Usage Breakdown View
The Usage Breakdown view of the Data Browser allows customers to explore their top energy costs by disaggregation category (or "end use category") over time. This helps customers see how their end uses (such as heating, cooling, and lighting) and appliances (such as dishwasher or dryer) contribute to their overall energy use, and to identify trends that may be leading to higher than normal bills.
On this page:
Requirements
Same as listed in Data Browser. Additional requirements include:
- Average energy use data for households in a utility's region, as well as billing data and weather data.
- AMI data is required in order to show appliance-level insights (such as energy costs associated with an oven, refrigerator, or dishwasher).
Limitations
Same as listed in Data Browser. Additional limitations include:
- The Usage Breakdown view is not available for customers with solar power. This is because the feature uses data science models which have not yet been trained on homes with solar power, and so the disaggregation results would not be accurate.
- The following types of customers and utilities are not supported: Small and medium businesses (SMB) customers, commercial and industrial customers, and water and wastewater utilities.
- Customers cannot navigate to a previous 13-month historical period to view a usage breakdown.
User Experience
The Usage Breakdown view displays how much money a customer is spending on energy in top end-use categories. This section describes the user experience for AMI electricity customers whose top costs are heating, cooling, and electric vehicle (EV) charging.
Date Range
A date range appears at the top of the feature to indicate the time period for the data. The range always shows the current month and the previous 12 months (for a total of 13 months), so that customers can get a full year's worth of comparison. Customers cannot navigate to a previous 13-month historical period.
Energy Costs Menu
A menu appears above the graph to allow customers to choose which end-use category to view. The menu defaults to the customer's top three energy costs from the current month and the previous 12 months (for a total of 13 months). If a customer selects to view a single category, then the bar chart adjusts accordingly. Other notes about the menu's behavior include:
- Only categories that apply to the customer are available in the menu. For example, customers who own an electric vehicle (EV) may see a menu option for "EV charging," but this option will not appear for customers who do not own an EV.
- The categories in the menu match most of the categories in the customer's Home Energy Analysis breakdown. The exception is that the menu does not display an option for "Other Energy Use," since in this context it is too vague and not granular enough to be useful.
- The menu can display categories for individual appliances (instead of the generic "Appliances") depending on available data and the utility's setup and configuration. See Appliance-Level Insights below for details.
Bar Chart
The bar chart displays a customer's top three energy cost categories over the last 13 bill periods. The categories are displayed in different colors in each bar. The bar also shows a gray color to refer to other categories of energy use. Customers can use this information to understand which category costs the most money at different points in time. Additional notes about the bar chart include:
- The bar chart shows top energy costs by bill period across a year. Customers cannot view data at a more granular view, such as monthly or daily.
- If a customer selects to view a single category, then the bar chart adjusts to show two colors: the color of the category selected and a gray color for all other categories.
- The top cost or costs shown in each bill period will match the disaggregation results of Home Energy Analysis for that same bill period. For example, if a customer hovers over a data point and sees that the electric heating cost was $64 for January, then the same number will be displayed in the Home Energy Analysis breakdown for January.
Tooltips
Tooltips are displayed when customers interact with a data point on the graph. The tooltip includes the date range of the selected bill period, the top usage categories, the cost associated with each category, and the total cost for the bill period. If a customer selects to view a single category, the tooltip adjusts to show just two items: the cost of the selected category and the cost of all other categories.
See Energy Tooltips for details on what the tooltips may include in other views of the Data Browser.
Legend
The legend below the bar chart shows the color of each category displayed in the chart. If a customer selects to view a single category, the legend adjusts to show just two colors: the color of the selected category and a gray color for "All Other". The "All Other" category is present in the chart legend and tooltip, but not in the Energy Costs Menu since it varies depending on the selection.
- If "Top Energy Costs" is selected in the Energy Costs menu, then the "All Other" category in the legend refers to the total bill cost minus the top three energy category costs.
- If an individual category is selected in the Energy Costs menu, then the "All Other" category in the legend refers to the total bill cost minus the selected category cost.
Energy Costs Insight
An insight statement below the bar chart legend explains the customer's top costs in three categories for a specific time period. The statement remains the same even if the customer selects to view the breakdown for a single category. This is so that the customer is reminded of the top three costs when selecting to view a single category.
Explainer
A message below the graph explains how the customer's breakdown is determined. The message varies slightly based on whether the customer has AMI data and has started or completed the Home Energy Analysis survey. There is also a disclaimer about how account-level charges and credits are excluded, and how minimum bill charges can impact the accuracy of the cost information. The message concludes with a link to the Home Energy Analysis survey, where customers can update their home profile so that they receive the most accurate insights.
User Experience Variations
Appliance-Level Insights
If sufficient data is available and the proper configuration has been completed, the Energy Costs Menu and chart can display specific appliances as top cost categories, rather than a general "Appliances" category. For example, the breakdown can include categories such as laundry, refrigerator, or oven.
Requirements: Weather data, subdaily AMI data (at the hourly or quarter of an hour resolution), billing data from at least one bill period, and more. Contact your Delivery Team for details.
Dual Fuel
For dual fuel customers, the bar chart combines the data for electricity and gas into a single bar chart. There is no toggle to see a breakdown for each fuel type. This aligns with the breakdown that dual fuel customers see in the Home Energy Analysis, in which a single graphic containing gas and electricity data is shown to dual fuel customers.
Gas-Only
Gas-only customers can receive the Usage Breakdown view in the Data Browser. The user experience can change for them in the following ways:
Disaggregation: The disaggregation only shows end-use categories for which gas is a supported fuel type. For example, categories for cooling, electric vehicle, and individual appliances would be hidden.
Two Categories: Gas-only customers may not have enough information to determine their energy use in three top categories. In such cases, two top categories can still be shown. See Two or Three Categories below for details.
Less Than 13 Months
If less than 13 months of data are available, the bar chart still shows data for bill periods in which data is available.
Missing Data
If there are four or less bill periods with missing data, then the bar chart shows a missing data icon and error message in the tooltip for each bill period where the data is missing. If there are more than four bill periods with missing data, then the Usage Breakdown view selector is hidden.
Multiple Accounts and Service Points
If a customer has multiple accounts and service points, a drop-down list is displayed above the graph allowing customers to choose one and view data related to it. See Multiple Accounts and Multiple Service Points for details.
Non-AMI Data
For customers with non-AMI (billing) data, the explanation beneath the bar chart changes slightly to say that the customer's breakdown is based on "meter data" instead of "smart meter" data.
Two or Three Categories
If only two or three disaggregation categories are available for a customer, then the Energy Costs Menu will include all available categories but exclude a Top Energy Costs category. A customer will be able to view a single category at a time.
