Columbia Weather Systems

Internet weather monitoring. The Weather MicroServer now has a real-time display screen serving up live weather data in a graphical user interface. (Viewable on Mozilla Firefox, Chrome and Opera web browsers.) The R-T display does not require a screen refresh. It displays the main weather parameters and can be customized if required. Measurement units can be configured by the user. Automatic network updates. The Weather MicroServer is now compatible with CWOP and Weather Underground weather networks. CWS weather stations with a MicroServer can now automatically update their data to these network sites. (CWOP = Citizen Weather Observer Program)

Net-zero energy consumption is the dream of every environmentally-conscious homeowner - a goal that is closer to becoming reality helped along by the U.S. Department of Energy (D.O.E.) Solar Decathlon. Every other year, the D.O.E. brings together 20 teams from universities around the world to design and construct houses with a goal of net-zero energy consumption. The homes are displayed on the Mall in Washington DC, tested and ranked. For the October 2009 competition, two U.S. teams elected to use Orion Weather Stations to monitor weather parameters for their houses.The weather stations are used for environmental monitoring to improve energy efficiency. With the Weather MicroServer, weather parameters are also used to control automated functions like window shades. Third place winner was Refract House, a combined effort from Santa Clara University and California College of the Arts. Its theme was "promoting the idea of living light" - harnessing sunlight, lightening the carbo