Free and Open Sharing of knowledge, source, design.
This project is an open source project. Following the principles of the Free Software Movement the software source code and hardware designs are available at no cost to everyone under the GNU General Public License. This makes it possible to do more than just use the technology;
- you can learn how it works from the physics of AC and DC electricity to electronic circuit design and software programming.
- You can build it yourself (and with others) and modify it to your needs.
- You can take part and benefit from a collaborative effort to develop and improve it.
- If it breaks you can learn how to repair it and when it comes to the end of its useful life it is easier to take apart so that different components and materials can be recycled in to new technologies.
At the heart of every commercially existing electricity monitor, central heating controller, solar water controller, wind and PV monitor is a proprietary microcontroller system are closed protocols. Replacing this with open source hardware, software, firmware and communications protocols leads to a more integrated system that ultimately yields significant overall benefits to the user in terms of convenience, usability and maintainability.
We believe open source is a better way of doing things, it is a way in which people can get involved in developing and making technology and build on the work of others. The openenergymonitor hardware builds upon an open source micro-controller platform called Arduino (which is based on ATMEL micros) and work by projects such as Cliff Jao and Xi Guo's PowerBox, the web based software builds upon open source software such as php, mysql and jquery.
Open source and the purpose of technology
I great quote by Richard Stallman it really sums up for me a really important reason for open source:
"...but something that humanity could tremendously benefit from knowing, I mustn’t withhold. You see, the purpose of science and technology is to develop useful information for humanity to help people live their lives better. If we promise to withhold that information–if we keep it secret–then we are betraying the mission of our field. And this, I decided, I shouldnt do." - Richard Stallman
Further reading
Free Software Foundation fighting for essential freedoms.
Open Source Initiative formed to educate about and advocate for the benefits of open source and to build bridges among different constituencies in the open-source community.
The Homebrew Industrial revolution by Kevin Carson a really great book that explains these ideas very clearly
AdCiv - Post-scarcity philosophy