Energy Use View
The Energy Use view of the Data Browser displays how much energy a customer consumed over specific periods of time. Customers can view energy usage for each bill over a 13-month period. If the required data is available, the customer can also view daily and subdaily data.
On this page:
Requirements
Same as listed in Data Browser. Additional data and cloud service requirements may apply depending on the types of insights (such as solar insights) that the utility chooses to display. See the feature descriptions and User Experience Variations below for details.
Limitations
Same as listed in Data Browser.
User Experience
The Energy Use view displays how much energy a customer is using over time. This section describes the user experience for customers who have billing data and daily AMI data.
Fuel Menu
Electricity is displayed by default. Dual fuel customers will see options that allow them to switch between electricity and gas use.
A Combined view can be displayed, which combines electricity and gas costs into a single number using a price-weighted index. When the Combined view is enabled, the data point tooltips also display combined totals.
Time Menu
Depending on what data is available, the Energy Use view presents different kinds of trends and insights at varying levels of granularity over time:
- Year view: Energy use by each bill period in a year. Monthly, bi-monthly, and quarterly bills are supported.
- Bill view: Energy use by each day in a bill period. AMI data is required for this view.
- Day view: Energy use by each hour of a day (or another interval such as quarter of an hour). AMI data is required for this view.
There are also forward and backward buttons that customers can select to display contiguous blocks of time. In the Year view, for example, clicking the forward or backward button displays contiguous 13-month blocks of time for customers on monthly billing.
Bar Graph
The bar graph uses a vertical axis (Y-axis) to show the cost, and a horizontal axis (X-axis) shows the time period. The bars use the "You" color, which is blue by default and commonly changed to the utility's brand color. Lighter bars represent estimated bills or usage reads. See General Display Rules for details on how the graph behaves and how the data visualization can change depending on which view is selected.
Peak Demand Icon
In the bill and day views, an icon is displayed over the day or the time when demand was at its peak. Demand refers to the rate at which a customer consumes electricity, not the actual amount that is consumed. Demand is expressed in kilowatts (kW) rather than kilowatt-hours (kWh). See Demand Versus Usage for more information about the difference between these units of measure.
The Demand icon can also be shown in the Demand view of the Data Browser. Additionally, there are cases when multiple peak demand icons can be displayed.
Weather Data
A line graph representing the average temperature during each time period is overlaid on the bar graph. This allows customers to see how their usage relates to local weather patterns. The weather data is based on data from the airport weather station closest to the location of the customer. See Weather Data for details on how weather data is retrieved.
Tooltips
Tooltips are displayed when customers interact with a data point on the graph. See Energy Tooltips for details on what the tooltips may include.
For AMI customers, a message is displayed at the bottom of tooltips for data points for each bill. This messaging acts as a tip for how a customer can quickly view hourly or sub-hourly data for a given bill.
Customers can also view data points for energy use that has not yet been included on a bill. See Virtual Bills for details.
Disclaimer
Disclaimer messages can be added to the Energy Use view that are specific to the view. For example, a disclaimer message can explain estimated usage. The disclaimer messages can also include links to resources where customers can find more information.
User Experience Variations
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.
Multiple Peak Demand Icons
If the demand values for two or more days or subdaily intervals are the same, and these values technically represent the highest demand, then multiple peak demand icons are displayed in the Energy Use view.
This may be the case, for example, at commercial or industrial locations where a specific set of high-power machinery or equipment needs to be turned on at regular points in time, resulting in a demand spike that consistently reaches the same amount multiple times in the same bill period.
Multiple peak demand icons are displayed in the Energy Use bill or day view under the following conditions:
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Bill View: Multiple days in a bill period contain an interval with the same demand value, and this value represents the peak demand for the bill period.
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Day View: Multiple intervals in a day have the same demand value, and this value represents the peak demand for the bill period.
This behavior can also occur in the Demand view. See Demand View- Multiple Peak Demand Icons for details.
Solar Data and Net Energy Metering
If a customer has solar power and generates more energy than they consume, the Energy Use view will show the customer's energy use as being sent to the grid. The example below shows short green bars for negative values. Additionally, a tooltip denotes the negative use value.
This default experience can be configured to display in different ways. Utilities must coordinate with their Delivery Team to determine which display to use.