available around the world.