In this guide, you'll learn how to delete peaks caused by sudden changes in meter readings, often due to meter replacements or resets.

Why Peaks Occur

When dealing with raw meter readings, peaks usually appear when a meter resets or is replaced, and the new meter starts from a different index, causing an abrupt change in cumulative readings. This results in artificially high or low consumption values in the platform.

Solution Overview

To delete peaks, it is necessary to overwrite the meter reading with consumption values for the time period when the peak occurs. In the platform, inserted consumption value have preference over raw meter readings. This can be done using the Manual Readings App or by manually inserting corrected data through Excel.

Step-by-Step Guide

Identify the Peak

• Navigate to Analysis by Parameter and review the graph to spot the peak in the highest resolution you want to analyse.

• Note the timestamp where the peak happens. In the screenshot below, the peak happens at 13:00 in hourly resolution

• The peak can also be detected by selecting the raw data resolution
  
  
• You can also check this in the Delete Reading section of the datasource where device belongs to, as there will be a sudden change in the raw readings, as seen below

Fix the Peak

Option A: Use the Manual Readings App

Following the steps described in this article about the Manual Readings app, configure the gateways/datasources in order to be able to insert data.

• Go to Analysis > Manual Readings.

• Input the device, parameter, resolution, timestamp and reading

• Insert readings with a value of 0 kWh for the highest resolution you need the data in (e.g., 15 minutes) for the timestamp where the peak occurs

• Save the readings and allow the platform to recalculate.

Example: If the peak occurred from 13:00 to 14:00, insert 0 kWh at 13:00, 13:15, 13:30, and 13:45.

Option B: Insert Data via Excel

• Prepare an excel insertion file to correct the data by setting the consumption to 0 during the peak period. Use the corresponding parameter for consumption.

• Import the corrected data back into the platform using the Excel file

Delete readings

If you are not inserting raw readings but calculated consumptions, your peak will be derived from a wrong consumption. Once you have identified the peak, the type and the time, you can delete it through the Delete readings tab. Learn more about delete readings. 

In order to delete a single peak follow this steps: 

1. Identify the peak  and the gateway that contains the device.

2. Go to gateways -> Delete readings 

3. Select the parameter and input the dates that contain the timestamp where the peak occurs and review the readings.

4. Select any wrong readings that appear and click on "Delete". The spike should disappear from your chart after a short delay. If it is not the case, try manually recalculating the device for the period there the spikes happened.

Note: This procedure works for single peaks from calculated readings. If you are inserting meter readings, please proceed as described in the beginning of this article.