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MeshEMS board

NESL · OpenAMI-aligned · multi-tenant edge metering · workshops & field deployments

Board diagram

NESL EMS Controller PCB 865B — annotated diagram with ESP32-S3, Ethernet, RS485 Modbus, TFT display, SD card, and SSR headers
NESL EMS Controller PCB 865B — basic board diagram (Rev 001). ESP32-S3; HanRun Ethernet; HW-519 RS485 (master Modbus/RTU); 128×128 TFT (SPI); SD card; onboard SSR headers; ext 5 V / 3.3 V inputs; GPS and door-switch I/O. From energy-iot/meshems-openami-metering · NewEnergySolutionsLab.com.

Bill of materials (BOM)

Living parts list for MeshEMS / Street-EMS dev kits — components, sources, and workshop kit quantities. Maintained in Google Sheets (view access; request edit from NESL / Energy IoT Open Source if you are building kits).

MeshEMS board BOM (Google Sheets) ↗

The MeshEMS board is an ESP32-based EMS PCB designed by NESL in alignment with OpenAMI — mesh-capable neighborhood-area networking for DCU backhaul when pole-to-pole RF redundancy is needed. OpenAMI metering firmware targets the NESL 865B: meshems-openami-metering.

OpenAMI alignment

Modbus RTU meters (DDS238, CHD130, DDSU666) or CircuitSetup ATM90E32 6-channel SPI; MQTT northbound; SSR load control. Schematic: meshems · BOM.

Why this board exists

A multi-tenant edge metering system — one pole gateway for several customer circuits (~6 homes or loads) with clear separation of what belongs upstream vs downstream of the revenue meter. Used in workshops, hackathons, and field deployments; documented in the open so communities can reuse the lessons and develop technological autonomy early during rapid load growth.

Upstream · meter · downstream

A practical first step is to clarify and isolate knowledge on each side of the revenue meter. MeshEMS sits at that boundary and makes interoperability visible — what the DCU must speak upstream versus what each customer circuit needs downstream.

Upstream of the meter

  • DCUs and pole gateways
  • Utility / feeder systems
  • Head-end, vending, operator backends
  • Northbound MQTT · geo asset model

Downstream of the meter

  • Multiple homes and customer circuits (~6 per board)
  • Per-tenant reads, credit, disconnect
  • Branch loads, anchor tenants, theft visibility
  • Off-the-shelf meters and SSR control

← revenue meter / gateway normalization →

OpenAMI · OBIS · building in the open

OpenAMI — actionable telemetry and leakage visibility (feeder → branch → customer). OBIS · VMRS — shared register semantics northbound. ISV curates workshop notes, gap matrices, and distribution lists in alignment with EnAccess Foundation, Energy IoT Open Source, NESL, and field operators.

Role in the stack

LayerMeshEMS
SouthboundDLMS / OEM meter interfaces via gateway firmware; pairs with CircuitSetup and other bench/field meter boards.
EdgeESP32 EMS — mesh NAN between DCUs; optional when a single Street Pole gateway is not enough for feeder coverage.
NorthboundMQTT / JSON registers aligned to OBIS · VMRS — same OpenAMI contract as EnAccess Foundation MPM and operator backends.
Firmwaremeshems-openami-metering (865B · OpenAMI) · meshEMS (Street Pole EMS)

Events & deployments

MeshEMS is a shared platform — not built for a single conference. Scheduled and in-flight uses include:

MeshEMS vs Street EMS

MeshEMS — single-pole ESP32 gateway prototyped at the 2025 Open Energy Hackathon; live metering, SunSpec telemetry, MQTT northbound.

Street EMS — NESL PCB variant with mesh backhaul so multiple DCUs can form a neighborhood-area network when line-of-sight or single-hop RF is insufficient. Use when the OpenAMI deployment needs redundant pole-to-pole links, not when a standalone pole gateway is enough.

Power rails (workshop)

Bench and field kits need planned 5 V and 3.3 V rails — see 25 Jun 2026 notes · MeshEMS power architecture.

ISV wiki threads

External links