SoftwareMiser

Welcome to the world of computer energy saving and energy calculation software from JSutils. If you have a suggestion about enhancements or additional functionality for our programs or even an idea for a new program related to energy saving then please feel free to contact us. If you would like to find out more about the practical aspects of home energy saving take a look at Practical Home Energy Saving.

The holidays are over and work is ramping up again at JSutils to bring more enhancements to our programs plus there are some new ones in the pipeline, more about that in future newsletters. Apologies for forgetting the September newsletter in the excitement of getting out the program updates on target.

New Programs & Program Updates Coming Soon

LANOff Version 5.2 - Coming October 2011
LANOff is a network monitor and shutdown utility which monitors up to four remote computers from a client computer and optionally shuts down the client and specified remote computers when the network fails or the specified computer shuts down. Various parameters can be set via the configuration screen. LANOff was designed to be used in conjunction with AllOff or ProcOff to enable a backup server to be shut down automatically once several computers on a local network had completed their backups. It can also be used on it’s own. LANOff supports all the normal shut down modes. The program operates by interrogating each remote computer via a small slave program once a second. Up to four remote computers can be monitored or controlled with shutdown being initiated when connection to all computers is lost. Uses of LANOff include monitoring up to four computers connected to a server shutting down the server when it is no longer needed or shutting down up to four computers connected to a server when the server shuts down. It can be started at a fixed time, a command line, on start up or manually. Changes in this version include the ability to disable exit for non admin users and to fix a number of minor bugs.

EnCalcL Version 4.2 - Coming October/November 2011
EnCalcL calculates the real cost of purchasing and running water using appliances, allowing items to be compared under the same or different conditions, or the true cost of one item to be worked out simply. The results which can include annual inflation can be saved to a log file for later analysis. Variables such as water use, number of uses per day and investment cost can be independently varied for 2 items for specified payback times and water cost to work out the true total cost. Changes in this version inclue the ability to work in pounds as well as kilograms and removing the need for administrative permissions to save water data.

If there is time a couple of other updates may appear during the this period, probably AllOffLite and EnCalcLU.

Programs Released Over The Last Month Or So

EnCalcGU Version 3.3 - Released 09-August-2011
EnCalcGU calculates the cost of gas, allowing both the real cost based on meter readings and forward prediction based on the readings and elapsed time. The results can be saved to a log file for later analysis. The program can cope with different charging rates for gas based on a preset threshold, different calorific values/correction factors, imperial and metric meters, varying tax rates plus fixed charges and discounts enabling most charging models to be handled. It will also calculate the amount of CO2 generated. Changes to EnCalcGU include the option to check for the latest version of the program and to run at the end of install. See history for full details.

EnCalcE Version 5.0 - Released 23-August-2011
EnCalcE calculates the cost of purchasing and running electrical appliances, allowing 2 alternative items to be compared under the same running conditions. The results can be saved to a log file for later analysis. Variables such as life, purchase cost and power (including standby power) can be independently varied for the 2 items for specified payback times, hours of use and electricity cost to work out the true total cost of items including inflation and the amount of CO2 saved. Changes include the ability to vary the hours of use independently for each item plus other changes. See history for more details.

AllOff Version 4.4 - Released 06-September-2011
Windows activity monitor and shutdown utility AllOff has been updated to extend the maximum inactivity time to 1 hour and add the option to disable exit for non admin users. AllOff is an activity monitor and shutdown utility which monitors the mouse, keyboard and CPU load and initiates computer shutdown if there has been no keyboard or mouse activity and the average CPU load has been below the threshold set for the specified time. It also supports fixed activation and shutdown times. AllOff supports all the normal shut down modes. It can also be used to control a remote computer. Uses of AllOff include unattended backup (shutting down the computer when the backup has completed) and shutting down a computer if the user forgets. It can be started at a fixed time, a command line, on start up or manually. See history for details of the changes in this version.

ProcOff Version 1.3 - Released 13-September-2011
Windows process monitor and shutdown utility ProcOff has been updated to extend the maximum inactivity time to 1 hour and add the option to disable exit for non admin users. Also some minor layout changes. ProcOff is a process monitor and shutdown utility which monitors up to three processes and initiates computer shutdown if there has been no process activity for the specified time. It also supports fixed activation and shutdown times. ProcOff supports all the normal shut down modes. It can also be used to control a remote computer via a slave program. Uses of ProcOff include unattended backup, virus scan and disk de-fragmentation, shutting down the computer when the tasks have completed. It can be started at a fixed time, a command line, on start up or manually. See history for details of the changes in this version.

EnCalcOL Version 1.1 - Released 27-September-2011
This minor update to heating oil use calculator EnCalcOL adds oil tank data to the results log plus other minor changes. EnCalcOL calculates the use of oil, allowing both the real use based on tank readings and forward prediction based on the readings and elapsed time. The results can be saved to log files for later analysis. EnCalcOL can cope with different shaped tanks, work in volume or depth of oil in addition the units can be varied enabling most oil use models to be handled. It will also calculate the amount of CO2 generated and predict when the tanks next need filling. See history for details of the changes in this version.

EnCalcOU Version 2.3 - Released 04-October-2011
This update to heating oil use and cost calculator EnCalcOU adds oil left data to the display and results log plus other minor changes. EnCalcOU calculates the cost of oil, allowing both the real cost based on tank readings and forward prediction based on the readings and elapsed time. The results can be saved to a log file for later analysis. EnCalcOU can cope with different shaped tanks, work in volume or depth of oil, varying tax rates plus fixed charges enabling most charging models to be handled. It will also calculate the amount of CO2 generated and predict when the tanks next need filling. See history for details of the changes in this version.

Other News

Operating System Support
During the forth quarters of 2011 we will be stopping support for Windows 2000 as products are updated.  This does not mean they definitely won’t work on Windows 2000 rather we won’t be testing on this operating system so it is inevitable incompatibilities will creep in. For the foreseeable future we will make the last version released for Windows 2000 available for download from the archive area when this happens.

Technical Notes And Support
The technical notes section has been growing gradually over the last couple of months and this is the place to find extended use and other information about our products.  The latest technical notes added explain how to run AllOff, AllOff Lite, ProcOff and LANOff as a service on Windows 2000 and Windows XP.  The support section is where top find the general and product specific FAQ which also have been gradually growing over the last few months.

About JSutils
JSutils is the home of a small collection of software associated with energy saving and energy saving calculation developed as a result of a major project to reduce home energy consumption which started in 2004. We are totally independent with no commercial affiliations.