Interval Data overview

Interval data provides a more granular view of use and demand.

Interval data can uncover

  • Equipment cycling on and off.
  • Daily startup schedule begins too early.
  • The daily set back schedule begins too late.
  • Costly concurrent peak demand issues.
  • Inefficient custodial crew scheduling.
  • Weekend and holiday setback or shutdown savings opportunities.
  • Utility theft.
  • Wasteful HVAC control procedures.

How to view interval data

  • Interval Data tab of the meter
  • Dashboards
  • Reports
    • Daily report with up to 8 days with data overlay of the previous week.
    • Smart meter daily max report overlays multiple weeks to spot trends and anomalies.

Channels

Channels import interval data for a meter. Channel data can be used to generate chargeback bills.

Each meter can have multiple channels to import different types of interval data.

Think of channels on a meter as similar to channels on a television. One channel for sports, one channel for the news, etc.

Default intervals available 

  • 15-minute
  • 30-minute
  • Hourly
  • Daily
  • Weekly
  • Monthly

Each meter can have multiple channels configured for different types of interval data. Channels are created through spreadsheets or in the application before importing interval data.

Custom fields for channels

Custom fields for channels let you track specific items for your submeters. You can update the values in the application or with a spreadsheet.

Channel import ID

Some metering systems identify channel data with a channel import ID. In UtilityManagement the channel import ID is a unique value in the database.

Example of meter import ID vs channel import ID, note each channel import ID is unique.

meter import vs channel import

Meter import ID

A meter import ID is assigned to the meter and is used by many different channels to import meter readings for a meter.

When importing interval data, the application first searches for a matching channel import ID, if one is not found, it searches for a matching meter import ID.

How is data imported when there is one meter import ID and multiple channels?

  1. Check the meter import ID and associated meter. If that meter has one channel and matches all other provided channel properties, the data is imported.
  2. If there is more than one channel, check the observation type. If only one channel matches the type, the data is imported.
  3. If there is more than one channel with a matching observation type, check the unit code. If only one channel matches the observation type and unit code, the data is imported.
  4. If there is more than one channel with a matching observation type and unit code, check the time interval. Only one channel should match the observation type, unit code, and time interval combination. If a match is found the data is imported.
  5. Kickout. If no matching channel is found, the import fails.
 

Channel review and updates

Update setup spreadsheets let you review and make updates to channel information.

channel diagram

Sample interval data charts

Why is the electrical load elevated for the entire weekend compared to the previous week?

Spikes in use need to be investigated.

The blue line is the current week and the gray line is the previous week. What caused an increase of use on this day?