BIPV Heat Dashboard

A Flask web application for visualizing and analyzing Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) heat experiment data.

Overview

This dashboard provides an interactive interface for exploring experimental data from BIPV heat studies. Users can select experiments, choose data series, and visualize results with interactive plots including experiment phase annotations.

Features

• Experiment Selection: Browse available experiments with metadata
• Data Visualization: Interactive plots with Plotly
• Multi-axis Plotting: Automatic grouping by units with dual y-axes
• Phase Annotations: Experiment phases marked on timeline
• Data Export: Download experiment data files
• Responsive Design: Works on desktop and mobile devices

Quick Start

For Users

1. Visit: https://asbipvheatprd.ethz.ch
2. Select an experiment from the dropdown
3. Choose data series to plot
4. Explore the interactive visualizations

For Administrators

• Deployment Guide: See DEPLOYMENT.md
• Maintenance Guide: See MAINTENANCE.md

Application Structure

bipv_heat_flask/
├── main.py              # Main Flask application
├── wsgi.py              # WSGI entry point for production
├── requirements.txt     # Python dependencies
├── data/               # Experiment data files
│   ├── *.feather       # Time series data files
│   └── experiment_log.pkl  # Experiment metadata
├── static/             # CSS and static assets
│   └── css/style.css
├── templates/          # HTML templates
│   ├── layout.html     # Base template
│   └── home.html       # Main dashboard page
├── DEPLOYMENT.md       # Deployment instructions
├── MAINTENANCE.md      # Maintenance guide
└── README.md          # This file

Data Format

Experiment Files

• Format: Apache Feather (.feather)
• Naming: idx-XXX_type_conditions.feather
• Content: Time series data with multiple sensors/measurements

Experiment Log

• Format: Python Pickle (.pkl)
• Content: Experiment metadata including:
  • Date and time information
  • Monitor names
  • IR/WW/CW percentages
  • Phase timing (start, warmup, measurement, cooldown)
  • Notes and observations

API Endpoints

• GET / - Main dashboard page
• GET /api/experiments - List available experiments
• GET /api/experiment/<code> - Get experiment details and data series
• GET /api/plot - Generate plot data (with query parameters)
• GET /download/<code> - Download experiment data file

Technology Stack

• Backend: Flask (Python)
• Frontend: HTML, CSS, JavaScript
• Visualization: Plotly.js
• Data Processing: Pandas, PyArrow
• Deployment: Gunicorn + Apache
• Server: ETH Zurich infrastructure

Development

Local Development

# Clone repository
git clone [repository-url]
cd bipv_heat_flask

# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt

# Run development server
python main.py

Adding New Data

1. Place .feather files in the data/ directory
2. Update experiment_log.pkl with metadata
3. Files are automatically detected by the application

Configuration

• Port: Configured in main.py and wsgi.py
• Data Directory: Defined in main.py as DATA_DIR
• Static Files: Served from static/ directory

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. No experiments showing: Check data/ directory for .feather files
2. Plots not loading: Verify experiment codes match file names
3. Static files not loading: Check Apache static file configuration

Logs and Debugging

• Application Logs: Check gunicorn process output
• Web Server Logs: /instances/home/asbipvheatprd/var/log/httpd/
• Debug Mode: Set debug=True in main.py for development

Support

• Technical Issues: See MAINTENANCE.md
• Deployment Issues: See DEPLOYMENT.md
• Data Questions: Contact the research team

License

[Add appropriate license information]

Contributors

• [Add contributor information]

Version History

• v1.0 (2025-09-12): Initial production deployment
  • Flask dashboard with experiment visualization
  • Gunicorn deployment on port 5001
  • Apache proxy configuration
  • Interactive Plotly charts with phase annotations