- Requirements to start using DETECT
- Detect's configuration process
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Basic configuration steps
- Additional configuration steps
Requirements to start using DETECT
Indispensable information
To start using DETECT you need, at least, the following information:
- Electricity consumption for at least 12 months, although 18 months of data would be optimal to squeeze Detect’s value. That consumption data is expected to be on an hourly basis, but monthly frequencies can allow you to use the product on a basic version.
- Information required about the buildings under study:
- Their zip code (their whole address or coordinates would be preferable but not indispensable)
- Area. If the area<10m2, Detect will assume it is not correct and will estimate it through a linear regression that has been created with our database. If you are not certain of a building's area, you should configure it as 1m2, so we can estimate it for you.
- Activity. This parameter is necessary to compare each building with similar ones).
- Supplies and Prices for electricity and gas (recommended but not indispensable). If supplies and prices are configured, the energy costs will be calculated using your tariff structures. Otherwise, we will use an average cost by default for each country, updated once a year.
Additional information
Including more than the basic information in your account might unlock more functionalities and recommendations. Here is what you could add:
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Reference temperatures used in that building for degree days calculation (recommended but not indispensable), take a look at this article about how to configure them. If these temperatures are not configured, Detect will use the following:
- Summer Tª= Between 18ºC-26ºC
- Winter Tª= Between 12ºC and 19ºC (Italy between 11ºC and 20ºC)
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Tags: You can add more information to your buildings to later filter the results offered by Detect. Take a look at this article and learn how you can navigate through your portfolio in an easy and organized way.
- In order to visualise your tags in Detect's user interface they should have the format <key>==<value>. Example: LED==TRUE / LED==FALSE
Detect's configuration process
If you're an experienced user of the EM Platform, you might already have the necessary configuration in the account to use Detect. We recommend double-checking the requirements mentioned in the previous section in case some have not been completed. For example, assigning a reference meter is a step we usually observe that our users need to complete. If you have doubts, the rest of the article explains how to configure the account to achieve each requirement.
The complete configuration flow you should follow to start using Detect can be seen in the following scheme:
* Compulsory steps, considered as Basic configuration steps.
All the steps that have a rectangle can be done directly in the platform or in-bulk. All the steps that have a rhombus, should be performed directly in the platform's UI. In the following sections, you will be directed to other articles to help you follow each step.
If the language included in the graph is unfamiliar to you, don't hesitate to visit our platform's glossary. If you still would like to learn more, don't hesitate to ask the team for the onboarding emails.
Basic configuration steps
In this section, you are going to learn how to include the basic information into the platform. This is the information required to use Detect. Please make sure you already have an account created on the platform (if not, contact the support team).
This section is divided into:
Data insertion
There are multiple ways for you to insert the monthly electrical consumption into the platform. Please check the article explaining how to import data into the platform. Among the options described in the article, it is recommended to use Excel import or FTP import.
Once the data has been introduced into the platform, you should accept the devices that have been created.
Locations creation
The way to organise the information in the platform is by creating locations. When creating them, you will be able to include all the needed information described in the previous section.
To create each location individually, please follow these steps. To create them in-bulk, please follow these steps. Please set the area only if it is known. Otherwise, set the area to 1 m2, so Detect can estimate it.
Note. If you have lots of buildings, you might be interested in organising them, i.e. not only creating the locations but also other entities to better organise them. For example, you could organise all your buildings geographically or by business model. This organisation is called the locations' hierarchy tree and can be created individually or in-bulk, by following the same steps as for the locations' creation.
Link devices to locations
Please follow this step so that you can link your devices with your locations. The step should be performed in the locations section of the UI or could be performed in-bulk.
**It is very important that you assign a device to your main consumption in the Reference meters section so we can gather your data and use it in Detect calculations**
Additional configuration steps
Use of tags
You could include more information about your buildings to later filter the results provided by Detect. Also to complement the basic information provided in the Basic steps. You could, for instance, include tags for:
- The schedule of your buildings: Compare those buildings that are open during weekends vs. those that are not.
- Available area for solar panels: Determine the maximum area that could be used in the building to install solar panels.
- Year of construction: Filter your portfolio based on that information
- Timezone: Focus your efforts on similar buildings
- Any other information you might find relevant to define the type of buildings you wish to include. As an example of a hotel:
- Number of rooms
- Is there a restaurant?
- Is there a spa?
- Is there a gym? ...
- Are LEDs available in the building?
Please note that part of this information will only help to benchmark the buildings between them once the results have been provided.
In order to visualise your tags in Detect's user interface they should have the format <key>==<value>. As an example: LED==TRUE / LED==FALSE.
So, how to include this information? Tags* are configured when creating the locations, both when creating the locations individually or during the in-bulk configuration process.
* There is a maximum of 50 tags per building.
Supplies and prices configuration
In case you would like to include energy costs in the platform, you could do it directly in the platform or by using the in-bulk configuration. If you don't have this information, Detect will use a price by default. Two approaches could be recommended to configure prices:
- Configure a tariff structure for each building individually: This will allow you to calculate with a higher level of detail the energy costs and possible savings of each building.
- Configure some tariff structures and use them as templates for all the buildings: This would save you time while configuring the account but would still increase the exactitude of the calculations (vs. using the by-default price). In Spain, an example of templates would be to create: One tariff 2.0TD, one tariff 3.0TD and one tariff 6.1TD.
For both options, you should read our articles explaining how supplies and prices are organised on the platform.
Currencies, surface and temperature configuration
Regarding currencies configured in each location, if you have an account composed of buildings in different countries with different currencies, Detect portfolio screen will show the most common currency and for each building will show the configured currency.
Regarding temperature (ºC, ºK) and surface units (m2, sftq), Detect will use the ones configured in your account.