Setting Global Options for EnergyCAP

Use the chart below to define business rules/nomenclature for your organization. A suggested meter naming convention is included as an example.

NOTE: In some EnergyCAP Code fields the following characters are NOT ALLOWED and should NOT be entered or imported:

! @ # $ % ^ * ( ) + ? ~ ` ; : ] [ { } | \

Global options apply to all EnergyCAP users.

! Care should be taken in altering these settings!

To set Global Options, select Options - Global from the EnergyCAP Tools menu. The Options

window will open.

Six tabs provide for configuration of a variety of important options. These are described below:

Preferences tab

The Preferences tab provides checkbox options for saving Login parameters, window state, and last view in workspace (user-specific).

When the Autosave option is checked:

Login parameters--EnergyCAP login window will default to last database and user ID referenced from that computer.
Window state--After Login, EnergyCAP will load the last window view/size parameters prior to the previous Logout.
Last view in workspace--After Login, EnergyCAP will load the last window/manager viewed prior to the previous Logout.

The Preferences tab also provides options for specifying the Catalog Server and Data Provider paths for organizations that access the EnergyCAP database via internet or intranet.

Settings tab

The Settings tab provides options for specifying the Organization Name (this optional heading will appear as a report header on all EnergyCAP reports) and the Fiscal Year start month (this determines fiscal year reporting).

To display floor area totals in the Place Properties for all non-building nodes of the Facilities Tree View, click the Show Floor Area Totals checkbox.

The Settings tab also provides the user with options for limiting the display of EnergyCAP PowerViews™ to certain Facility Tree Place Types. Limiting PowerViews can in some circumstances enhance the speed of EnergyCAP processes and improve work flow for some types of users. When the Limit PowerViews for ... checkbox is checked, the user can select from the list of Place Types in the scrolling list box below it.

Check any or all Place Types to cancel the PowerViews for that Place Type. To restore the PowerViews for a Place Type, just click on the Checkbox again. To display all available PowerViews, clear the Limit Power Views for ... checkbox.

The Update PowerViews checkbox provides a way to limit PowerView updates to the selected frequency.  Use the up and down arrows to select the number of hours between PowerView updates. For large databases, higher numbers may enhance software performance. The disadvantage of limiting PowerView updates is that data from recently-added bills may not be immediately reflected in the PowerViews.

NOTES:

When Update PowerViews is checked, the next update is performed at the next User Login following the set time parameter.

PowerView updates may also be accomplished external to EnergyCAP via an SQL scheduled task. Contact EnergyCAP for more information on this option, which may be of value to very large organizations.

The time and date of the last PowerView update is displayed above the PowerView graphs (Chart Data Current as of:).

Bill Images tab

The Bill Images tab provides options for specifying the Image Path and/or image Web URL.

The Bill Images tab also provides for three different naming/file linking conventions for bill images:

Bill Image Table: When this option is selected, an EnergyCAP table that is populated by the user MIS team via an external process is used to determine the bill image filename. Three text strings--Image Path, Bill Image Table value, and file Extension--are automatically concatenated by EnergyCAP to produce the bill image link for display of the actual bill image from the View Bill and Edit Bill windows.
Control Code: The bill image filename is equated with the Control Code entered during the bill entry process. Three text strings--Image Path, Control Code, and file Extension--are automatically concatenated by EnergyCAP to produce the bill image link for display of the actual bill image from the View Bill and Edit Bill windows.
Batch Code: The bill image filename is identical to the Batch Code associated with the bill. This is the most common bill image management process; all bills associated with the batch are associated with a single filename (usualy PDF format) that is identical to the Batch Code. Three text strings--Image Path, Batch Code, and file Extension--are automatically concatenated by EnergyCAP to produce the bill image link for display of the actual bill image from the View Bill and Edit Bill windows.

Cost Avoidance tab

The Cost Avoidance tab provides options for setting the default Baseline Start date, the baseline Length (12 to 36 months are acceptable values) and the Savings Start date (the date at which EnergyCAP will begin to provide cost avoidance analysis).

The Cost Avoidance tab also provides for input of Balance Point Temperatures--the temperature 'tipping point' above which the building requires cooling and below which the buidling requires heating. For most buildings, the default value of 55 degrees is an appropriate setting.

For additional information, see the Cost Avoidance topic group.

Other Cost Avoidance Global Options include:

AUC (Average Unit Cost) Safety Min[imum]--this value is set at .5 by default to prevent a skewed determination of AUC in the case of accounts/meters with minimum energy usage as compared to baseline usage.
AUC (Average Unit Cost) Safety Max[imum]--this value is set at 5.00 by default to prevent a skewed determination of AUC in the case of accounts/meters with minimum energy usage as compared to baseline usage.
Min[imum] Degree Day Per Day--this value is used by EnergyCAP in analysis of weather data to determine whether the month in question is a heating month, a cooling month, or both. If the Minimum Degree Day Per Day value is exceeded by total Degree Days Per Day in the analysis month, then the month is considered a heating/cooling month. The default value of .01 is commonly used.

Reports tab

The Reports tab provides for an additional (optional) heading that will appear immediately beneath the Organization Name (see Settings tab, above) for all Reports generated by EnergyCAP.

The Reports tab also provides options for entering the path information for the folder containing the EnergyCAP Report (RPT) files.  If reports will be shared between several EnergyCAP users, this path will be the centralized report location for all EnergyCAP users. This path is also used to update EnergyCAP reports via the automated Update Reports option in EnergyCAP (Report/Update Reports from the Report Manager).

Mail tab

The Mail tab provides options for input of the SMTP server, User name, From e-mail address and the communication Port associated with certain legacy e-mail processes in EnergyCAP, including a report export option. These earlier functions have been replaced by the new Report E-Mail Groups option in EnergyCAP, and are no longer recommended for use.

The User Manager contains shortcut tools you can use to access user functions. 

The User Manager provides tools for maintaining users in your organization. You can:

• Create, Modify or Delete user roles

• Create, Modify or Delete users

• Assign roles to users

• Assign custom permissions to users

• Set user's security access to places and cost centers

The User Manager workspace lists users by their user ID, full name, user role, and topmost place/cost center view permissions. Sort the lists alphabetically by clicking on a column heading. Sort the lists in reverse order by clicking the column heading once more.

Accessing the User Manager

1. On the navigation bar, select the Setup module.

2. Click the Users icon . The User Manager appears.

WHAT IS A USER ROLE? A User Role is a predefined set of client-configured permissions that essentially determine what EnergyCAP options are accessible to a specific user, and what actions the user is allowed to perform.

WHY USE THEM? EnergyCAP User Roles are designed to streamline the process of adding EnergyCAP users and to help ensure consistency and integrity when managing users across your enterprise.

HOW DO I USE THEM? First, it is important to understand the various permissions that are available in EnergyCAP. An alphabetical User Permissions checklist of Managers* and available Actions is available.

*A “Manager” in EnergyCAP is an interface element that “manages” a related group of EnergyCAP functions, e.g. Facility Manager, Account Manager, etc.

Second, determine the unique user roles that would be applicable in your organization, and what permissions would be required for each role. For example, separate User Roles might be defined for different job responsibilities or user types including:

• Bill Entry
• Administration
• Accounting
• Building Manager
• View Only

Use the User Permissions checklist when deciding what Managers and actions to include for each defined User Role. The Check box in the right-hand column of the checklist can be used to identify the appropriate Managers and Action Levels that should be selected for the User Role. Once the checklist for each of the User Roles required for your organization is complete, it can be used as a reference for setting up the User Role.

The User Roles Editor provides tools to define and maintain various user roles, each with specific permissions for access to Energy CAP Enterprise features/modules. A user that is assigned a User Role ‘inherits’ the security and access privileges that the User Role defines. Once assigned, the role is actually "time-stamped" to the user--the permissions remain with that user until they are directly modified or a new User Role is assigned.

Defining roles enables the EnergyCAP administrator to more efficiently manage multiple users and permissions. Most large organizations define several different EnergyCAP User Roles—Data Entry, Accounting, Administration, Building Manager, Energy Manager, etc. With User Roles, it is quick and easy to assign and reassign security and access rights.

Accessing the User Roles Editor

1. Select Setup > Users. The User Manager will be displayed.

2. From the User menu, select Editors > User Roles. OR click the User Roles button from the User Manager title bar. The User Role window will open.

   • Roles are displayed by their title. You can sort the list by clicking on the column heading. Sort the list in reverse order by clicking the column heading once more.

3. You can also Modify or Delete user roles

1. Exit the User Roles window by clicking Close.

Options for Modifying User Permissions

Follow the instructions below to modify the users' roles/permissions that have changed:

• Assign roles to users

• Assign custom permissions to users

• Set user's security access to places and cost centers

Default User Roles

Administrator - Provides full view and write access to all menus, features, and functions. The Administrator User Role is the only role that can create new users or change User Role permissions.

Bill Entry & Account Setup - Provides full view and write access to all menus, features, and functions with the exception of User Role creation/modification. This role is ideal for a Data Entry Specialist who may be managing day-to-day bill processing and associated setup tasks.

Building Administrator - Provides view access for all menus, features, and functions. Write access is limited to building and meter Setup data such as name, address, floor area, and ENERGY STAR attributes. This role is ideal for multiple-building administrators.

Bill Entry Only - Provides full view access for all menus, features, and functions. Write access is provided for all bill entry functions. This role is ideal for distance users who receive bills and need to enter them into the system.

Building Manager - View Only - Provides view access to Setup, Accounting, Vendor contacts, and Reporting. This role is ideal for a department/building manager or consultant.

Public - View Only - Provides view access to Facilities, Groups, and Public (Shared) Reports. Permissions are similar to those of Building Manager - View Only, but does not allow view of Accounting and Vendor contacts. This role is ideal for public stakeholders in an organization.

Public - Reports Only - Provides view access to Public (Shared) Reports in the application. This role is ideal for users who need to run reports on a periodic basis.

When creating a User Role, it is necessary to assign the role a unique name then add permissions to the role to access certain functionality.

1. Select Setup > Users. The User Manager appears.

2. From the User menu, select Editors > User Roles. Or click the User Roles button from the User Manager Title Bar. The User Role Editor window will open.

3. Click Add ( ). The Create Role window will open.
   

4. Select the General tab to enter the role name and assign permissions.

5. Enter a name for the user role. You are limited to 32 characters.

6. Use the Name field under the General tab to enter the User Role name. Name lengths are limited to 32 characters. If desired, click Select All to select all permissions for this User Role. Or click Select None to clear all permissions.

7. To refine the User Role, click the 'Plus' icon in the Options pane to expand the Application folder. A list of the various application objects associated with EnergyCAP will appear.

8. Click on an application object and then click the checkbox(es) to select or deselect the appropriate User Role permissions from the Access options for that object (View/Modify/Delete/Create/Execute). When a permission is selected, a checkmark will appear in the checkbox.
   

9. Repeat the previous step with each application object until the User Role has been granted all necessary permissions or restrictions.

10. After making desired selections, click OK to save the changes and exit the Create Role window. The new User Role will now appear in the User Role Editor window.

11. Exit the User Role Editor window by clicking Close.

When modifying a user role, you can change the role name and permissions to access functionality. If you modify a role, you can either update all users with this role in order to assign the new permissions to these users OR, if you do not update these users, they retain the permissions assigned to the role before the modification.

Follow the instructions below to modify the users' roles/permissions:

• Assign roles to users

• Assign custom permissions to users

• Set user's security access to places and cost centers

1. Select Setup > Users. The User Manager will be displayed.

2. From the User menu, select Editors > User Roles. The User Roles window will open.

3. Select the appropriate role to modify.

4. Click . The Role Properties will open.

5. Select the General tab.

6. Change the role name by clearing the Name field then entering the new role name. You are limited to 32 characters.

7. Change permissions by:

   1. Selecting the appropriate setting from the Objects list.

   2. Selecting the level of access desired for this setting.

   3. Repeating steps a and b until the role has the necessary permissions.

8. After making your selections, click OK. The Confirm window will open.

   • Select Yes to apply the changes to all users with this role.

   • Select No to manually apply the changes to users.

The Role Properties will close.

9. Repeat steps 3-8 to modify additional user roles.

10. Exit the User Roles window by clicking Close.

When deleting a role, users with that role retain the permissions assigned to the role (which will then be displayed as "Custom" in the User Properties window) before the deletion.

Follow the instructions below to modify the users' roles/permissions that have changed:

• Assign roles to users

• Assign custom permissions to users

• Set user's security access to places and cost centers

1. Select Setup > Users. The User Manager appears.

2. From the User menu, select Editors > User Roles. The User Roles window will open.

3. Select the role to delete.

4. Click . The Confirm window will open.

   • Select Yes to delete this role and continue.

   • Select Yes to all to delete all selected roles.

   • Select No to cancel this deletion and continue.

   • Select No to all to cancel the operation.

5. Exit the User Roles window by clicking Close.

When creating a user, you assign the user a unique ID, a password, permissions, and security access to areas of your dataset. Passwords are required when logging on to the application.

1. Select Setup | Users. The User Manager appears.

2. From the User menu, select New. The Create User window appears.

   • Select the General tab to enter the user's name and set the user's ID and password.

   • Select the Permissions tab to assign a user role or set permissions.

   • Select the Security tab to set the user's accessibility to places and cost centers.

3. After making your selections, click OK.

General tab

1. In the ID field, enter the appropriate user ID. You are limited to 32 characters.

2. In the Full Name field, enter the user's first name and surname. You are limited to 32 characters.

3. Click Password to set the user's password (required). The New Password window appears.

   1. Enter the password.

   2. Re-confirm the password.

   3. Click OK. The New Password window closes.

Active Directory: Click this checkbox if user access/security is managed via Active Directory. Consult your company IT contact for more information.

Strong password: Click this checkbox to require a strong password for this user. Strong passwords must be 8-16 characters long and contain uppercase letter(s), lowercase letter(s), number(s), and symbol(s).  Acceptable symbols include !@#$%^&*()<>. EnergyCAP can also require password changes upon login after a set number of days.  So an admin can create users with a default password and then upon login require the user to change password to either a simple or strong password.

Require password change upon next login: Click this checkbox to prompt the User to change the password on the next login.

Password expires after "x" days: Input the number of days (1-999) in the password cycle.
EXAMPLE: If 30 is input, the User will be prompted to change the password every 30 days.
If no password change will be required, leave the default setting of "0".

Permission tab

When assigning permissions to a user, the custom permissions override a user role assignment.

1. To assign a pre-defined role:

   1. In the User Roles section Set to: list select the appropriate role.

   2. Click Set to save.

2. To assign custom permissions:

   1. In the Custom Settings section, select the appropriate setting from the Objects list.

   2. Select the level of access desired for this setting.

   3. Repeat steps a and b until the user has the proper access to all necessary permissions.

   4. Click Set to save.

Security tab

1. To assign the top place a user can access:

   • In the Top-most Place section, select the appropriate place. All children of this place are also accessible to the user.

2. To assign the top cost center a user can access:

   • In the Top-most Cost Center section, select the appropriate cost center. All children of this cost center are also accessible to the user.

You can modify a user's ID, name, password, permissions, and security access to areas of your dataset. Passwords are required when logging on to the application.

1. Select Setup > Users. The User Manager appears.

2. Select the appropriate user to modify.

3. From the File menu, select Properties. The User Properties window appears.

   • Select the General tab to modify the user's name, ID, or password.

   • Select the Permissions tab to change the user's assigned role or permissions.

   • Select the Security tab to change the user's accessibility to places and cost centers.

4. After making your selections, click OK.

General tab

1. Modify the user ID by clearing the User ID field then entering the new user ID.

2. Modify the user name by clearing the Full Name field then entering the new user name. You are limited to 32 characters.

3. To change the password (required), click Password. The New Password window appears.

   1. Enter the new password.

   2. Re-confirm the new password.

   3. Click OK. The New Password window closes.

Active Directory: Click this checkbox if user access/security is managed via Active Directory. Consult your company IT contact for more information.

Strong password: Click this checkbox to require a strong password for this user. Strong passwords must be 8-16 characters long and contain uppercase letter(s), lowercase letter(s), number(s), and symbol(s).  Acceptable symbols include !@#$%^&*()<>. EnergyCAP can also require password changes upon login after a set number of days.  So an admin can create users with a default password and then upon login require the user to change password to either a simple or strong password.

Require password change upon next login: Click this checkbox to prompt the User to change the password on the next login.

Password expires after "x" days: Input the number of days (1-999) in the password cycle.
EXAMPLE: If 30 is input, the User will be prompted to change the password every 30 days.
If no password change will be required, leave the default setting of "0".

Permission tab

When assigning custom permissions to a user, the custom permissions override a user role assignment.

1. To assign a different pre-defined role:

   1. In the User Roles section Set to: list, select the appropriate role.

   2. Click Set to save.

2. To change custom permissions:

   1. In the Custom Settings section, select the appropriate setting from the Objects list.

   2. Select the level of access (View/Modify/Delete/Create/Execute) available and desired for this setting.

   3. Repeat steps a and b until the user has the proper access to all necessary permissions.

   4. Click Set to save.

Security tab

1. To change the top place a user can access:

   • In the Top-most Place section, select the appropriate place. All children of this place are also accessible to the user.

2. To change the top cost center a user can access:

   • In the Top-most Cost Center section, select the appropriate cost center. All children of this cost center are also accessible to the user.

1. Select Setup > Users. The User Manager appears.

2. Select the user to delete

3. From the User menu, select Delete. The Confirm window appears.

   • Select Yes to delete the user and continue.

   • Select Yes to all to delete all selected users.

   • Select No to cancel this deletion and continue.

   • Select No to all to cancel the operation.

NOTE: A user record can be permanently deleted ONLY when that user has never created or modified any records in the EnergyCAP database (a 'view-only' user, for example) . Once the user ID appears in a record, SQL will roll back the delete transaction causing the username to re-appear in the list of Users. This is because EnergyCAP does not permit a record (a bill or account record, for example), that references a non-existent user ID as the ‘created by’ or ‘last modified by’ user. SQL does not allow this “broken reference link.”

What can be done is that the inactive user’s login name and password can be altered so that all 'deleted' (inactive) users fall at the bottom of the User list and can never be used as a login. For example, add an “x” or "z" prefix to the user name (x-John Smith) and then change the password. All of the 'x-' names will appear at the bottom of the User list, and the record of all database actions (bills created or modified by John Smith, for example) will remain for future reference.

User roles are given custom permissions to Energy CAP Enterprise functionality. The role is actually "time-stamped" to the user. If you modify or delete a role, users with that role retain the permissions assigned to the role before the deletion or modification. You must assign users the modified role to use the new permissions.

1. Select Setup | Users. The User Manager appears.

2. Select the appropriate user.

3. From the File menu, select Properties. The User Properties dialog box appears.

4. Select the Permissions tab.

5. In the User Roles section, from the Set to: drop-down list, select the appropriate role.

6. Click Set to save.

7. After making your selections, click OK.

When assigning custom permissions to a user, the custom permissions override a user role assignment.

1. Select Setup > Users. The User Manager appears.

2. Select the appropriate user.

3. From the File menu, select Properties. The User Properties window appears.

4. Select the Permissions tab.

5. In the Custom Settings pane, click the Plus icon to reveal the application settings.  

6. Click each of the application modules and objects and then select the appropriate Access rights for each by clicking the checkbox associated with each action (View/Modify/Delete/Create/Execute).

7. Click Set to save.

8. After making your selections, click OK.

1. Select Setup > Users. The User Manager appears.

2. Select the appropriate user.

3. From the File menu, select Properties. The User Properties window appears.

4. Select the Security tab.

5. To assign the top place a user can access:

• In the Top-most Place section, select the appropriate place. All 'children' of this place are also accessible to the user.

6. To assign the top cost center a user can access:

• In the Top-most Cost Center section, select the appropriate cost center. All 'children' of this cost center are also accessible to the user.

7. After making your selections, click OK.

To access User Permissions, click Setup > Users > New User

Items in BOLD CAPS are primary folders/permission categories. Generally View-Only privileges are granted at the primary folder level. Secondary folders provide additional granularity for assigning additional privileges for specific actions (View, Modify, Delete, Create, Execute, as applicable).

NOTE: Some items may not applicable in the EnergyCAP Browser Version.

The Contact Manager contains a number of shortcut icons and buttons you can use to access contact functions:

Toolbar Icon	Shortcut Name	Description
	New	Creates a new contact (vendor, person, or customer)
	Delete	Deletes the selected vendor, person, or customer
	Properties	Opens the Properties window for the selected vendor, person, or customer
	Favorite Reports	Accesses report favorites
	Help	Accesses online help
	New Contact	Opens the Create window for a new contact.
	New Contract Find	Opens the Vendor Properties window. Click the Contracts tab to manage vendor Contracts.
	Find [Vendor]	Opens the Vendor Selection window.
	Refresh	Refreshes the display with the most current information.

The Contact Manager allows you to create, modify, and delete contacts. Three contact types are defined in EnergyCAP:

• Vendors
• People
• Customers

The Contact Manager workspace provides three tab views:

• The Vendors tab lists vendors by code, display, business phone number and business email address. A Vendor is a service provider with which you typically have a contractual relationship and is responsible for providing information. This information can be a bill, information that is contained on a bill, interval meter data, weather data, or counter data. Vendors may be used to setup Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) import scripts for importing billing data into EnergyCAP Enterprise. In order to create accounts, vendors must be created. For information on using the account/place search feature from the Vendor tab, see Locating Accounts and Accessing Account Properties from the Vendor Contact Manager.

• The People tab lists individuals by name, vendor, business phone number, and business email address. People can be associated with a vendor or place as a contact.

• The Customers tab lists customers by code, display, business phone number and business email address. A customer can be associated with an account as a contact.

You can sort the lists by clicking on a column heading. Sort the lists in reverse order by clicking the column heading once more.

Accessing the Contact Manager

1. On the navigation bar, select the Setup module.

2. Click the Contacts icon . The Contact Manager appears.

1. Select Setup > Contacts. The Contact Manager appears.

2. From the Contact menu, select New > Vendor. The Create Vendor window appears.

   • Select the General tab to enter the code, display, and addresses.

   • Select the Contact Info tab to enter email addresses and phone numbers.

   • Select the Other tab to enter additional information such as the industry code or tax ID.

   • Select the Contracts tab to enter contract information associated with this vendor.

1. Select Setup > Contacts. The Contact Manager appears.

2. From the Vendors tab, double-click on the desired vendor. Or right-click the vendor name and select Properties from the popup menu. The Vendor Properties window appears.

   • Select the General tab to enter the code, display, and addresses.

   • Select the Contact Info tab to enter email addresses and phone numbers.

   • Select the Other tab to enter additional information such as the industry code or tax ID.

   • Select the Contracts tab to enter contract information associated with this vendor.

3. After making your selections, click OK.

See below for additional information on the vendor tabs.

General tab

1. In the Code field, enter the unique, user-defined identifier.

2. In the Display field, enter the name to appear throughout the system.

3. Create an address by selecting the appropriate address type (/Building/Physical/Service) from the drop-down menu, then clicking the Address button. The Address window appears. Input the requested contact address information in the fields provided.

• Repeat step 3 to create other addresses if desired. Click OK when done to save changes and exit the Address window. Then click OK again to close the Vendor Properties window.

Contact Info tab

1. Create an email address by selecting the email type (Alternate/Business/Home), then pressing the Tab key to move the cursor/focus to the address field. Use the computer keyboard to input the updated address.

2. Create a phone number by selecting the desired Phone type using the drop-down menu provided. Then click the Plus button (+) for the selected Phone type (the Phone window will open) and use the computer keyboard to input current information. Click OK to save changes and close the Phone window. Then click OK again to close the Vendor Properties window.

Other tab

When importing EDI data, the data used is available to all vendors having the same import ID as the ID used in the EDI file.

1. In the Industry Code field, enter the North American Industry Code System (NAICS) or the

   Standard Industry Code (SIC) assigned by the government.

2. In the DNB Number field, enter the unique company identifier issued by Dun & Bradstreet.

3. In the Tax ID Number field, enter the federal government's unique identifier for the company.

4. In the EDI Import ID field, enter the EDI import ID.

Contracts tab

The Contracts tab provides an interface for entering detailed contract information for a specific vendor. The Contracts > General tab maintains the user-defined Contract name, associated Commodity, Start date, Renewal Reminder Date, and Expiration Date, as well as a Contract Description and any Notes relating to the Contract.

When the computer internal clock passes the Renewal Reminder Date, a red exclamation mark (!) will appear to the left of the Vendor Code in the Contact Manager (Vendor tab).

Once the Contract has been created and saved, accounts associated with that vendor can be assigned to the contract by clicking the Contracts > Accounts tab and clicking the On Contract checkbox, or by selecting the contract via the Account Properties/Contracts tab.

! When a vendor is deleted, all Contacts associated with the vendor are also deleted. !

Following are cases in which a vendor cannot be deleted:

• A vendor cannot be deleted if inactive or active accounts are assigned to that vendor.
• A vendor cannot be deleted if contracts or rates associated with that vendor exist.
• A vendor cannot be deleted if a rate variable has been created for an associated rate.

To delete a vendor:

1. Select Setup > Contacts. The Contact Manager appears.

2. From the Contact menu, select View > Vendors or select the Vendors tab.

3. Select the vendor(s) to delete. Use the Ctrl-Click and Shift-Click keyboard/mouse functionality if multiple vendors are to be selected.

4. From the Contact menu, select Delete. The Confirm window appears.

   • Select Yes to delete the vendor and continue.

   • Select Yes to all to delete all selected vendors.

   • Select No to cancel this deletion and continue.

   • Select No to all to cancel the operation.

With EnergyCAP Enterprise Release 6.1and later, the Vendor Contact Manager incorporates several helpful functions to assist the user in locating accounts associated with the vendor, and viewing and making changes to account properties.

To access the Vendor Contact Manager, click Setup>Contacts. Then click the Vendor tab at the bottom of the display window. The Vendor Contact Manager will be displayed.

Unlike the People and Customers views in EnergyCAP, the Vendor window is divided into two primary panes. The upper pane lists existing vendors in alphanumeric order.

NOTE: The vendor list in the upper pane can be sorted (A-Z, Z-A) by any column simply by clicking the column header.

The bottom pane displays a list of accounts associated with the currently-selected (highlighted) vendor. The following information is provided for each account:

• Account Code
• Account Display Name
• Service Address
• City
• State
• Zip
• Active indicator
• Parent Cost Center
• Cost Center Display Name
• Acount ID (internal EnergyCAP identifier)

Locating a Specific Vendor Account

Since some large organizations have dozens or even hundreds of accounts associated with a single vendor, the bottom pane of the vendor list has been designed to assist the user in quickly locating a specific account in EnergyCAP and maintaining the properties of that account.

To locate a specific vendor account in EnergyCAP:

1. Click the desired Vendor from the vendor list in the upper pane of the Vendor Contact Manager. Accounts associated with the vendor will be displayed in the lower pane.
2. Input an initial search string (alphanumeric series) for either the Account Code, Account Display Name or Service Address into the Search field in the bottom pane. As the string is being entered, a list of matching accounts with records beginning with that string will be dynamically displayed in the bottom pane of the display. The matching entry will be highlighted in color.
   
3. Once the account has been located, additional functionality is also available. To locate the account in the Account Manager Tree View, right-click the account row in the bottom pane of the Vendor Contact Manager. A popup menu will appear.
4. Select Locate Account from the popup menu options. The Account Manager will be displayed, and the specific account will be highlighted in the Account Manager Tree View. Its associated properties will be visible in the right pane of the Account Manager dispay.

Accessing Account Properties from the Vendor Contact Manager

To access and/or edit Account Properties from the Vendor Contact Manager:

1. Open the Vendor Contact Manager (Setup>Contacts>Vendor Tab).
2. Select the vendor associated with the account to be located and/or edited.
3. Locate the associated account from the account list in the bottom pane of the display.
4. Right-click any cell containing data associated with the desired account. A popup menu will open.
5. Click to select Properties from the popup menu. The Properties window for the associated account will open.

NOTE: If the user has Account editing permissions, the Account Properties can be modified and saved per the usual procedure.

1. Select Setup > Contacts. The Contact Manager appears. Click the People tab at the bottom of the Manager.

2. From the Contact menu, select New > Person. Or right-click anywhere in the Contact Manager window and select New > Person from the popup menu. The Create Person window appears.

   • Select the General tab to enter the person's name, associated vendor, and addresses. Click the Full Name button to add first name, middle name and last name details. If desired, select an associated vendor for the contact, using the drop-down list provided. If desired, select an address type (Billing/Physical/Service) from the drop-down list and then click the Address button to input the address details in the Address window.

   • Select the Contact Info tab to enter email addresses and phone numbers.

3. After making your selections, click OK.

General tab

1. Create the person's name by clicking the Full Name button. The Name window appears.

   1. create the appropriate fields.

   2. Click OK. The Name window closes.

2. If applicable, select a new vendor.

   • If the vendor does not exist, refer to Creating a Vendor.

3. Create an address by selecting the appropriate address type (/Building/Physical/Service) from the drop-down menu, then clicking the Address button. The Address window appears. Input the requested contact address information in the fields provided.

• Repeat step 3 to create other addresses. Click OK when done to save changes and exit the Address window. Then click OK again to close the Create Person window.

Contact Info tab

1. Create an email address by selecting the email type (Alternate/Business/Home), then pressing the Tab key to highlight the existing e-mail. Use the computer keyboard to input the updated address.

2. Create a phone number by selecting the desired Phone type from the drop-down menu and then clicking the Plus button (+) for the desired Phone type (the Phone window will open) and then using the computer keyboard to input current information. Then cick OK to save changes and close the Phone window. Then click OK again to close the Create Person window.

1. Select Setup > Contacts. The Contact Manager appears.

2. Select the person to modify.

3. From the File menu, select Properties. The Person Properties window appears.

   • Select the General tab to modify the person's name, associated vendor, and addresses.

   • Select the Contact Info tab to modify email addresses and phone numbers.

4. After making your selections, click OK.

See below for additional information on tab selections.

General tab

1. Modify the person's name by clicking the Full Name button. The Name window appears.

   1. Modify the appropriate fields.

   2. Click OK. The Name window closes.

2. If applicable, select a new vendor.

   • If the vendor does not exist, refer to Creating a Vendor.

3. Modify an address by selecting the appropriate address type (/Building/Physical/Service) from the drop-down menu, then clicking the Address button. The Address window appears. Input the requested contact address information in the fields provided.

• Repeat step 3 to modify other addresses. Click OK when done to save changes and exit the Address window. Then click OK again to close the Person Properties window.

Contact Info tab

1. Modify an email address by selecting the email type (Alternate/Business/Home), then pressing the Tab key to highlight the existing e-mail. Use the computer keyboard to input the updated address.

2. Modify a phone number by clicking the Plus button for the desired Phone type (the Phone window will open) and then using the computer keyboard to delete obsolete information and replace it with current information. Then cick OK to save changes and close the Phone window. Then click OK again to close the Person Properties window.

1. Select Setup > Contacts. The Contact Manager appears.

2. From the Contact menu, click to select the People tab. Or right-click in the Contact Manager window and select View > Person from the popup menu.

3. Select/highlight the individual to delete. Use the Ctrl-Click or Shift-Click key and mouse combinations to select multiple Contacts if desired.

4. From the Contact menu, select Delete. Or right-click and select Delete from the popup menu. Or press the Delete key on the computer keyboard. The Confirm window appears.

   • Select Yes to delete the person and continue.

   • Select Yes to all to delete all selected people.

   • Select No to cancel this deletion and continue.

   • Select No to all to cancel the operation.

1. Select Setup > Contacts. The Contact Manager appears.

2. From the Contact menu, select New > Customer. Or right-click anywhere in the Contact Manager and select New > Customer from the popup menu. The Create Customer window appears.

   • Select the General tab to enter the code, display, and addresses.

   • Select the Contact Info tab to enter email addresses and phone numbers.

3. After making your selections, click OK.

For additional information about tab options, see below.

General tab

1. In the Code field, enter the unique, user-defined identifier.

2. In the Display field, enter the name to appear throughout the system.

1. Create an address by selecting the appropriate address type (/Building/Physical/Service) from the drop-down menu, then clicking the Address button. The Address window appears. Input the requested contact address information in the fields provided.

• Repeat step 3 to create other addresses if desired. Click OK when done to save changes and exit the Address window. Then click OK again to close the Create Customer window.

Contact Info tab

1. Create an email address by selecting the email type (Alternate/Business/Home), then pressing the Tab key to move the cursor/focus to the address field. Use the computer keyboard to input the updated address.

2. Create a phone number by selecting the desired Phone type using the drop-down menu provided. Then click the Plus button (+) for the selected Phone type (the Phone window will open) and use the computer keyboard to input current information. Click OK to save changes and close the Phone window. Then click OK again to close the Create Customer window.

1. Select Setup > Contacts. The Contact Manager appears.

2. From the Contact menu, select View > Customer. Or click the Customer tab at the bottom of the Contact Manager window.

3. Select the customer to modify.

4. From the File menu, select Properties. Or double-click the customer name from the list. Or right-click the customer name from the list and select Properties from the popup menu. The Customer Properties window appears.

   • Select the General tab to modify the code, display, or addresses.

   • Select the Contact Info tab to modify email addresses or phone numbers.

5. After making your selections, click OK.

General tab

1. Modify the code by clearing the Code field then entering the new code.

2. Modify the display by clearing the Display field then entering the new display.

3. Modify an address by selecting the appropriate address type (/Building/Physical/Service) from the drop-down menu, then clicking the Address button. The Address window appears. Input the requested contact address information in the fields provided.

• Repeat step 3 to modify other addresses. Click OK when done to save changes and exit the Address window. Then click OK again to close the Customer Properties window.

Contact Info tab

1. Modify an email address by selecting the email type (Alternate/Business/Home), then pressing the Tab key to highlight the existing e-mail. Use the computer keyboard to input the updated address.

2. Modify a phone number by clicking the Plus button for the desired Phone type (the Phone window will open) and then using the computer keyboard to delete obsolete information and replace it with current information. Then cick OK to save changes and close the Phone window. Then click OK again to close the Customer Properties window.

1. Select Setup > Contacts. The Contact Manager appears.

2. From the Contact menu, select View > Customer... or select the Customers tab from the bottom of the Contact Manager window.

3. Select the customer(s) to delete. To select multiple customers, use the Ctrl-Click and Shift-Click keyboard/mouse combination.

4. From the Contact menu, select Delete. Or right-click and select Delete from the popup menu. The Confirm window appears.

   • Select Yes to delete the vendor and continue.

   • Select Yes to all to delete all selected vendors.

   • Select No to cancel this deletion and continue.

   • Select No to all to cancel the operation.

The Facility Manager toolbar includes several shortcut buttons to initiate common actions. The function of each button is described below.

Toolbar button	Description
	Clicking the New Place button opens the Create Place window to enter new place data.
	Clicking the New Counter button opens the New Counter Wizard; the Wizard will walk through the setup process for creating a new counter.
	Clicking the Edit Readings button opens the Readings window, which includes an intuitive interface for entering data at the intervals specified for the selected meter or counter. ! You must have a meter or counter selected BEFORE clicking the button!
	Clicking the Serial Number button opens the Properties window for the selected meter or counter at the Specific tab, enabling the user to quickly enter serial number information for the meter or counter. ! You must have a meter or counter selected BEFORE clicking the button!
	Clicking the Move button opens the Browse Places window, which enables the user to select a new location for the selected item.
	Clicking the Options button opens the Facility Options window, which enables the user to select Facility tree display options
	Clicking the Find Meter button opens the Search window, which enables the user to look up a meter anywhere in the organization using one or more of several search parameters/filters.
	Clicking the Refresh button refreshes/reloads the screen display, updating any charts and graphs to reflect current data.

WATCH VIDEO on Accounts, Meters, Places & Groups (Basic Session)

WATCH VIDEO on Accounts, Meters, Places & Groups (Advanced Session)

The Facility Manager represents the relationships between physical and organizational entities in your organization.  The representation is a tree structure display that is similar to the Windows Explorer (My Computer) display of folders and files.  This representation, the Facility tree, was chosen for its familiarity and because it is a logical way to create an easily navigable organization hierarchy.

Items that appear in the Facility tree are:

• Places (with default Place Types of Organization, Site, Building, Floor, and Room).
• Meters
• Counters

For example, if you have a Division of your Organization that oversees four Buildings, you can create a Place for the Division and then "nest" additional Places for the four Buildings within it.  In addition, within each Building, you can create multiple Meters that correspond to the physical utility meters supplying services to the Building.

To collapse or expand the tree view, click the "plus" or "minus" icon that preceeds the place name. Or highlight the desired place name/node and press the right or left arrow key. Navigate longer tree views by using the scroll bar or up/down arrow keys.

The Facility Manager workspace is divided into two panes:
Hierarchy pane– A hierarchy of Places (Facility tree) displayed similarly to the Windows Explorer (My Computer) display of folders and files.



PowerView pane – Displays PowerViews for the selected Place, Meter, or Counter.  PowerView information includes Property, Commodity, Monthly, Greenhouse Gas, Trends, Billing, Demand, and Cost Avoidance data.
! The PowerView pane is capable of rendering multiple views depending on the tab selected at the bottom of the pane!

PowerView Links

PowerView LINKS (represented by the blue underlined hyperlink text) enable the user to navigate to other, related, Managers and energy data. Click the hyperlink to display the related information as follows:

PLACE LINKS:

The following links are available from the PowerView pane when a Place is selected in the Tree View:

CODE: Click the link text to display and edit Place properties for the node of the Tree View that is highlighted/selected.
CONTACT: Click the link text to display and edit Contact information associated with the selected Place.

WEATHER STATION: Click the link text to display the Weather Manager and view graphical data for that Weather Station.

ENERGY STAR STATUS: Click the link text to Disable or Enable Energy STAR status for a Place. The Place Properties window will open to the ENERGY STAR tab, allowing updates to the selected Place.

COST AVOIDANCE: Click to open the Cost Avoidance Manager for the selected Place.

DISPLAY CHART DATA: Click the Display Chart Data link to open a display window with the PowerView graphs and supporting data presented in tabular format. Tabular data may be copied (Ctrl-C) and pasted (Ctrl-V) directly into applications such as Microsoft^® Excel^® and Microsoft Word^®. Individual graphs can also be copied to the Windows clipboard by right-clicking the graph and selecting Copy from the popup menu options. Then the image can be pasted into other Windows^® applications.

METER LINKS:

The following links are available from the PowerView pane when a Meter is selected in the Tree View:

METER CODE: Click the link text to display the editable Meter Properties window for the meter that is selected/highlighted.

METER G/L RECORD: Click the link text to display and edit the G/L information associated with the selected meter.

COST AVOIDANCE: Click the Cost Avoidance link to open the Cost Avoidance Manager for the selected Meter.

ACCOUNT NUMBER: Click the link text to display the editable Account Properties window for the associated account.

ACCOUNT LOCATE: Click the "Locate" link text to display the account in the Account Manager Tree View.

ACCOUNT VENDOR: Click the vendor link text to display and edit Vendor Properties from the Vendor Properties window.

Each EnergyCAP User can choose to have the Facility tree displayed in the manner that is most recognizable and comfortable to them.  This setting is dynamic and can be changed at any time, or multiple times, during an EnergyCAP session.

1. Navigate to the Facility tree (Setup > Facilities). Then EITHER click on the Options button (located in the top-right corner) OR click Tools > Options – This Manager… from the menu options.
   
       OR      
   
   The Facility Options window will open.
   
   


2. Select the desired Facility tree display option by clicking the radio button corresponding to the preferred display. The Facility Options window provides three display options.
   1. The default setting is for the Place Display (name) to be shown in the Facility tree.  If this option is selected, the Facility tree will be arranged in ascending Place Display order.
   2. If the Place Code option is selected, the Facility tree will be arranged in ascending Place Code order.
   3. If the Code and Display option is selected, both the Place Code and the Place Display will appear in the Facility tree view.  The Code will appear first.  The Display will appear second and be surrounded by square brackets.  The Facility tree view will be arranged in ascending Place Code order (see example below).
      
      
3. Click OK to save the settings.

EnergyCAP provides a search/find/lookup option to assist users in browsing the Facility tree and quickly locating a particular Place, Meter or Counter.

This functionality is particularly useful for larger organizations and/or situations where the EnergyCAP user is not well-acquainted with the Facility tree hierarchy.

There are two methods for searching the Facility tree:

1. Quick Search enables searching for Meters, meter serial #, Place and Address
2. Find function enables more robust searching for Places, Counters and Meters using search operators.

Meter Quick Search (binoculars)

1. From the Facility Manager (Setup > Facilities), click on the Binoculars icon to open the Meter Selection window.
   
   
2. In the Meter Selection window, begin to enter the Meter Code in the field provided.  As you type, the list box below will be automatically pouplated with a list of matches.
   NOTES:
   Show Inactive checkbox will include inactive meters in search.
   Advanced Search checkbox will also include meter serial #, Place and Address
   For larger organizations, additional SQL operators % and _ can be used as wildcards. Use [] to define a text string or set: [a-f], [abcdef]. use [^] to define a "not like" letter, text string or series (i.e., del[^ete].
3. When the desired Meter Code appears in the list of Matches, click on it to select it.  Then click OK to locate the meter in the Facility tree.
   
   


4. The Facility tree will expand to the point where the selected Meter appears, and the meter PowerView will be displayed.

Find function

A more robust search can be made for Places, Counters and Meters using the Find function.  With Find, multiple parameters may be included in the search.

1. From the Facility Manager (Setup > Facilities), either click on the Find Meter button (located in the top-right corner), OR use the Edit > Find… menu to open the Search window.
   
   
2. In the Search for: drop-down list, select the Places, Meters, or Counters option.
3. In the Parameter: drop-down list, select the option that corresponds to known data.  The Parameter list will vary, based on what is being searched for.
4. Select an Operator from the drop-down list.  Operator options include:  Equals, Not Equals, Less Than, Greater Than, Less Than Equal, Greater Than Equal, Like, and Not Like.
   
   ! Use wildcards when using the Like and Not Like operators. Wildcards of ‘*’ and ‘?’ are available. An asterisk represents any string of characters and a question mark represents any single character. For example, using the LIKE operator, a Search value of 1* would locate all addresses beginning with 1. A Search value of ?2* would locate all addresses with a second character of 2. A Search value of *1?? would locate all addresses including a 1 with at exactly two characters following it. A Search value of *5* would locate all addresses that included the number 5. !
5. Enter the Value that you desire to use in your search, incorporating any desired wildcard characters.
6. Click the ‘+’ button to add this filter to the Filters list box.
   ! You must enter at least one filter to activate the Search button!
7. After the Search button has been activated, it is possible to create additional filters If desired. To so so, repeat steps 2-5 as follows:
   1. Click  to search using the previous filter and this filter.
   2. Click   to search using the previous filter or this filter.

1. To remove a specific filter, select it and then use the ‘-‘ button to remove it.
2. To remove all filters, use the Clear button.
3. After creating all filters, click Search.  The search results are shown in the Results text box.
   
   ! “No data found” will be displayed in the Results field if EnergyCAP Enterprise cannot locate any matching data!
   
   If the Meter find/search does not return a Result for a meter that you know is there, refer to Meter Search Fails to Find a Meter, below.
4. Double-click on the appropriate item in the Results field to open the Properties window for the found item. Or select the appropriate item in the Results field and click the Locate button from the Search window to find the item in the Facility tree.  The Search window will automatically close and EnergyCAP Enterprise will expand the Facility tree to the point where the selected item appears.
5. If desired, exit Find by clicking the Close button.

Meter Search Fails to Find a Meter

Issue:

The meter find/search does not find a meter that I know is there.

Solution:

The meter find/search will fail if there is no deviceProperty record for the meter. The deviceProperty record appears on the 'Specific' tab of meter properties and it includes, among other things, the serial number.

Under normal circumstances it's impossible for a meter to lack a deviceProperty record, but in some unusual cases in which meters were created automatically from multiple FASER datasets or possibly other automated processes, the deviceProperty record(s) may be missing.

The following SQL script will create deviceProperty records for any meters that may not have one:

INSERT INTO

DeviceProperty (propertyID, deviceID, value)

SELECT

FP.propertyID, D.deviceID, ''

FROM

LogicalDevice LD

INNER JOIN DeviceLogicalDevice DLD ON LD.logicalDeviceID = DLD.logicalDeviceID

INNER JOIN Device D ON DLD.deviceID = D.deviceID

INNER JOIN DeviceType DT ON D.deviceTypeID = DT.deviceTypeID

INNER JOIN DefaultProperty FP ON DT.deviceTypeID = FP.deviceTypeID

LEFT OUTER JOIN DeviceProperty DP ON D.deviceID = DP.deviceID

WHERE

DP.deviceID IS NULL

Places are an organizational tool for structuring the Facility tree in EnergyCAP. 

Places represent the physical structures or locations of an organization, to which meters and counters are assigned.  Places can also represent the branches of an organization, or the departments within a company, to which buildings, meters, and counters are assigned.  There is no limit to the number of Places that may be assigned to an organization.

! The Facility tree typically represents the physical realities of the organization and NOT the vendor/accounting processes. EnergyCAP provides a separate accounting Tree View for these purposes!

All logical devices (meters and counters) are dependent on places.  Therefore, it is important to logically organize Place information.  Considerations include:

• the desired level/detail of tracking to be performed
• user preferences for monitoring energy data (see below)
• naming conventions for the various Place Types and Places
• number and names for Place Types required by the organizational hierarchy
• existing organizational standards for data tracking

If it is not necessary to track energy usage down to the “room” level; the lowest organizational level of the Facility tree is typically the “building” level. EnergyCAP uses the whole building methodology for Measurement & Verification. However, EnergyCAP provides additional place types such as "room" and "floor". Additional place types can be created by the user.

The organizational structure of an organization can be changed at any time in EnergyCAP, but a well thought-out organization scheme will provide greater ease in data entry, and greater consistency and confidence in understanding and interpreting historical energy data in years to come.

EnergyCAP PowerViews (see graphic below) are displayed from the Facility tree; these charts and graphs will dynamically "roll up" the use and cost data to display only the information relevant for the currently-selected Place and/or meter.  For example, if a “building” is selected from the Facility tree, the use and cost data in the PowerViews will all be based on commodity expense and consumption associated with the meters assigned to the selected “building”.  Alternatively, if a “site” on the Facility tree that has multiple “buildings” within it is selected, the use and cost data in the PowerViews for the “site” will be the sum of use and cost for ALL meters assigned to “buildings” within the “site”.

Places represent physical structures, locations, or organizational branches of your organization.
To create a new Place using EnergyCAP Enterprise:

1. Navigate to the Facility Manager (Setup > Facilities),
   
   
2. Select an existing Place on the Facility Tree that will serve as a "parent" to the new Place. If you are creating a Building located at a specific Site, select/highlight the Site on the Facility Tree.
   
   
3. Open the Create Place window using one of the three methods below:
   1. Cick the New Place button (located in the top right corner of the screen).
   2. Right-click on the Parent Place and select the New…> Place option from the menu.
      
   3. Select the New…> Place option from the Facility menu.
      

1. In the Create Place window, enter the following information on the General tab:
   
   
   
   1. Unique, self-defined Code.  Typically, this corresponds to the Building Number (for Buildings). 
      ! The Code Field is limited to 16 Characters.  You may use letters (caps only), numbers, underscores (_), slashes (/), ampersands (&), or dashes (-), but not special characters such as pound (#), or asterisk (*)!
   2. Display.  Typically, this corresponds to the most familiar Place name. 
      NOTE:  The Display Field is limited to 32 Characters.
   3. Select an available Place Type from the drop-down menu, or create a new Place Type using the ‘+’ Button to the right of the drop-down menu.
   4. OPTIONAL – Enter the Address of the Place.
   5. OPTIONAL – Select a Contact from the drop-down menu, or create a new Contact using the ‘+’ Button to the right of the drop-down menu.
   6. OPTIONAL – Select a Weather Station from the drop-down menu.  Selecting a Weather Station completes the link necessary for Cost Avoidance to determine if any meters assigned to this Place are weather sensitive or not.
2. From the Building tab, enter the following information:
   
   
   
   1. OPTIONAL – Build Date.  The date the Place was built.
   2. OPTIONAL – Floor Area.  Changes in Floor Area are maintained here, along with the effective date of the change. 
      NOTE: Floor Areas are used to normalize use and cost data in the Group Manager and on reports. The floor area is also required for ENERGY STAR. The ENERGY STAR 'gross floor area' field is automatically populated from the Place Properties floor area, and if the floor area changes in EnergyCAP, the ENERGY STAR information is automatically updated accordingly.
3. OPTIONAL – From the Groups tab, select an existing Place Group  or groups to associate with the new Place.  Alternatively, you may create a Place Group in the Group Manager and assign all of the Places that you desire to include in the Place Group.
   
4. OPTIONAL – Enter pertinent information into the ENERGY STAR tab if the building will be submitted for an ENERGY STAR rating.
   
   
   
   1. Click the check box to indicate that this Place is an ENERGY STAR participant building.
   2. Select the ENERGY STAR Building Type from the drop-down menu.
   3. Enter the values for the ENERGY STAR Inputs.
5. Click the OK button to save the new Place. The created Place will now appear in the Facility tree in the location originally selected. 

If the Place needs to be relocated to a different branch/node of the Facility Tree, use the Move function to make changes to organization. 

To modify Place properties in EnergyCAP:

1. Navigate to the Facility Manager (Setup > Facilities).
   
   


2. Select the existing Place on the Facility Tree that you are modifying.
   
   


3. There are two methods to open the Place Properties window, so that you can make modifications to the properties.
   1. In the General PowerView, click on the Place Properties Code hyperlink.
      
   
   
   2. Select the Place in the Facility tree, then right-click and select the Properties option from the popup menu.
      
      
   
   
4. Make the appropriate edits to the Place Properties from the General, Building, Groups, and/or ENERGY STAR tabs.
   
   
   


5. Click the OK button to save the changes and close the Place Properties window.

NOTE: The Move function in EnergyCAP only supports the moving of a single Place at a time.  When a Place is moved, all "children" of that "parent" Place are moved at the same time (subsidiary hierarchy is maintained).

1. Navigate to the Facility Manager (Setup > Facilities).
   
   


2. Select the existing Place on the Facility tree that you are moving.
   
   


3. There are two ways to launch the Move function for Places:
   1. Select the Move button in the top right corner of the window   . OR...
   
   
   2. Right-click on the desired Place and select the Move… option from the popup menu.
      
      


4. The Browse Places window will open. 
   
   
   
   
   This window allows you to select the desired parent Place for the selected item. Select the destination Place in the Browse Places window.  Then click the OK button.


5. EnergyCAP will move the selected Place to the new location on the Facility tree and refresh the Facility tree.
   
   
   

1. Navigate to the Facility Manager (Setup > Facilities).
   
   


2. Select the Place that you desire to delete.
   
   


3. Use any of the following three methods to delete the Place.
   1. Press the Delete key on your keyboard.
   2. Right-click on the selected Place, and select the Delete option on the menu.
      
      
   
   
   3. With the Place selected, select the Delete option from the Facility menu.
      
      
   
   
4. In the Confirm window, click the Yes button to delete the Place. OR click No to cancel deletion of the Place.The Facility tree will automatically refresh once the Place has been deleted.
   
   

Place Types are used to classify places as a Building, Site, Organization, etc.

Place Types help with developing the hierarchy of the Facility tree.  For example, the overall Organization can be the topmost Place node.  The next level down can be the different Sites that make up the Organization.  Within each Site, the Buildings that make up the Site may appear.

Place Types are available as a filter for many reports, so that places with the selected Place Type can be included in, or excluded from, the reports.

The following are default Place Types:

• Building: For large organizations, buildings are the lowest place level where energy is tracked.  They are the physical structures that the meter(s) measuring the energy commodity consumed are attached to. Buildings are represented by the following icon on the Facility tree:
  
• Organization: An organization can either be your entire company, or it can be the Sites or Buildings managed by a department within your company.  An organization may have sub-organizations, Sites, Buildings, Floors, and Rooms below it.  Organizations are represented by the following icon on the Facility tree:
  
• Other: An unknown Place Type that can be used until the actual Place Type is determined.  Others are represented by the following icon on the Facility tree:
  

• Floor: A portion of a Building that may be metered to determine Tenant or Departmental energy consumption within the building.  Floors are represented by the following icon on the Facility tree:
  

• Room: A portion of a Floor that may be metered to determine Tenant or Departmental energy consumption within the building.  Rooms are represented by the following icon on the Facility tree:
  
• Site: A site can either be your entire company, or it can be a collection of Buildings located in close proximity to one another.  A Site may have sub-sites, Organizations, Buildings, Floors, and Rooms below it.  Sites are represented by the following icon on the Facility tree:
  

Users can add additional custom Place Types to more closely match the structure of their organization.

Place types are used to classify places as a site, building, organization, floor, etc.

To create a Place type:

1. Navigate to the Facilities Manager (Setup > Facilities).
   
   
2. Click the Facility menu item and select the Editors > Place Types option.
   
   
   
   The Place Type Editor window will open.
   
3. Click on the Button to add a new Place Type. The Create Place Type window will open.
   
   
4. Enter a unique, self-defined Code. 
   
   ! The Code Field is limited to 16 Characters.  You may use letters (caps only), numbers, underscores (_), slashes (/), ampersands (&), or dashes (-), but not special characters such as pound (#), or asterisk (*)!
5. Enter the Display that will appear throughout EnergyCAP. 
   ! The Display Field is limited to 32 Characters!
6. If the Building Type represents a physical structure and not simply an organizational division, click the Physical Structure checkbox.
7. Click the OK button to save the new Place Type.
8. Repeat previous steps to create additional Place Types.
9. When you have finished creating Place Types, click the Close button to close the Place Type Editor window.

To modify the characteristics of a Place Type:

1. Navigate to the Facilities Manager (Setup > Facilities).
   
   


2. From the Facility menu option, click Editors > Place Types. The Place Type Editor window will appear.
   
   
3. Select the desired Place Type to modify, then click on the Properties Button.
   
   


4. Modify the Code and/or Display values if desired.
   
   
5. If the Building Type represents a physical structure and not simply an organizational division, click the Physical Structure checkbox.
6. Click the OK button to save the modifications.
7. Repeat Steps 4 through 6 to modify other Place Types.
8. When you have finished modifying Place Types, click the Close button to close the Place Type Editor Window.

To delete a Place Type in EnergyCAP:

1. Navigate to the Facilities Manager (Setup > Facilities).
   
   


2. From the Facility menu options, click Editors > Place Types.
   
   


3. The Place Type Editor window will appear.
4. Select the desired Place Type to delete, then click on the button to delete it.
   
   


5. The Confirm Message window will open.  Click Yes to confirm that you want to delete the selected Place Type.  OR click No to cancel the deletion and close the window.
6. Repeat Steps 4 and 5 to delete additional Place Types.
7. When you have finished deleting Place Types, click the Close button to close the Place Type Editor window.

Meters and Counters are located within the EnergyCAP Enterprise Facility Tree.  They are the lowest level of detail tracked by EnergyCAP.

A meter is a logical device used to gather or measure commodity data.  Typically, an EnergyCAP Enterprise meter is associated with an actual physical meter attached to a building.  However, the EnergyCAP Enterprise meter may also be a ‘virtual’ meter, where a physical meter does not exist, but the commodity consumption is calculated based on either an easily measurable attribute, or an engineering analysis.  The meter is the linchpin between the Facility Tree and the Cost Center Tree in EnergyCAP Enterprise.  The meter is associated with the Place, where the commodity is consumed, and the same meter is also associated with the account, where the cost of the commodity consumed is determined by a bill.

EnergyCAP Enterprise uses different meter icons to help visually identify the commodity being tracked by the meter.

A counter is a logical device used for collecting a wider range of data than the use or cost associated with utility bills. A counter may track "non-traditional" commodities. Counter data is typically:

• available from portable meters or other tracking devices.
• relevant to a process.  Examples include hours of operation for a particular piece of machinery or equipment, or production totals (number of widgets, or weight of product produced), or number of meals served.
• related to energy consumption.  Examples include building occupancy numbers/percentages, or miles driven.

Meters and counters may have one or more channels assigned to them.  Measured channel data may be obtained via different means including a file import, manual data entry, or the use of virtual channel equations.  Meter devices/hardware may be changed over time.  EnergyCAP Enterprise maintains a history, based on installation dates, of all meter/channel or counter/channel properties.

A Meter measures the commodity use and cost for the associated Place.  A Counter measures the non-commodity use, or tracks a count of a measurable quantity, for the associated Place.

A Meter may be associated with an Account.  If so, the easiest way to create the Meter is to use the New Account/Meter Wizard in the Accounts Manager.  Follow the instructions to create a New Account/Meter.

To create a Meter that is not associated with an Account (a submeter that is only tracking use, or that is tracking interval data), or to create a Counter:

1. Navigate to the Facility Manager (Setup > Facilities) and select/highlight the Place that will be associated with the Meter or Counter.
   
   
2. There are three methods available to launch the Create Meter or Create Counter window.
   1. Click on the New Counter button (in the top right corner of the Facility Manager window) and follow the instructions in the New Counter Wizard.
      
      
   2. Select the New > Meter… or the New > Counter menu option from the Facility menu.
      
      
   3. Right-click on the Place and select the New >Meter or New >Counter option from the menu.
      
      
3. In the Create Meter or Create Counter window, input the following information in the appropriate fields on the General tab:
   1. Unique, self-defined Code: A typical schema for creating a unique Meter Code or Counter Code, is to build the code using the Building Number, an abbreviation for the commodity being tracked, and then a sequential number.  For example, the second electric meter for Building #456 would have a Meter Code of “0456E02”. 
      ! The Code field is limited to 16 Characters.  You may use letters (CAPS only), numbers, underscores (_), slashes (/), ampersands (&), or dashes (-), but not special characters such as pound (#), or asterisk (*), or spaces!
   2. Display: This can either be the same as the Code, or a more descriptive name. 
      ! The Display field is limited to 32 Characters!
   3. Time Zone: Select the Time Zone that the Meter or Counter is located in.
   4. Commodity: Select the commodity being tracked by the Meter or the non-commodity being tracked by the Counter.
   5. OPTIONAL – Address: Click the Address button to open the Address window. Enter the Meter or Counter address.
4. The Specific tab is used when importing Interval Data for the Meter or Counter and to record specific data about the Meter or Counter. Input specific information using the instructions below. When done, click the Channels tab.
   
   
   
   
1. Date Installed: Enter the Date that the Meter or Counter was installed. For installed devices, the effective date (begindate) must be later than 01/01/1900.
2. OPTIONAL – Description: Enter the Description of the Meter or Counter.
3. OPTIONAL – Import ID: Enter the Import ID for this Meter or Counter that matches up with the value in the Interval Data file. 
   ! The Import ID is used by EnergyCAP to associate the Interval Data with the proper Meter or Counter!
4. OPTIONAL – Serial Number: Enter the Serial Number for the Meter or Counter.  Typically, this number is physically stamped on the device by the manufacturer.
5. The Channels tab is used to create, modify, and maintain Manual and Simulated Channels for the Meter or Counter. 
   
   !Channels for imported Interval Data will be created automatically by EnergyCAP, based on the type of data being imported and the interval between readings!
   
   Click on the button to add a Channel.  Then follow the instructions for Creating a Channel.
   
   
6. The Accounts tab lists the Account(s) that this meter is associated with.The tab information is not editable from this view.
7. The Groups tab lists what Meter Groups the Meter is assigned to.  It also allows the Meter to be added or removed from an existing Meter Group using the "+"  or "-" buttons.
   
   
8. The Audit tab (Create Meter window only) lists Audits that are available to be executed to check either the billing or interval data for the Meter or Counter.  It also provides a description of what the Audit does.
   
   
   
   Audit Properties can be modified for this specific Meter or Counter as follows:
   1. Select the Audit from the list.
   2. Select the Property to be modified.
   3. Click the Properties button. The Create Override Value window will open.
   4. Input the audit override value and supporting detail. Then click OK.
9. Click the Rate Details tab to reveal Meter level details that can be modified for inclusion in Rate Calculations.
   
   
   If you want to modify the Meter or Counter Rate Detail:
   1. Select the desired Detail from the list.
   2. Click the Add button.
   3. Enter a Start Date for when this Rate Detail goes into effect.
   4. Enter the Value for this Rate Detail.
10. The User Fields tab allows the entry of values for Meter or Counter User Defined Fields. 
    ! If no Meter or Counter User Defined Fields have been created, this tab will not appear in the Meter or Counter Properties window!
11. The CAP tab provides the ability to make or modify Cost Avoidance settings for the Meter.  For instructions, see Cost Avoidance topics.
12. The Bill Entry Note tab allows the entry of a note to be displayed in the meter banner of the Bill Entry screen.
13. The Greenhouse Gas tab maintains the Meter settings used for Greenhouse Gas calculations.  See the Greenhouse Gas topic for instructions on setting the appropriate Scope and Factor for the meter/counter.
14. Click the OK button to save the new Meter or Counter.

1. Navigate to the Facilities Manager (Setup > Facilities) and select the existing Meter or Counter to be edited.
   
   


2. There are two methods to open either the Meter Properties or the Counter Properties window for modification:
   1. In the General tab PowerView for the selected meter/counter, click on the Device Properties Code hyperlink,
      
      
      
      OR
   2. Select the Meter or Counter from the Facility Tree, then right-click it and select the Properties option from the popup menu.
      
      


3. From the Properties window, make the appropriate edits to:
   1. Meter Properties: General, Specific, Channels, Accounts, Groups, Audit, Rate Details, user Fields, CAP, Bill Entry Note and Greenhouse Gas tabs.
   2. Counter Properties: General, Specific, Channels, and Greenhouse Gas Tabs. 
      ! Use caution when editing the Import ID on the Specific tab.  The Import ID is used by EnergyCAP to associate imported Interval Data with the proper Meter or Counter!
4. Click OK to save the modifications and close the Meter or Counter Properties window.

! The Move Function only supports the moving of a single Meter or Counter at a time!

1. Navigate to the Facilities Manager (Setup > Facilities) and in the Facilities tree, select the Meter or Counter that needs to be moved.
   
   
2. There are two ways to launch the Move function for Meters or Counters.
   1. Select the Move button in the top right corner of the window.
      
      
   2. Right-click on the Meter or Counter and select the Move option from the popup menu.
      
      
3. The Browse Places window will open.  Select the Place (destination) that the Meter or Counter should be moved to, then click OK.
   
   
   EnergyCAP will move the selected Meter or Counter to the new Place and will refresh the Facility Tree.

! Deleting a Meter or a Counter will also delete any Channel Data (Interval Data) associated with it!

! A Meter that is attached to an Account cannot be deleted.  Modify the Account to remove the Meter, then delete the Meter!

1. Navigate to the Facilities Manager (Setup > Facilities) and select from the Facilities tree the existing Meter or Counter to be deleted.
2. There are three methods delete either the Meter or the Counter.
   1. With the Meter or Counter selected, press the Delete key.
   2. With the Meter or Counter selected, right-click and select the Delete menu option.
      
      
   3. With the Meter or Counter selected, click the Facility menu item and select the Delete option from the drop-down list.
      
      
3. A Confirm window will open.
   
   
   
   To delete the meter, click Yes. Or click No to cancel deletion of the Meter or Counter.

The New Counter Wizard is used to quickly create a new Counter or counters.  A Counter measures the non-commodity use, or tracks a count of a measurable quantity, for the associated Place. The Wizard enables quick and convenient creation of new counters, but some setup options are not available. To more fully configure counter properties during setup, use the Create Counter option.

To launch the New Counter Wizard:

1. Navigate to the Facilities Manager (Setup > Facilities).
2. Click the New Counter button (in the top right corner of the Facility Manager screen).
   
   
   The New Counter Wizard will open. Click Next from the initial Wizard window to display the organization hierarchy.
   
   
3. Select the existing Place that is to be associated with the new counter. Or create a new Place by clicking the "+" button and filling in the Place information on the tabs in the Create Place window. Then click Next.
   
   
4. Select the new counter's Commodity from the drop-down box. If existing choices are inadequate, create a new counter type by clicking the button and filling in the Commodity information on the tabs in the Create Commodity window.
5. Press the Tab key to advance to the Code field, where EnergyCAP will provide a default value.  Either use this default value, or create a new one by entering it from the keyboard. 
   ! The Code field is limited to 16 Characters.  You may use letters (CAPS only), numbers, underscores (_), slashes (/), ampersands (&), or dashes (-), but not special characters such as pound (#), or asterisk (*), or spaces!
6. Press the Tab key to advance to the Code field. Either use the default Display value, or create a new one. 
   ! The Display field is limited to 32 Characters!
7. Set the Readings Interval, and indicate if multiple values should be totaled or averaged.
8. If it is necessary to change the associated place, click the Change Place button. Otherwise, click Save to save the counter. The Facilities hierarchy will be displayed (see Step 2), enabling creation of additional counters.
9. To create additional counters, repeat steps 3-8. When done creating and saving counters, click Close.

Channel data is time-series (interval) data, most often electric 15-minute KW interval data. But it can also be weather data, production data or almost any data excluding monthly utility bills.

WATCH VIDEO on interval data

EnergyCAP Enterprise supports the ability to import Interval data contained in text files, MDEF files, Modified MDEF files, and Meter Exchange files. Whatever the format, the data provider should supply files with unique vendor- and date-based names. For example, an interval data file provided by EnergyCAP, Inc. containing data for 04/06/2004 could be named ‘gss_20040406.csv’. If multiple files arrive for the same day, a suffix, such as ‘a’, ‘b’, ‘c’, etc., could be added to the filename. The imported Interval Data is stored in either a Meter Channel or a Counter Channel.

To import data into EnergyCAP, use the Import Wizard (File/Import from the Facility Manager). Please refer to Importing Meter or Counter Data for more detailed instructions.

it is not necessary to create a meter or counter channel in EnergyCAP prior to importing data. The first time the channel data is imported, a new channel will be created automatically. The user must populate the field named ImportID onthe Specific tab of Meter or Counter Properties. This is the DEVICE name that will generally appear in the first column of the import data file, and it links the imported data to the correct meter/counter and channel.

This document currently focuses on the text file specifications. Please contact EnergyCAP, Inc. for additional information about the MDEF, Modified MDEF, and Meter Exchange file specifications.

Text File Specifications

There are three text file formats available for use with EnergyCAP Enterprise. All of these formats require that the data be contained in a column based, delimited file, with a file extension of either “csv”, “dat”, “prn”, or “txt”.

Text File Format #1

• Header Row to define the columns is optional, but recommended.
• ImportID column containing the ImportID for a Meter or Counter (set this in meter or counter properties, ‘specific’ tab)
• Timestamp column containing the time when the reading occurred. The interval between the timestamps determines the channel interval. Alternatively, a column containing the Date, followed by a column containing the Time can also be used to indicate when the reading occurred.  The interval between the concatenation of the Date/Time of the readings determines the channel interval.
• Data column(s) to define the Interval Data being tracked. Each data column is for a separate channel.

Sample Data for a Meter tracking 15 minute interval data in two channels (Demand in kW, and Reactive Demand in kVAR).

ImportID,Timestamp,kWValue,kVARValue
KZG002614057,07/05/2002 00:15,22.56,8.208
KZG002614057,07/05/2002 00:30,22.368,8.064
KZG002614057,07/05/2002 00:45,21.984,7.344
KZG002614057,07/05/2002 01:00,22.464,7.536
KZG002614057,07/05/2002 01:15,27.792,12.768
KZG002614057,07/05/2002 01:30,22.656,8.064
KZG002614057,07/05/2002 01:45,22.608,8.112
KZG002614057,07/05/2002 02:00,22.464,8.16
KZG002614057,07/05/2002 02:15,22.368,8.064
KZG002614057,07/05/2002 02:30,22.224,7.536
KZG002614057,07/05/2002 02:45,22.224,7.392
KZG002614057,07/05/2002 03:00,22.656,7.488

Text File Format #2

• Header Row to define the columns is optional, but recommended.
• ImportID column containing the ImportID for a Meter or Counter.
• Timestamp column containing the time when the reading occurred. The interval between the timestamps determines the channel interval. Alternatively, a column containing the Date, followed by a column containing the Time can also be used to indicate when the reading occurred.  The interval between the concatenation of the Date/Time for both readings determines the channel interval.
• Unit column to define the unit for the Channel.
• Value column containing the reading value.

Sample Data for a Meter tracking 60 minute interval data in one Demand channel, with a unit of kW.

ImportID,Date/Timestamp,Unit,Value
TESTMETER,06/01/2003 00:00,KW,102
TESTMETER,06/01/2003 01:00,KW,100
TESTMETER,06/01/2003 02:00,KW,105
TESTMETER,06/01/2003 03:00,KW,110
TESTMETER,06/01/2003 04:00,KW,108
TESTMETER,06/01/2003 05:00,KW,120
TESTMETER,06/01/2003 06:00,KW,140
TESTMETER,06/01/2003 07:00,KW,160

Text File Format #3
• Header Row to define the columns is optional, but recommended.
• Timestamp column containing the time when the reading occurred. The interval between the timestamps determines the channel interval. Alternatively, a column containing the Date, followed by a column containing the Time can also be used to indicate when the reading occurred.  The interval between the concatenation of the Date/Time of the readings determines the channel interval.
In the example below, note the repeated Timestamp for different units.
• ImportID column containing the ImportID for a Meter or Counter.
• Unit column to define the unit for the Channel.
• Value column containing the reading value.

Sample Data for a Meter tracking 15 minute interval data in two channels (Demand, with a unit of kW, and Reactive Demand, with a unit of kVAR).

TIMESTAMP, IMPORTID, UNIT, VALUE
01/01/2003 00:15, METER001, KW, 100.25
01/01/2003 00:15, METER001, KVAR, 20.35
01/01/2003 00:30, METER001, KW, 105.45
01/01/2003 00:30, METER001, KVAR, 22.75

Important! During the import wizard process the user will specify the ‘picture’ (i.e. format) of the timestamp. Exactly follow the pattern of the examples provided! Be sure to recognize that month is 'MM' while minutes are 'mm'.

12/31/2005 12:15 MM/dd/yyyy hh:mm
123105 0:00 MMddyy h:mm
20051231 01:30 yyyyMMdd hh:mm
2005-12-31 0130 yyyy-MM-dd hhmm

Text File Format #4

Below is a sample import file with 15-minute interval data for KVar, KW, Power Factor, KVA, and additional optional fields for Actual/Estimated (A/E OR 0/1) and Note (alphanumeric field--avoid special characters and punctuation).

ESI_ID    INTV_REC_DT    INTV_BEG_TM    KVAR_QT    KW_QT    POWER_FACTR_PC    KVA_QT    Estimated    Note
KZG0026    08/17/2007    0    796    4426    98    4497    E    meter replaced
KZG0026    08/17/2007    15    816    4369    98    4445    E    
KZG0026    08/17/2007    30    809    4353    98    4428    E    
KZG0026    08/17/2007    45    786    4343    98    4414    A    
KZG0026    08/17/2007    100    778    4291    98    4361    A    
KZG0026    08/17/2007    115    792    4230    98    4304    A    
KZG0026    08/17/2007    130    752    4186    98    4253    A    
KZG0026    08/17/2007    145    703    4145    98    4204    A   
KZG0026    08/17/2007    200    725    4153    98    4216    A    
KZG0026    08/17/2007    215    731    4141    98    4205    A    
KZG0026    08/17/2007    230    732    4165    98    4229    A    
KZG0026    08/17/2007    245    705    4061    98    4122    A    
KZG0026    08/17/2007    300    711    4026    98    4088    A    
KZG0026    08/17/2007    315    718    4047    98    4110    A    
KZG0026    08/17/2007    330    738    4121    98    4187    A    
KZG0026    08/17/2007    345    694    3968    98    4028    E    
KZG0026    08/17/2007    400    692    4043    98    4102    E    
KZG0026    08/17/2007    415    715    4107    98    4169    E

MONTHLY channel data:

It is possible to import monthly data. Monthly data is usually imported into a counter that is tracking sales, occupancy or production.

The complication with monthly data is that the interval is not fixed because months have varying lengths. The first time monthly data is imported, the importer will attempt to determine an interval. You MUST have at least 13 months of data for each channel in order for the initial import to be successful. Otherwise, you will receive a message stating that the importer was Unable to Compute the Data Interval. Alternatively, add an “Interval” column of data, to the right of the Timestamp or Time column (if using both a Date and Time column), and to the left of any Data columns.  For monthly data the “Interval” value should be 43200 (the number of minutes in 30 Days)

Here's an example of a successful import file for monthly occupancy data:

device,MMddyyyy H:mm,data
663592-OCC,01012006 0:00,96.0
663592-OCC,02012006 0:00,95.0
663592-OCC,03012006 0:00,94.0
663592-OCC,04012006 0:00,98.0
663592-OCC,05012006 0:00,100.0
663592-OCC,06012006 0:00,97.5
663592-OCC,07012006 0:00,95.7
663592-OCC,08012006 0:00,98.0
663592-OCC,09012006 0:00,99.0
663592-OCC,10012006 0:00,95.0
663592-OCC,11012006 0:00,95.0
663592-OCC,12012006 0:00,100.0
663592-OCC,01012007 0:00,90.0
663592-OCC,02012007 0:00,91.0
663592-OCC,03012007 0:00,92.0
663592-OCC,04012007 0:00,93.0
663592-OCC,05012007 0:00,100.0
663592-OCC,06012007 0:00,98.5
663592-OCC,07012007 0:00,92.7

You can also import interval data using the command line. Here is an example and explanation of each element:

The usage is:

imptsk -d [dsn] -u [user] -p [pwd] -c [converter] -f [path] -x -a [path] -l [path] -s [section] -v [verbose messages] -remote -t [traceID]

Where:

• -d [dsn] is the ODBC data source name
• -u [user] is the system user id
• -p [pwd] is the system password
• -c [converter] is the name of the converter
• -f [path] is the file to be imported
• -x will delete the input file after importing the data
• -a [path] will archive the data to the path specified
• -l [path] is the log file
• -s [section] is the profile section name
• -v [message text] when used, will add additional detail to the import log file.
• -remote is the command to connect to the HTTP data provider (use in conjunction with the -d switch, which identifies the Datasource from the Catalog Server (as displayed in the EnergyCAP Login window)
• -t [traceID] is the SQL server trace to initiate during verification

EXAMPLE: "c:\Program Files\EnergyCAP Enterprise\imptsk.exe" -d retailer -u kvs -p kvs -c STANDARD:SIMPLE_TEXT -f "c:\b-test\*.csv" -l "log.txt" -s MY_CHANNEL_PROFILE_NAME

1. "c:\Program Files\EnergyCAP Enterprise\imptsk.exe” – This is the file path for the importer program, imptsk.exe. It is typically located in your Energy CAP Enterprise program folder. Be sure to enclose the file path in quotation marks. IMPORTANT - You must execute the command from the EnergyCAP program folder, i.e. log onto this folder before executing the imptsk.exe file. Simply pointing to the program folder from another location may cause the imptsk.exe program to be unable to run required supporting DLL files.
2. –d retailer - This is the name of the database into which you wish to import the data.
3. –u kvs – This is the User ID with which you wish to import the data. The User ID is the username you use to login to EnergyCAP Enterprise. Be sure adequate permissions exist to create the records.
4. –p kvs - This is the password associated with User ID you are using to import the data.
5. -c STANDARD:SIMPLE_TEXT – If you follow the format for the interval data in this technical bulletin, this is the converter you will use.
6. -f "c:\b-test\*.csv" – This is the file path for the .csv document which you wish to import into EnergyCAP Enterprise.
7. -l "log.txt" – The Importer creates a log file that tracks the changes made to EnergyCAP Enterprise. This is the file path to the location where that file will be saved.
8. -s "MY_CHANNEL_PROFILE_NAME" - This is the name for the interval data profile you have created.

There are three types of channels in EnergyCAP, manual channels, automatic channels, and virtual/simulated channels.

• Manual channels are created in the EnergyCAP program.
• Automatic channels are created via import of channel (interval) data.
• Virtual/simulated channels are created manually and populated via a virtual equation processor that executes the formulas associated with each virtual/simulated channel.

EnergyCAP Enterprise ‘channel data’ is any time-series stream of data OTHER than utility bills. Examples of channel data are: electric meter 15-minute interval data, weather data (dry bulb temp, wind, humidity), production data (pounds, linear feet or units of production), counter data (occupancy, sales volume, gallons pumped) and submeter data (hourly, daily or monthly consumption).

Once a channel has been created, it can be populated via data import and data may be viewed with an EnergyCAP analysis.

Creating a Manual or Virtual Channel

1. Open the Properties window for a Meter or Channel.
2. Click the Channels tab.
3. Click the "+" button. The Create Channel window will open.
4. Select the Type of channel to be created (manual or simulated)  using the drop-down list.
5. Select the Rule for handling channel data (odometer or trip) in the same fashion.
6. Select the appropriate Data type from the drop-down list corresponding to the meter/counter type.
7. Select the appropriate data Interval and unit of measure.
8. Select the desired method of handling multiple values by clicking the associated radio button.
9. When done, click OK. Or click Cancel to cancel channel creation without saving the channel.

Advanced Channel Operations

It is often necessary to perform arithmetic on channel data available in different channels to derive useful information. For example, net gas consumption of an industrial process = Submeter 1 minus Submeter 2. Both submeters track daily gas consumption in channels. It is possible to create a third, virtual/simulated channel with an associated equation that will subract submeter 2’s channel data from submeter 1’s data and store the result.

To illustrate this functionality, the example below will calculate the ECI -- energy consumption index (total consumption/total production, measured in KWH/MFT) for a plant with the following situation: Wire is produced on manufacturing lines labeled P1 and P2 and measured in thousands of linear feet (MFT). P1 has production data at 1 hour intervals. P2 has production data at 2 hour intervals. Electricity consumed by both manufacturing lines is recorded by meters M1, M2 and M3 and channel data is available at 1 hour intervals for these three meters. The following steps will allow us to calculate the energy consumption index:

1. Create meters M1, M2 and M3 (Setup > Facility Manager).
2. Create counters P1 and P2 to handle the production data (Setup > Facility Manager).
3. Import channel data for M1, M2, M3, P1 and P2 . (Setup > Facility Manager >File > Import)
   NOTE: When you import data into a channel, a new channel of type ‘automatic’ is created if one doesn’t already exist.
4. Create a new counter named ECI to handle the result of the calculation (Setup > Facility Manager).
5. Open the Properties window for this counter (right-click and select Properties from the popup menu options), then specify its code (ECI), display name, time zone and commodity under the General tab. (A commodity type of ‘miscellaneous’ is generally sufficient. New commodities can be created using Tools > Unit System.)
6. From the Properties window for the counter, click on the Channels tab. Click the + button to create a channel.
7. Specify Type (simulated), Rule (trip), data type and interval information. Click OK.
8. Now select the channel and click on the Properties button  (below the + and – buttons) to launch the Channel Equation Editor.
9. Add a version by specifying the start date with the + button. (This date is used when the equation is executed, so make sure that data is available for the meters and counters for this date).
10. Enter the arithmetic script. For this case we want (M1+M2+M3)/(P1+P2). The equation will be as follows:
    
    (( Meter(“M1”,”KWH”) + Meter(“M2”,”KWH”) + Meter(“M3”,”KWH”)) / (Counter(“P1”,”MFT”) + Counter(“P2”,”MFT”) ))
11. Click OK.
12. Execute the equation by choosing the execute button on the Channels tab (the ! button) or by using the Virtual Channels menu item under Tools–Processors.
13. The ECI channel data can be viewed by using the Facility Manager/Edit Readings, or through Analysis/Charts, or by using the channel reports (see reports CH01-Ch04).
14. The ECI channel data in this example will be calculated only at coincident time points where data is available for all five channels used in its equation. So, if four channels are hourly and one is daily, the resultant ECI virtual channel will be daily.

Below is another example of a virtual channel operation:

Issue: The object is to calculate a Daily Energy Intensity value and store it as Channel Data in a counter. The Daily Energy Intensity, for Natural Gas, is = ((Use [MCF])/(Production [MSF]))*1000. The difficulty is that the Natural Gas Use data has an interval of 1 hour and the Production data has an interval of 1 Day(s). Is there a helper function that can be used in the Virtual Channel Equation to sum the hourly Natural Gas Use data into a Daily Natural Gas Use value?

Solution: Use "Rollup" to add all the hourly Natural Gas Uses into a sum.

Rollup(“metercode”,”channel unit”, lookback_minutes)

In this case lookback_minutes will be 1440 (number of minutes in a day)

Storing the result in a separate Simulated Channel is almost essential for debugging problems.

The separate Simulated Channel CANNOT reside on the same Meter, because it results in two Channels with the same Units, but different intervals. Most of the ChannelScript Equation Objects (Channel Equation Helper functions) use the Channel Unit to find the appropriate data. The Virtual Channel Equation Processor does not handle multiple channels with the same unit assigned to the same Meter.

1. In the Facility TreeView in the Facility Manager, locate/highlight the meter that the channel is associated with.

2. Right-click and select Properties from the drop-down menu. The Meter Properties window will open.

3. Click the Channels tab and the Edit icon. Channel information for the meter will be displayed in the Channel Properties window.
   
   

4. Modify the channel properties as necessary. In the Device field, select the device from the drop-down list

• In the Number of dials field, type the number of dials.
• In the Number of Decimals field, enter the number of decimals included in the meter reading.  EXAMPLE: A reading of 1245.786 would have 3 decimals.
• In the MAX Reading field, enter the maximum reading the meter will reach prior to rolling-over.  EXAMPLE: A meter with 5 dials will have a maximum reading of 99999.
• In the Multiplier field, type a value for the multiplier.
• In the Calibration date field, type the date or use the drop-down arrow to select the date from a calendar.
  
  If necessary, click the More button to display additional (optional) data entry fields. These additional fields are only intended for use if the client has a custom EnergyCAP interface with a Meter Reading System requiring this data.  An example of such a Meter Reading System is the Itron MV-RS Meter Reading System.
• In the Channel number field, enter the 2 digit Channel Number.  Values allowed range between 00 and 99.  Used when multiple channels of interval data are being tracked by the same meter, such as kW, kWh, On-Peak kW, Mid-Peak kW, or Off-Peak kW.
• In the Channel text field, enter the text description of the reading (examples include:  KW, KWH, DMD, WATR, GAS, KVAR, and PROB).
• In the Channel integer field, enter a static integer value that needs to be passed from EnergyCAP to the Meter Reading System.
• In the Channel flag field, enter a flag that needs to be passed from EnergyCAP to the Meter Reading System.
• In the Channel float field, enter a static float value that needs to be passed from EnergyCAP to the Meter Reading System.
• In the Channel char field, enter a static character value that needs to be passed from EnergyCAP to the Meter Reading System.
• In the Read direction field, enter the single character code of “L” if the reading should be entered from left to right, or “R” if the reading should be entered from right to left.
• In the Read method field, enter the single character code to indicate how the reading is obtained:
  K = Keyed
  P = Probed Optically
  R = Radio
  N = No Read
  W = Wand
• In the RF ERT ID field, enter the 8 digit ERT ID.
• In the RF Frequency field, enter the radio frequency assigned by the FCC (between 952-961 MHz in 0.00625 increments).  Decimal MUST be included.
• In the RF Tone field, enter the 4 digit Tone used to wake up the ERT (assigned by the Meter Reading System Vendor).

5.  When done, click OK to save the changes and exit the Channel Properties window. Then click OK again to close the Meter Properties window.

Devices (a "Device" in EnergyCAP is a meter or counter) may be audited in a manner similar to accounts; however, channel audits must first be added to an audit group (see Creating an Audit Group). There are several channel audits currently available including:

• Audit 20: Meter Channel Maximum-Minimum
• Audit 24: Meter Channel Change
• Audit 40: Channel Limit Exceeded
• Audit 44: Channel SetBack
• Audit 45: Channel StartUp

To use Channel Audits after you have created a Channel Audit Group or groups:

1. Select Setup | Facilities. The Facility Manager appears.

2. Navigate to the place under which the meter or counter exists.

3. Select the appropriate meter or counter.

4. From the Facility menu, select Audit. The Select Audit Groups window appears.

5. Select the appropriate audit group check box.

6. In the Date range section, select a date range to encompass.

   • To set a predefined date range, select the appropriate time frame in the Range field.

   • To set a specific date range, in the Start and End date fields, enter the appropriate date or use the drop-down arrow to select the date from a calendar.

7. Select the Show results checkbox option to view the results of the audit.

8. Click OK.

See also: Overview: Importing RouteSTAR Meter Readings

Data is imported into Energy CAP Enterprise using a series of dialog boxes that provide instructions based on options chosen to guide the user through the import process. In order to import any data file into the system, a profile must be created. The profile lets EnergyCAP  know how the data file is set up in order to determine which database fields to populate with what data. Once the profile is created, it is important that any future files for import are formatted the same way. If the format of the data file changes, be sure to modify the profile in Energy CAP Enterprise accordingly. If the profile is not altered to match the new format of the import file, fields may be populated with incorrect data.

NOTE: Each import profile is associated with the EnergyCAP user who created it. Profile information is stored on the user's computer hard drive. See Import Odds & Ends, below, for more information.

An import ID is required for a successful import. All logical devices (meters, counters, and weather stations) in Energy CAP Enterprise have import IDs.

When importing meter data, the data used is associated with meters having the same import ID as the import ID used in the import file. The import ID can be entered into EnergyCAP during meter creation, and can be viewed from the Specific tab in Meter Properties.

You can import meter data using the following file formats:

• Text files. A file containing only text characters, usually ASCII characters; contrast with graphics file and binary file. (*.txt, *.dat, *.csv, *.prn)

• MDEF files. A file format that defines the file for exchanging data with other systems. The format is designed to support current meter and recorder technology as well as new devices to be developed. (*.imp, *.mde, *.dat)

• Modified MDEF files (*.imp, *.mde, *.dat)

• Meter Exchange files (*.imp, *.csv, *.txt, *.dat)

Data Import Procedure

To import meter/counter data into EnergyCAP:

1. Select Setup | Facilities. The Facility Manager appears.

2. From the File menu, select Import. The Open window appears.
   

   1. In the Look in field, select the directory location of the file.

   2. Make certain the File type is correct; then select the appropriate file from the File List. The filename you selected will be inserted in the File name: field.

   3. Click Open. The Import Wizard window appears.
      

3. If a previous profile exists that satisfies this import, select the default setting Use an existing profile.

   1. Select a profile name from the drop-down list.

   2. Go to step 5.

4. If a previous profile does not exist, select Create a new profile.

   1. In the Profile Name field, enter the desired name.

   2. Go to step 5.

5. Click Next. The Import Wizard File Formatting page appears.
   

   1. In the Delimiters section, select the data delimiter.

   2. In the Text Qualifier drop-down list, select the text qualifier (if any)

   3. In the Start Row field, enter the row of data which should start the import.

   4. If the data file has a header row contained within its file format, select the Previous row is a header check box.

   • The Preview section updates with each selection.

6. Click Next. The Import Wizard Field Definition Format page appears.
   

   1. In the Fields section, select a field.

   2. In the Format drop-down list, select a format.

      TYPE	ADDITIONAL SELECTIONS
      UNKNOWN Use if the data is unknown or is not defined
      TIMESTAMP Provides formats for time stamps located within the data file. Contains both pre-defined time stamp formats as well as the ability to enter custom formats.	Either: In the Picture drop-down list, select a date and time format. Type the date and time format exactly as set in the import file. Be sure to include any placeholders used in the date and time format. If the time format is known to be GMT, select the Times are in GMT check box.
      DATE Provides formats for dates located within the data file. Contains both pre-defined date formats as well as the ability to enter custom formats.	Either: In the Picture drop-down list, select a date format. Enter the date format exactly as set in the import file. Be sure to include any placeholders used in the date format.
      TIME Provides formats for times located within the data file. Contains both pre-defined time formats as well as the ability to enter custom formats.	Either: In the Picture drop-down list, select a time format. Type the time format exactly as set in the import file. Be sure to include any placeholders used in the time format. If the time format is known to be GMT, select the Times are in GMT check box.
      INTERVAL Defines data within the file as an interval of time which will be known prior to import.	Expressed in minutes
      DEVICE This is the import ID code for the device/meter.
      DATA Defines data within the file as the data associated with the device.	In the Commodity drop-down list, select the appropriate commodity. In the Type drop-down list, select the appropriate type. In the Unit drop-down list, select the appropriate unit.
      UNIT Defines data within the data file as a unit. This field will usually have a unit identified within the data file and have to be handled as such.

7. Click Next. The Import Wizard Finish page appears.

8. Click Finish to complete the process. The Log window appears, notifying you of the status of the import process, the file import path, and if any errors occurred during the process. If errors did occur, they are listed and you will need to go back and correct these errors in order to successfully import the file into the database. If the import was successful, the log informs you appropriately.

   1. Save the log file by clicking . The Save As window appears.

      1. In the Save in field, select the directory location for the file.

      2. In the File name field, enter a name for the file.

      3. After making your selections, click Save.

   2. Print the log file by clicking . The log file display is printed to your default printer.

   3. Exit the Log window by clicking Close.

Import Odds and Ends (Q & A)

Question: Where in EnergyCAP is the import profile information stored?

ANSWER: Import profiles are actually stored on the user hard drive. The location depends on the operating system:

Windows XP:
C:/documents and settings/[username]/local settings/application data/EnergyCAP enterprise

VISTA/Windows 7:
C:/users/[username]/Appdata/Local/EnergyCAP Enterprise

If you change computers or operating systems, you may discover that your import profiles are missing. To restore them, copy the import folder contents from the older computer/operating system to the appropriate folder/path that corresponds to your new computer/current operating system. If you encounter difficulties, contact customer support (http://support.energycap.com) through the Support Suite interface.

Question: Can you provide a sample of what the import file would look like for meter data?

ANSWER:

File:

ESI_ID  INTV_REC_DT INTV_BEG_TM  KVAR_QT  KW_QT  POWER_FACTR_PC  KVA_QT  Estimated  Note

12435-A     08/17/2007              0                     796               4426                          98               4497         E           Test

12435-A     08/17/2007              15                   816               4369                          98               4445         E           Test

Column 1: Import ID for the meter. Can be viewed from the Specific tab in Meter Properties. Required field.

Column 2 or 2/3: Time stamp. Either a single column containing a Timestamp, which contains both the date and time values (ie – 2010-05-13 15:00), or separate columns for both Date and Time.  Required field(s).

Data: (will vary with type of data imported. Required field.

Estimated/Actual: Can be A/E or 0/1. This is a true/false, Boolean field so there is a 1-character limitation. Not a required field.

Note: Not a required field.

Question: I have a file of weather channel data that only has 1 observation. When I try to import it I get a message saying that the interval cannot be determined. How can I import this data?

ANSWER: The observation interval can be added to the import file as a fourth column. The sequence of columns would be:

1. Import ID
2. Date Stamp
3. Time Stamp
4. Observation Interval (expressed in minutes)
5. Observation Value

EXAMPLE: A column of comma-delimited daily interval data might appear as follows:

ABC12,20080909,11:00,1440,68

Question: Why is the default time stamp for mean daily weather data assumed to be 11:00 a.m.?

ANSWER: Statistical weather data suggests that this is the point where the mean daily temperature is most often achieved.

The Channel Equation Processor executes user defined formulas to create calculated channel data.

Using the Channel Equation Processor from the Tools menu processes equations for all channels. To process an equation for a single channel, access the Facility Manager then select the appropriate meter or counter.

1. To process equations for all channels, from the Tools menu, select Processor | Virtual Channels. The Channel Equation Processor window appears.

   • Go to step 3.

2. To process equations for a single channel, select Setup | Facilities. The Facility Manager appears.

   1. Navigate to the place under which the meter exists.

   2. Select the applicable meter.

   3. From the File menu, select Properties. The Meter Properties window appears.

   4. On the Channels tab, select the applicable simulated channel.

   5. Click . The Channel Equation Processor window appears.

   6. Go to step 3.

3. Select either:

   • Automatic

     Select Automatic to begin processing based on previously specified conditions.

   • Manual

     Select Manual to set a start and end date for the processor to run.

     1. Set the start date by entering the date or use the drop-down arrow to select the date from a calendar.

     2. Set the end date by entering the date or use the drop-down arrow to select the date from a calendar.

4. Click Start.

   • Cancel the operation by clicking Abort.

5. When the process is complete, click Close. The Channel Equation Processor window closes.

The Group Manager contains a number of shortcut tools you can use to access group functions.

Toolbar Icon	Shortcut	Description
	New	Create a new category, group, or item (place or meter assignment) depending on your selection in the Group hierarchy tree
	Delete	Deletes the selected category, group, or item (place or meter assignment) depending on your selection in the Group hierarchy tree
	Properties	Opens the Properties window for the selected category, group, or item (place or meter assignment) depending on your selection in the Group hierarchy tree
	Favorite Reports	Accesses report favorites
	Help	Accesses online User Manual

WATCH VIDEO

The Group Manager supplements the existing Facilities and Account Tree Views in EnergyCAP by providing a way to associate meters and/or places (and their associated data) without regard to physical location and/or financial association. Group Manager features are designed expressly for benchmarking purposes; charts available from the Group Manager permit quick and convenient comparison of use/cost data for members of the defined group.

The Group Manager provides a user-configurable tree structure for designing virtually any number of Categories and Groups with virtually any number of items (Places/Meters) per group. This enables the user to organize by criteria most useful for benchmarking and comparisons, including building type, commodity, cost or usage range, retrofit status, associated rate schedule, type of ballast, location, account, etc.. In addition to user-configured groups, auto-groups are also maintained automatically by EnergyCAP.

Groups can also be used as a filter for many reports on meters or places that may be unrelated in physical location or financial responsibility. Warehouses located at various sites throughout an organization could be assigned to a group called Storage Facilities, for example. Using this group as a filter when querying data for EnerygCAP reports would generate information relevant only to those Places in the group.

Understanding Group Manager Design

The Group Manager is designed with a three-tiered organizational structure (Categories, Groups and Items). During group creation, group categories may be created in either the Meters folder or the Places folders in the Group Manager Tree View. Any number of place or meter Categories may be created, and then any number of Place or Meter groups may be created within a single category.

An item is a place or a meter that belongs to a group within a user-defined category. Items can be added to groups during initial creation of the group or at a later date when new places or meters are created. An item can only belong to a group that has been created in a Category under the Place or Meter folder in the Group Manager. An item can belong to multiple groups.

The Group Manager workspace is divided into two panes:

Hierarchy Pane A hierarchy displayed similarly to the Windows Explorer display of folders and files. Click to navigate to place or meter groups.

View Pane Lists the items associated with the group by their code and display. You can sort the lists by clicking a column heading. To sort the lists in reverse order, click the column heading once more.

•  represents Place items in the Place Group levels

•  represents Meter items in the Meter Group levels

Accessing the Group Manager

1. On the navigation bar, select the Setup module.

2. Click the Groups icon. The Group Manager appears.

1. Select Setup > Groups. The Group Manager appears.

2. Click to select the folder under which to create the category. Either:

   • 

   • 

3. From the Group menu, select New > Category. OR right-click and select New > Category. The Create Category window appears.

4. In the Code field, enter the unique, self-defined identifier.

5. In the Display field, enter the name to appear throughout the system.

6. After making your selections, click OK.

1. Select Setup > Groups. The Group Manager appears.

2. Click  or  to navigate to the place group or meter group under which the category exists.

3. Select the category to modify.

4. From the File menu, select Properties. The Category Properties window appears.

5. Modify the code by clearing the Code field then entering the new code.

6. Modify the display clearing the Display field then entering the new display.

7. After making your selections, click OK.

1. Select Setup > Groups. The Group Manager appears.

2. Click  or  to navigate to the place group or meter group under which the category exists.

3. Select the category to delete.

4. From the Group menu, select Delete. The Confirm window appears.

   • Click Yes to delete the category.

   • Click No to cancel the operation.

There are two categories of Groups in EnergyCAP:

• Place Groups
• Meter Groups

NOTE: For detailed descriptions and related rules for any chart, click on the chart in EnergyCAP to open the Explain Chart window.

Place Groups are derived from Properties associated with Places in the Facility Manager hierarchy, including place primary use. Meter Groups are based upon the meter details, including commodity, vendor, rate and meter primary use. All group bar graphs include a separate bar for Total Cost for the Billing Period Range. This enables the viewer to quickly evaluate the costs and potential savings.

To view group benchmarking charts from the Group Manager:

1. Click Setup > Groups to open the Group Manager.
2. Select the desired category and group from the Group Manager Tree View.
3. Use the tabs at the bottom of the Group Manager chart view pane to select the desired benchmarking chart.

Place Group Charts

• Cost/Area Rank: Displays and orders group members based on the annualized Cost per unit Area for the grouped items using the currently-selected viewing and ranking options. 
  
• Use/Area Rank: Displays and orders group members based on the annualized Use per unit Area for the grouped items using the currently-selected viewing and ranking options. Building square footage (as defined in the Place Properties/Building tab) is required for this benchmark to function properly.
  

Notes regarding ANNUALIZED group chart data:

• Annualized data corresponds with the values produced for the AN17 and AN18 reports, which provide comparisons of actual and annualized data in a tabular format.
• Total use in global units of measure (or cost, depending on the chart) for each account/meter associated with the place is determined, and then divided by the number of days represented in the respective billing periods. The resultant daily values for all meters associated with that place are summed and then multiplied by 365 to derive the annualized value for use (or cost, depending on the chart). This value is then divided by the associated place area (usually expressed in square footage) to produce the annualized use (or cost) per unit area.
• The logic for determing the number of days associated with the bill 'set' for each account/meter is as follows:

1. EnergyCAP looks for the earliest bill Start Date and the latest bill End Date and counts the total days minus 1.
2. EnergyCAP looks at all bills and sums the days represented by each billing period minus 1.
3. The two numbers are compared, and EnergyCAP uses the LESSER number to determine the total number of days in the billing period represented by the bills. This procedure ensures that gaps between billing periods, or separate deregulated account bills for the same meter do not adversely affect calculations.

• The "Average" line for the annualized Group charts is determined by summing the total annual use (or cost, depending on the chart) and dividing that sum by the total square footage associated with the group members. Only places with cost/use AND square footage (unit area) data are considered when calculating the average.

• Demand/Area Rank: (electrical only) Displays and orders group members based on the Demand per unit Area for the grouped items using the currently-selected viewing and ranking options. Building square footage (as defined in the Place Properties/Building tab) is required for this benchmark to function properly.
  
• Cost Rank: Displays and orders group members based on the Average Cost Per Day for the grouped items using the currently-selected viewing and ranking options. 
  
• Use Rank: Displays and orders group members based on the Average Use Per Day for the grouped items using the currently-selected viewing and ranking options. 
  

Meter Group Charts

• Cost Rank: Displays and orders group members based on the Average Cost per Day for the grouped items using the currently-selected viewing and ranking options. 
  
• UnitCost Rank: Displays and orders group members based on the Average Unit Cost for the grouped items during the selected billing period using the currently-selected viewing and ranking options. 
  
• Use Rank: Displays and orders group members based on the Average Use Per Day for the grouped items using the currently-selected viewing and ranking options. 
  
• UnitCost by Cost Rank: Displays group members based on the Average Unit Cost for the grouped items using the currently-selected viewing and ranking options. Ordered by Total Cost for Billing Period Range. 
  
• UnitCost by Use Rank: Displays the Average Cost Per Day for the grouped items using the currently-selected viewing and ranking options. Ordered by Total Use for Billing Period Range. 
  
• Demand Rank (Electric Commodity only): Displays and orders group members based on the highest electricity Demand for each meter for all bills within the selected Billing Period Range. This chart only appears when all the meters in the Meter Group are associated with the electricity commodity.
  

Altering viewing and ranking options for Charts

1. Click the viewing and ranking options button  from the Group Manager Title Bar. The View Options window will open. 
   
   
2. Use the radio buttons to select the desired Billing Period for the chart data.
   
   NOTE: If User Defined Range is selected, input the desired Start and End months for the billing periods to be included.
3. Use the radio buttons to select the desired Ranking Order (Highest to Lowest or Lowest to Highest).
4. Click OK to save Ranking Order changes and close the View Options window. Or click Cancel to exit the window without saving the changes.

Removing a Group Member from the Graph Display

There may be occasions where it is desirable to maintain a group member but to exclude that member from the benchmarking chart, such as a case where a particular place or meter consistently ranks at the top or bottom of the benchmarking chart for reasons unrelated to the benchmarking purpose for that particular group.

EXAMPLE: A very low usage meter account has a fixed charge that routinely skews the Unit Cost. It is desirable to exclude this small account from the benchmarking charts for reporting purposes.

To exclude an item from the charts, click the checkbox to the left of the meter or place icon in the ranking list. Then click the down arrow for the Action on Selected ... field to reveal the drop-down action options. Select the Remove from Benchmark Charts option. Then click the Go button.

The checked items will be removed from the chart.

Auditing Bills from the Group Manager

The EnergyCAP Group Manager has an audit option. To audit bills for an item or group of items:

1. Select the item(s) from the ranking list, using the checkbox(es) provided.
2. Click the drop-down arrow for the Action on Selected... field and click the Audit option.
3. Click the Go button. The Select Audit Groups window will open.
4. Select the desired Audit Group and the desired date parameters for the bills represented by the item(s).
5. Click OK. The Audit will be performed and the Audit Results window will display audit results.

NOTE: Make sure the Show Results check box is selected if audit results should be displayed!

Additional Chart Ranking Options

Benchmark Charts/Meter Charts Toggle Icon: This option alternates the benchmark view with the chart view(s) for the meter highlighted in the ranking list. When displaying the meter charts, use the up and down arrow keys to scroll the ranking list to quickly and conveniently display chart data for other meters in the group.

Limit Rows Drop-Down: This option is available for all Meter Groups. Click the drop-down arrow to select the number of rows that will appear in the benchmark chart. Selecting a lower number will improve processing speed for drawing the graph elements.

Action on Selected Drop-Down: Click the drop-down arrow to select the desired action to be performed on 'checked' items in the ranking list.

Go Button: Click to execute the selected Action.

Show Excluded Checkbox: Click to show all items (including excluded items) in the benchmarking chart view. Uncheck the checkbox to hide excluded items.

Frequently Asked Questions

• What is the vertical dashed line in the group graphs?
  ANSWER: The vertical line represents the average value for the primary measured value (purple bar on chart) for all group members, whether the members are displayed or not.
• How do I set ‘viewing and ranking options?
  ANSWER: See Altering Viewing and Ranking Options for Charts, above.
• What does ‘annualized’ mean?
  ANSWER: Cost/Area Rank and Use/Area Rank charts use annualized data to avoid distortion that would otherwise result from comparing meters or places with incomplete billing data for the selected billing period range. To compensate for circumstances where there are missing bills or incomplete billing information for the entire range, daily values for the available data in the range are determined and then multiplied by 365 days to determine the annual or 'annualized' cost or use. This is a meaningful and frequently-used value for energy use comparisons.
• How do I print and/or copy group charts?
  ANSWER: To print group charts, display the chart and click File/Print. The displayed graph will be printed to your default printer. To copy the chart image to the Windows clipboard, right-click and select Copy to Clipboard. You can paste the image into other Windows applications using the Ctrl-V key combination.
• How do I copy associated data to a spreadsheet program like Microsoft^® Excel^®?
  ANSWER: Click the Display Chart Data hyperlink from the graph view pane. The Data Viewer window will open, displaying the chart and its underlying data in a spreadsheet-type format. Click and drag to select desired data. Or right-click and choose the Select All option from the popup menu options (all table data will be copied). Then right-click and select the Copy option. Open the spreadsheet application, and then use the Ctrl-V key combination to paste the copied information to the application.
• When I see something unusual, how can I 'drill down' to see the underlying data?
  ANSWER: To quickly view the Place or Meter associated with the benchmarking chart, select/highlight it from the ranking list and then right-click. Select Locate Meter in Facility Manager from the popup menu options. The Facility Manager will open, and the place or meter will be displayed and highlighted. 
  
  
  To return to the Group Manager, click Setup>Groups.
• How do I create a group?
  ANSWER: See Creating a Group.
• How do I assign a place or meter to a group?
  ANSWER: See Assigning an Item to a Group.

1. Select Setup > Groups. The Group Manager appears.

2. Click  or  to navigate to the Category under which to create the group.

3. Select the appropriate category under which to create the group.

4. From the Group menu, select New | Group. OR right-click and select New/Group from the popup menu.

     
   

   The Create Group window appears.

    

5. In the Code field, enter the unique, self-defined identifier.  

    

6. In the Display field, enter the name to appear throughout the system.

7. After making your selections, click OK.

1. Select Setup > Groups. The Group Manager appears.

2. Click  or  to navigate to the place group or meter group under which the group exists.

3. Select the group to modify.

4. From the File menu, select Properties. The Group Properties window appears.

5. Modify the code by clearing the Code field then entering the new code.

6. Modify the display by clearing the Display field then entering the new display.

7. After making your selections, click OK.

1. Select Setup > Groups. The Group Manager appears.

2. Click or  to navigate to the Category and then click to select the place or meter Group where you wish to add items.

3. From the Group menu, select New > Item. The Assign Place or Assign Meter window appears.

To assign an item place to a group:

1. In the Assign Place window, select the appropriate place in the left pane of the window. The sub-places are displayed in the right pane.

2. Select the appropriate place in the right pane.

NOTE: It is possible to select and add multiple items simultaneously by using the Ctrl-Click or Shift-Click key combination to select more than one item from the right pane of the Assign Meter/Place window:

3. Click Add.

4. Repeat as necessary to attach additional places to the same group.

5. After making your selections, click Close. The Assign Place window closes.

Place items from different places in the Tree View can belong to the same group. Navigate to another place in the Group Manager Tree and repeat the previous steps.

To assign an item meter to a group: 

1. In the Assign Meter Facility Tree View window, locate the appropriate place in the left pane of the window. The meters belonging to that place are displayed in the right pane.

2. Click to select the desired meter from the right pane.

3. Click Add.

4. Repeat as necessary to attach additional meters to the same group.

5. After making your selections, click Close. The Assign Meter window closes.

Meters belonging to different places can belong to the same group. Navigate to another place in the Tree View and repeat the previous steps.

Adding/Removing an item from a Group in Place/Meter Properties (Facility Manager)

In addition to the procedures listed above, it is also possible to assign a Place or Meter to a group by adding that place or meter to the Active Group list maintained in the Facility Manager Place/Meter Properties: 

1. From the Facility Manager, open the Place or Meter Properties window.
2. Click the Groups tab. The Place or Meter Properties window will open. 
   
   
3. Click the Plus button (+) to add a group. The Browse Groups window will open. Browse the Groups tree to select/highlight the desired group. Then click OK. The meter or place will be added to the group selected, and the group will display in the Active Groups: list.

To remove a place or meter from a group or groups from the Place/Meter Properties window, follow the procedure above, but use the Minus button (-) rather than the Plus button.

1. Select Setup > Groups. The Group Manager appears.

2. Select the group under which the item belongs. The items belonging to that group are displayed in the list view on the right.

3. Select the item(s) to remove and click the Group menu to select Delete. Or right-click the item(s) and select Delete from the popup menu. Multiple items can be selected at one time with the Shift-click or Ctrl-click functionality. The Confirm window appears.

1. Select Yes to delete this item.

2. Select Yes to all to delete all selected items.

3. Select No to cancel this deletion and continue.

4. Select No to all to cancel the operation.

1. Select Setup > Groups. The Group Manager appears.

2. Click  or  to navigate to the place group or meter group under which the group exists.

3. Select the group to delete.

4. From the Group menu, select Delete. Or right-click the group and select the Delete option. The Confirm window appears.

   • Select Yes to delete the group.

   • Select No to cancel the operation.

To enhance the utility and ease of maintenance for popular types of Groups, the EnergyCAP Group Manager has been supplemented with multiple "Auto-Groups".

Auto-Grouping automatically adds these groups (identified by the blue folders in the Group Manager navigation Tree View) to the Group Manager, and then dynamically maintains them as your organization changes. As Places and/or Meters are added or subtracted, your auto-groups will always be up-to-date! Auto-Groups are included in both the Place and Meter group categories. Current auto-groups include:

• Place Primary Use Auto-Group: groups places by the new Primary Use field (Place Properties, see graphic)  
  
  
• Meter Commodity Auto-Group: groups meters by every commodity being measured by the organization (as determined by historical bills and the billing template associated for each).
• Meter Primary Use Auto-Group: groups meters by the new Primary Use field (Meter Properties, see graphic) 
  
  
• Meter Vendor-Commodity Auto-Group: groups meters by VENDOR and each COMMODITY associated with that vendor. The benchmarking charts make it easy to see what meters are statistical ‘outliers’ that merit consideration for further investigation. 
  
  
• Meter Vendor-Rate Auto-Group: groups meters by VENDOR and each RATE associated with that vendor. Since it is expected that all meters with the same rate and vendor will have nearly identical average unit costs, the benchmarking charts make it easy to see what meters are statistical outliers with unusual costs.

NOTE: In all Meter-based groups, including the meter Auto-Groups, there’s also a clickable icon to switch back and forth between the benchmarking charts and the PowerView charts for the highlighted meter.

The Route Manager contains a number of shortcut tools you can use to access route functions.

Toolbar Icon	Description	Notes
	New	Creates a new meter or counter route
	Delete	Deletes the selected route or meter assignment
	Properties	Opens the Properties window for the selected route or meter
	Favorite Reports	Accesses report favorites
	Help	Accesses online help
	Edit Readings	Accessible from Route Manager Title Bar; opens editable Meter Readings window for the selected meter.

The Route Manager (Setup/Routes) enables the user to create and manage routes for meters and counters, sequence meters/counters within routes, and import and export routes and meter/counter readings to and from an external reading collection system. Energy CAP Enterprise currently supports the export and import of meter reading interval data for the RouteSTAR MVP® Meter Reading System.

Separate tree views are provided for meters and counters. Traditionally, meters are used for tracking commodity consumption associated with utility bills; counters are used for tracking production values (widgets produced) and non-traditional commodities (e.g., miles driven, telecommunications, etc.).

The Route Manager collects interval meter/counter readings. EnergyCAP stores the meter and channel readings as channel data and translates the readings into usage and demand values via virtual channels. Once the usage and demand interval data has been assimilated in the EnergyCAP database, other EnergyCAP features (Calculated Accounts > Virtual Bill Scripts) provide tools for associating costs with the usage and demand information obtained via the Route Manager.

From the Route Manager, the Route menu enables the user to create or delete new routes, add or remove meters/counters to and from those routes. and manually enter values to be associated with the individual meters on the route. An unlimited number of routes may be maintained in Energy CAP Enterprise although a meter cannot belong to more than one route. Route data may be entered manually or imported via the File menu Import option.

The Route Manager workspace is divided into two panes:

Navigation Pane A hierarchy of meter/counter routes displayed similarly to the Windows Explorer display of folders and files. Click to navigate to a route.

• Represents Routes. a right-click popup menu provides options for creating/deleting additional meters for the route, as well as re-organizing individual meters within the route.

Presentment Pane Lists the meters/counters associated with the selected route by their code, display, and sequence number.

• Meters and counters are represented by code and display, as well as the icon associated with the commodity (if applicable)

Accessing the Route Manager

1. On the navigation bar, select the Setup module.

2. Click the icon . The Route Manager appears.

In large organizations, the Find function makes it convenient to search the Route Manager to locate routes or meters/counters and then modify their properties.

1. Select Setup > Routes. The Route Manager appears.

2. From the Edit menu, select Find. The Search window appears.

3. In the Search for drop-down list, select  from the available options. Do the same for the search Parameter using the drop-down list.

4. Select the search operator from the drop-down list. Available filters include:

• Equals
• Not equal
• Less than
• Greater than
• Less than equal
• Greater than equal
• Like
• Not like

Wildcards "*" (asterisk) and "?" (question mark) may be used with the Like or Not Like search operators:

• * - Returns any character(s) or none

Examples:

*st* - Stewart, stone, Easton, Host, Best, West - Returns any word containing "st"
st* - Stewart, stone - Returns any word beginning with "st"
*st - Host, Best, West - Returns any word ending with "st"

• ? - Replaces one character

Examples:

boo? - book, boot - Returns words beginning with "boo" and one character after
?ood - Good, Hood, Mood - Returns words with one character before "ood"

1. Click in the Value field then select the value as a search filter.

2. Click to add the defined search criteria (Parameter/Operator/Value) to the Filters list. 
   NOTES: At least one filter must be added to activate the Search button. Search filter values are not case-sensitive.

3. If desired, create additional filters by repeating steps 4-6 then either:

   • Click to search using the previous filter and this filter.

   • Click to search using the previous filter or this filter.

4. After creating filters, click Search. The search results are displayed in the Results field.

   • "No data found" is displayed in the search results field if Energy CAP Enterprise does not locate any matching data.

5. Once the route, meter or counter has been located and displayed in the Results window, modify the properties (if desired) by double-clicking on it. The editable Properties window will open. Follow the instructions for either:

   • Modifying a Route

   • Modifying a Meter or Counter

6. Exit the Search window by clicking Close.

Routes are created to simplify manual reading entry by organizing meters to be read sequentially. When the readings are entered, they are already in the correct order.

When creating a route, it is recommended that you choose a code and display that will easily identify each route.

1. Select Setup > Routes. The Route Manager appears.

2. Click on the Meter Routes or Counter Routes from the navigation tree view, depending on which route type is to be created.

3. From the Route menu, select New > Route. The Create Route window appears.

4. In the Code field, enter the unique, self-defined identifier.

5. In the Display field, enter the name to appear throughout the system

6. After making your selections, click OK. The new route will be created and the Create Route window will close.

The only route properties that can be modified are the Code and Display fields. The date fields for the last import and export are automatically populated. If the code or display is changed, the import/export history is not erased.

NOTE: Energy CAP Enterprise does not maintain a history of changes made to the route code or display.

1. Select Setup > Routes. The Route Manager appears.

2. Navigate to the route requiring modification, and select the route by clicking on it.

3. From the File menu, select Properties. Or right-click the route name/icon and select Properties from the popup menu. The Route Properties window appears.

4. Modify the code by clearing the Code field then entering the new code.

5. Modify the display by clearing the Display field then entering the new display.

6. After making your selections, click OK.

Routes can be deleted although meters are assigned to it.

1. Select Setup > Routes. The Route Manager appears.

2. Click to navigate the Route Manager Tree View to select the route to delete. Highlight the route by clicking on it.

3. From the Route menu, select Delete. The Confirm window appears.

•  Select Yes to delete the route.
•  Select No to cancel the operation.

Meters assigned to a route must have channels that can be read (type MUST BE Manual in order for readings to be entered via the Route Manager; unit type is generally Value). A meter may only be assigned to one route at a time.

It is desirable to assign meters/counters to a route in the order they are read. However, Energy CAP Enterprise provides a method for ordering meters after they have been assigned to a route.

1. Select Setup > Routes. The Route Manager appears.

2. Navigate to the desired route. Click on the route to highlight it.

3. From the Route menu, select New > Meter (or Counter). The Assign Meter/Counter window appears. The window includes a Facilities Tree View in the navigation pane.

4. In the Hierarchy Pane Tree View, navigate to the place in the Tree View under which the meter/counter exists.

NOTE: The View Pane on the right lists the meters/counters associated with the selected place by their Code and/or Display. The commodity icon for each meter/counter is also displayed.  If desirable, sort the lists by clicking a column heading. The sort can be reversed by clicking the column heading once again.

1. Highlight/select the appropriate meter/counter from the list

2. Click Add.to add the meter/counter to the selected route.

3. Repeat steps 4-6 to add other meters/counters to the route.

4. After making your selections, click Close.

Some circumstances may require meters/counters to be removed from a route, such as route restructuring or removal of an invalid meter. When a meter is removed or deleted from a route it only affects the meter assignment in the Route Manager. The meter is still maintained in the Facility Manager.

1. Select Setup > Routes. The Route Manager appears.

2. Click to navigate to the route containing the meter/counter to unassign.

3. Select the meter/counter to remove from the route.

4. From the Route menu, select Delete. The Confirm window appears.

   • Select Yes to remove this meter/counter.

   • Select Yes to all to remove all selected meters/counters.

   • Select No to cancel this removal and continue.

   • Select No to all to cancel the operation.

It is possible to move meters/counters within a route to reorder the meters after they have been initially assigned to the route. This is helpful to reflect a change in the path taken by the meter reader.

To move a meter up or down one place at a time in a route, or specify a new position in the sequence:

1. Select Setup > Routes. The Route Manager appears.

2. Navigate to the route where the meter/counter is assigned.

3. Select/highlight the appropriate meter/counter.

4. To move the meter/counter up or down one place at a time:

   1. From the Route menu, select either Move Up or Move Down. OR right-click the desired meter and select Move Up or Move Down from the popup menu.

   2. Repeat the step above to move this meter/counter again.

5. To specify a different position in the meter reading sequence for the meter/counter:

   1. From the Route menu, select Move To. The Move To window appears.

   2. The current sequence number will be indicated. Enter the desired sequence number in the field provided.

   3. Click OK. The meter is moved to the sequence position specified.

To view readings for ALL meters/counters on a route:

1. Select Setup > Routes. The Route Manager appears.

2. Navigate to the desired ROUTE and select/highlight it.

3. From the Route menu, select Readings. Or right-click and select Readings from the popup menu. The Meter Readings window appears.

4. Use the month/year controls to navigate to the desired period.
5. When done viewing readings, exit the Meter Readings window by clicking Close.

To view readings for A SINGLE meter/counter on a route:

1. Select Setup > Routes. The Route Manager appears.

2. Navigate to the desired route and select/highlight it.

3. Navigate to the desired meter/counter in the route and select/highlight it.

4. From the Route menu, select Readings. Or right-click and select Readings from the popup menu. The Meter Readings window appears.

5. Use the month/year controls to navigate to the desired period.

6. To view readings for a specific meter channel in a route, select the channel from the Select channel drop-down list.

7. When done viewing readings, exit the Meter Readings window by clicking Close.

In addition to viewing readings, it is also possible to:

• Add meter readings
• Delete meter readings

Meter readings can be edited from the Route Manager (typical) or from the Facility Manager (less common). The user interface features will vary with the EnergyCAP options purchased, as well as the nature of channel being tracked (odometer or trip meter type).

EXAMPLE: Odometer or Trip type where the interval is less than monthly:

EXAMPLE: Trip type for monthly readings:

To add or edit meter readings from the Route Manager:

1. Click Setup > Routes. The Route Manager appears.

2. Right-click the desired route from the list of Meter Routes and select the Readings option. The Readings window will appear.
   
   NOTE: You can also access the Readings window from the Facilities Manager (see next section).

3. Use the arrow buttons at the top of the Readings window to select the month and year for the reading to be entered or edited
   NOTE: The default Reading Date and Reading Time is the first of the month at 12:01 p.m.; this value is not based on previous meter readings. To change this value for all meter readings yet to be entered for the month, use the Set Date button.

4. For odometer readings, click once in the Value field to make it the window focus. If estimated, click the Estimated checkbox. If a note is desired, click in the Note field and then type the note.

5. (Optional) If another reading is desired, click the Insert new records? checkbox.

6. Continue adding readings until all readings have been entered.

7. Click the OK button to save the readings.

NOTES: The Reading Date and Reading Time values are generated automatically by the EnergyCAP software. This information may be edited by clicking in the relevant field, highlighting the value to be changed, and using the small arrow buttons to update the value.

To add or edit meter readings from the Facility Manager:

1. Select the desired meter from the Facility Manager.
2. Click the Edit Readings button from the Facility Manager Title Bar. The Readings window will appear.
   NOTE: Depending on the type of reading, the Readings window may open in Simple mode with data entry fields for readings values ONLY. To indicate estimated readings and/or to input notes, click the Advanced button to reveal additional data entry options.
3. Click in any field in the Readings window to add/update the values using the keyboard.
4. When done adding readings, click OK to save changes and close the Readings window.

NOTES: From the Meter Readings window, only the value may be changed. The time and date stamps are not editable. To alter/correct these stamps, delete the original reading and create a new reading 'from scratch'.

For more information on weather channel (or other daily channel) data entry, see Entering Weather Data Manually.

1. Select Setup > Routes. The Route Manager appears.

2. Select either a route or a counter.

3. From the Route menu, select Readings. The Meter Readings window appears.

4. Select the appropriate channel from the Select channels drop-down list.

5. Select the appropriate reading.

6. Click . The Confirm window appears.

   • Click Yes to delete the reading.

   • Click No to cancel the operation.

7. Repeat steps 4-6 to delete other readings.

8. After making your selections, click Close.

Energy CAP Enterprise currently supports the export and import of meter reading data for Datamatic.com's RouteSTAR MVP® Meter Reading System. Energy CAP Enterprise uses the RouteSTAR MVP® EXP (export) file to import route data. RouteSTAR MVP® uses the Energy CAP Enterprise EXP (export) file to import data.

An initialization file, dmconv.ini, is required to import the route data and must be placed in the Energy CAP Enterprise program directory.

RouteSTAR MVP® files are ASCII format, sequential text files. The records contained within the file are processed one at a time by the import operation. The file must contain a header record, device records, and a trailer record. The header record includes billing cycle number and route code. Device records include the detail information for each meter. The trailer record includes the billing cycle number, route code, and a total count of meters in the route.

A virtual channel equation is used to calculate the usage/demand values for a meter. This function performs a calculation using the reading delta. The previous meter reading is subtracted from the current meter reading and then multiplied by a multiplier to obtain the correct usage and demand values. The actual meter readings are stored in the Route Manager for verification purposes, while the usage/demand and other channel data is accessed via the Facility Manager.

Meter route channels differ from other import channels in that the channels are not automatically created during the import process. The channels must be created prior to import.

In order to import meter reading data into Energy CAP Enterprise, first verify the following:

• The initialization file contains the key, METERKEY which is set to either IMPORTID (the tag assigned that Energy CAP Enterprise looks for when importing data) or CODE (the unique, self-defined identifier).

• If the METERKEY is set to IMPORTID, the EnergyCAP meter import ID (Meter Properties/Specific tab) matches the ID used in the import file.

• The meter channel type is manual (real data) whose interval frequency is set to 0 (zero) minutes.

Refer to Datamatic.com's RouteSTAR documentation for additional information on importing/exporting data and supported file formats.

Below is a sample import file format (comma-delimited text) that is compatible with the EnergyCAP Importer:

ImportID,TimeStamp,kWValue,kVARValue
KZG002614057,08/01/2003 00:00,27.936,13.872
KZG002614057,08/01/2003 00:15,23.328,9.6
KZG002614057,08/01/2003 00:30,22.896,9.408
KZG002614057,08/01/2003 00:45,22.608,8.592
KZG002614057,08/01/2003 01:00,22.704,8.88
KZG002614057,08/01/2003 01:15,22.848,8.88

1. Select Setup > Routes. The Route Manager appears.

2. From the File menu, select Import. The Open window appears.

3. In the Look in field, select the directory location of the file.

4. In the File List section, select the appropriate file.

5. Click Open. A progress indicator appears.

• Cancel the operation by clicking Abort.

6. The Log dialog box appears notifying you of the status of the import process, the file import path, and if any errors occurred during the process. If errors did occur, they are listed and you will need to go back and correct these errors in order to successfully import the file into the database. If the import was successful, the log informs you appropriately.

1. Save the log file by clicking . The Save As dialog box appears.

1. In the Save in field, select the directory location for the file.

2. In the File name field, enter a name for the file.

3. After making your selections, click Save.

2. Print the log file by clicking . The log file display is printed to your default printer.

3. Exit the Log dialog box by clicking Close.

It is possible to export meter route information in a format compatible with RouteSTAR. Be sure the initialization file contains the key, METERKEY which is set to either IMPORTID (the tag assigned that Energy CAP Enterprise looks for when importing data) or CODE (the unique, self-defined identifier).

• If the METERKEY is set to IMPORTID, the meter - import ID - The tag assigned that Energy CAP Enterprise looks for when importing data. The import ID assigned should match the import ID used in the external file containing the data. matches the ID used in the import file.

Refer to Datamatic.com's RouteSTAR documentation for additional information on importing/exporting data and supported file formats.

1. Select Setup > Routes. The Route Manager appears.

2. From the File menu, select Export. The Open window appears.

3. In the Look in field, select the directory location for the file.

4. In the File name field, enter a name for the file.

5. Click Open. A progress indicator appears.

• If desired, cancel the operation by clicking Abort.

6. During export, the Log window appears, displaying the status of the export process, the file export path, and any errors generated during the process. If errors did occur, they will be listed, and it will be necessary to correct these errors in order to successfully export the file. If the export was successful, EnergyCAP will report a successful export.

   1. Save the log file by clicking . The Save As window appears.

      1. In the Save in field, select the directory location for the file.

      2. In the File name field, enter a name for the file.

      3. After making your selections, click Save.

   2. Print the log file by clicking . The log file display is printed to your default printer.

   3. Exit the Log window by clicking Close.

Exporting Audit Values

You can export Energy CAP Enterprise high and low audit values by setting a key in the initialization file, dmconv.ini. The key, SENDAUDITVALUES, should be set to either T (true, high/low audit values are exported) or F (false, high/low audit values are not exported).

Low audit values are the previous readings – by default 0 or 1 if a reading exists. High audit values are the maximum meter reading for the same month last year. If this value does not exist, Energy CAP Enterprise calculates the average delta change between the last 3 readings and adds it to the latest reading to arrive at the high audit value.

You may set an optional key, AUDITADJUSTFACTOR, in the initialization file to adjust the audit values by a percentage.

The Weather Station Manager toolbar includes several shortcut buttons to initiate common actions. The function of each button is described below.

Toolbar button	Description
	Clicking the New Station button opens the Create Weather Station window to enter new weather station details.
	When you have a weather station already highlighted in the list, clicking the Edit Readings button opens readings monthly calendar window. Each daily value is stored in an editable field, and you can use the date scroll buttons to select any month/year of historical data.
	Clicking the Import Readings button opens a popup menu allowing you to choose the source for your imported data (file or web). If File is selected, EnergyCAP will display an Open window permitting you to browse to select the import file. If Web is selected, EnergyCAP will automatically download the weather data for stations for which you are subscribed.
	Clicking the Options button opens the Weather Station Options window, which allows you to determine: 1. the number of comparison years in PowerView weather charts 2. the Base Year 3. the Comparison Year
	Clicking the Check Data button opens the Check Weather Data window. Use the intuitive interface to generate a log of weather data for all weather stations within the time parameter(s) you select.
	Clicking the Auto Assign button opens the Auto Assign window. Use this option periodically to verify that all buildings with zip codes have been assigned a weather station. For more information, see Weather Station Manager: Overview & Setup.

WATCH VIDEO

This topic provides an overview of the Weather Station Manager, which provides an interface for assimilating weather data for use in EnergyCAP Enterprise. Weather Station setup information (automatic and manual) is also provided.

Weather stations are logical devices used to capture and measure atmospheric data that can be correlated against usage or demand. Weather stations are similar to meters and counters. As with meters and counters, weather stations have channels for each specific weather condition tracked. Temperature, humidity, dew point, cloud cover, and wind speed are only a few of the types of conditions that can be tracked by weather stations.

Weather data can be provided through our weather subscription service or by your organization. For more information on importing weather data, please see Importing Weather Data from Weather Subscription Service or Importing Weather Data from Other Sources.

Creating and Assigning a Weather Station Automatically

The Auto-Assign procedure can/should be performed whenever new buildings are added to the organization. The Auto-Assign feature does not affect buildings with weather stations previously assigned.

NOTES: Automated weather station processes are functional only for EnergyCAP clients using the weather subscription service.

Make certain that all Places to be updated have been assigned a valid POSTAL (ZIP) CODE in the place Address (see Place Properties, General tab) prior to performing the procedure below. No additional address information is required.

1. Navigate to Setup > Weather Stations
2. Click the Auto Assign button from the Weather Station Manager title bar.
   
   The Auto Assign... window will appear.
   
   Any ZIP codes for buildings which do not currently have a weather station assigned will appear in the list.
3. Click the Find Stations button. EnergyCAP will automatically check the online weather service database for the listed ZIP codes and populate the weather station code, city, state, and country for the listed regions. Any places with ZIP codes that do not match the database will not be linked to a weather station.
   
4. After the list is populated, click Assign to Buildings. Any stations that do not currently exist in the EnergyCAP database will be created and then assigned to buildings with that ZIP code. If multiple ZIP codes share a station, only one station will be created and all buildings with all ZIP codes that link to that station will be assigned to it.
5. After weather stations have been assigned, click Close. If desired, download associated weather station temperature data when prompted (Import Readings). All daily data dating back to 1995 will be downloaded. With multiple weather stations, this process may take an hour or more when it is first performed. Thereafter, only recent data will be appended.

Editing a Weather Station Assignment Manually

To change the weather station for a building:

1. Open the Facility Manager (Setup > Facilities).
2. Select the desired Place from the Facility Manager hierarchy.
3. Right-click and select Place Properties. The Place Properties window will open.
4. Click the General tab.
5. Click the Weather drop-down box and select an existing weather station from the drop-down list.
6. Click OK to save the changes and exit the Place Properties window.

Creating a Weather Station Manually

The first step in tracking, charting, reporting and analyzing weather data is to create a weather station. To create a Weather Station manually:

1. Navigate to Setup > Weather Stations
   
2. Click the New Station shortcut button to create a new weather station record.
   
3. Enter a Station Code and a Station Display Name.  The Station Code does not have to coincide with an established airport or city code.
4. Enter the Time Zone (This is only used to synchronize weather data and/or interval data when charting data from different time zones.).
5. In the upper right corner, select one of the three tracking options.  Most EnergyCAP users simply track mean daily temperature. Mean daily temperature is the average of  the daily high and the daily low.  A day with a high of 80 and a low of 50 has a mean of 65.  Typically, the mean temperature will be experienced between 10 and 11 am.  In other words, on a day that has an overnight low of 50 and a daytime high of 80, the mean temperature of 65 will occur around 10-11 am.

It is possible to track the mean daily temperature in degrees F or degrees C. However all data distributed via the EnergyCAP weather data subscription service is in degrees F. This includes Canadian stations.

To track temperature data on an interval other than daily (e.g. hourly) or to track weather data variables other than mean daily temperature (e.g. humidity, wet bulb temperature, wind, sunshine, precipitation, etc., create one or more data channels (see Creating Weather Data Channels).

If you have chosen Mean Daily Temperature, a Mean Daily Temperature data channel will be created for you when you click OK.

Beginning with EnergyCAP rel 5.0, you can automatically import weather data that has been provided by AccuWeather.com.

You must subscribe to this service and a low annual fee applies.Your subscription is for a set number of weather stations.If you have subscribed to the service, enter the state/province in the first data field and enter the specific city or airport in the second.The weather code identifier shown in the second field does not have to match the code you gave this station in the Code field.

Checking Weather Data for Missing Values

With many weather stations and many years of data it can be difficult to ensure that no daily data is missing.Therefore, use the Check Data shortcut button to identify:

• The first day for which weather data exists (first observation)

• Any missing days within the designated range of Check dates.

Degree Days

EnergyCAP uses mean daily temperature to calculate daily degree days. 

A degree day is a measure of relative heating and cooling energy required by buildings. It's calculated as the difference between the average daily temperature and the balance point temperature (55 degrees). When the average daily temperature is above the balance point, the result is cooling degree days; when below, the result is heating degree days.

Example 1:

Average daily temperature = 80. Balance point = 55. Cooling degree days = 25 CDD. (80-55=25)

Example 2: 

Average daily temperature = 40. Balance point = 55. Heating degree days = 15 HDD. (55-40=15)

Example 3:

Average daily temperature = 55. Balance point = 55. No degree days.

Why not use average temperature instead of degree days? The problem with average temperature is that highs and lows cancel each other out. A warm day (75 average temp) combined with a cold day (35 average temp) average 55. So do two mild days of 56 and 54. But in first case there are 20 CDD and 20 HDD while in the second there are 1 CDD and 1 HDD. Using degree days, you can see that the relative amount of energy required for the first set of days is much greater than for the second set of days. But if all you looked at was the average temperature, you would conclude that both sets of days were about the same.

The balance point temperature is the average daily outside temperature at which a building maintains a comfortable indoor temperature without heating or cooling. At this outside temperature, the indoor heat gains (due to people, lighting, equipment, etc) "balance" with heat loss through windows, walls, roof and ventilation.

Since the average daily outside temperature normally occurs at about 11 am, here’s the question: On a typical day, if the outside temperature at 11 am is 55, is the building being heated, cooled or neither? If heated, then the balance point should be set HIGHER than 55; if cooled, then the balance point should be set LOWER than 55; if neither, then a balance point setting of 55 is appropriate.

The 65-degree balance point standard was developed 75 years ago to help the gas industry predict heating loads in residences. Studies back then showed that when the average daily temperature fell below 65, residences began turning on the heat. To this day, many sources still track degree days using this standard, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Today's residences and commercial/institutional buildings are very different. Not only are walls, roofs and windows insulated much better, but also there are many more sources of internal heat gains (lights and equipment). Extensive use of degree day correlations by thousands of EnergyCAP users since 1982 has shown that a 55 or 60-degree balance point for modern buildings is almost universally more appropriate than 65.

Since residences have fewer sources of internal heat gains per square foot (occupants, lighting and equipment), you might find that 60 or even higher is a better balance point estimate, particularly in older residences that lack tight windows and high levels of insulation. In non-residential buildings, use a higher balance point (56-60+) for buildings that have low internal heat gains, high ventilation rates and poor insulation.

In EnergyCAP, it is possible to change the degree day balance point temperature:

• Use Tools > Options > Global, then click the Cost Avoidance tab to access the global settings
• The settings will be shown on the Weather Station Manager as Cooling Needed Above or Heating Needed Below.

If the balance point temperature is changed, the charts will be automatically updated the next time they are displayed.

Adjusting and Normalizing Cost and Usage Data for Weather

EnergyCAP has sophisticated weather adjustment and normalization capabilities. See Cost Avoidance.

Prerequisites for Weather Service import:

1. Import permission is required (User Properties/Permissions tab, Other Settings Application object) for the EnergyCAP user importing weather data.
2. Bill Import must also appear in the list of installed EnergyCAP modules (click Help/Piracy Protection/Info to display the System Information window). If Bill Import is NOT installed, contact EnergyCAP to update your EnergyCAP Maintenance Agreement.

Import Procedure

In EnergyCAP, just click Setup/Weather Stations. The Weather Station Manager will be displayed. Then click the Import Readings icon and select From Web. EnergyCAP will connect to the weather database, validate your user number and weather data subscription, and import all missing mean daily temperature data for all subscribed stations.

NOTES:

1. Subscription to the weather service is included in your EnergyCAP Maintenance Agreement.
2. Most weather stations in the weather data database have daily data beginning around 1/1/1995.
3. The weather data database is updated on a daily basis, by 11:00 ET.  All data points are meteorologist-verified by AccuWeather.com. This is an advantage over capturing “raw,” albeit free, data from government sources.
4. The import process will populate all empty days beginning on the most recent populated day and forward.  The importer does not skip backwards over existing data and search for prior empty days, so if you have manually entered 2007, it will not skip backwards and populate 1995 through 2006.  If you want to capture prior data in this scenario, you should simply delete the weather station (this will delete all daily data), re-create a new empty station, and then import the data.
5. A time stamp of 11:00 am local time is assumed because the mean daily temperature is assumed to occur at 11 am.

It is also possible to import weather data using the channel data importer.   Data formats are very flexible.  Here’s an example of an Excel file format:

1. From the Weather Station Manager, select File > Import. The Open window will appear.
2. Browse to the data file and click to select it. Then click Open.. The Import Wizard window will open.
   
3. Follow the Wizard prompts to create a new import profile. Or select an existing profile previously created for that file and data type.

Column 1 (DEVICE) is the Weather Station three-letter ID. Column 2 is the DATE, in MM/dd/yyyy format. Column 3 is the TIME in HH:mm format. Column 4 is the DATA value.

Importing Weather Data using an external task

It is also possible to import weather data using the Import Task [imptsk] function from the command line. Here is an example and explanation of each element:

The usage is:

imptsk -d [dsn] -u [user] -p [pwd] -c [converter] -f [path] -x -a [path] -l [path] -s [section] -v [verbose messages] -remote -t [traceID]

Where:

• -d [dsn] is the ODBC data source name
• -u [user] is the system user id
• -p [pwd] is the system password
• -c [converter] is the name of the converter
• -f [path] is the file to be imported
• -x will delete the input file after importing the data
• -a [path] will archive the data to the path specified
• -l [path] is the log file
• -s [section] is the profile section name
• -v [message text] when used, will add additional detail to the import log file.
• -remote is the command to connect to the HTTP data provider (use in conjunction with the -d switch, which identifies the Datasource from the Catalog Server (as displayed in the EnergyCAP Login window)
• -t [traceID] is the SQL server trace to initiate during verification

EXAMPLE: "c:\Program Files\EnergyCAP Enterprise\imptsk.exe" -d retailer -u kvs -p kvs -c STANDARD:SIMPLE_TEXT -f "c:\b-test\*.csv" -l "log.txt" -s MY_CHANNEL_PROFILE_NAME

• "c:\Program Files\EnergyCAP Enterprise\imptsk.exe” – This is the file path for the importer program, imptsk.exe. It is typically located in your Energy CAP Enterprise program folder. Be sure to enclose the file path in quotation marks. IMPORTANT - You must execute the command from the EnergyCAP program folder, i.e. log onto this folder before executing the imptsk.exe file. Simply pointing to the program folder from another location may cause the imptsk.exe program to be unable to run required supporting DLL files.
• -d retailer - This is the name of the database into which you wish to import the data.
• -u kvs – This is the User ID with which you wish to import the data. The User ID is the username you use to login to EnergyCAP Enterprise. Be sure adequate permissions exist to create the records.
• -p kvs - This is the password associated with User ID you are using to import the data.
• -c STANDARD:SIMPLE_TEXT – If you follow the format for the weather data in this technical bulletin, this is the converter you will use.
• -f "c:\b-test\*.csv" – This is the file path for the .csv document which you wish to import into EnergyCAP Enterprise.
• -l "log.txt" – The Importer creates a log file that tracks the changes made to EnergyCAP Enterprise. This is the file path to the location where that file will be saved.
• -s "MY_CHANNEL_PROFILE_NAME" - This is the name for the weather profile you have created.

You can enter weather data manually:

1. Highlight the weather station in the list
2. Click Edit Readings. The data entry “calendar” for the most recent empty month will appear
3. Enter the daily mean temperature for each day.  You do not have to enter a value for each day if you do not have a complete month. The calendar assumes 11:00 am as the time the daily mean occurs.  You can change this by clicking the Advanced button.
4. When done, click OK.

NOTE: If you have created additional data channels for a station, the calendar-like data entry form will not appear.  You will see a different form that allows entry of hourly or 15-minute data observations.

 EnergyCAP’s PowerViews panel gives you four charts for each weather station.

Weather Monthly Degree Day Comparison

The two-year comparison chart allows you to compare one month over two years. The graph shows the comparison year (the later year) compared with a base year (the earlier year).  The 0% line (see the arrow) means that the weather each year was the same for any months falling on the line.  The comparison percentage is positive (above the line) when the comparison year's weather was more severe than the base (it was warmer in a summer month or colder in a winter month). The comparison percentage is negative (below the line) when the comparison year's weather was milder than the base (it was cooler in a summer month or warmer in a winter month).  

Heating months are shown in red and cooling months are shown in green.  This is helpful in understanding why a building's heating/cooling bills were more or less.

NOTE: When a month had fewer than 30 degree days, the percentage is set to zero. This is to prevent relatively insignificant weather variations from appearing to be large. For example, one year in Chicago June had 2 HDD and another year had 6 HDD. Although the second year had a 200% increase in heating degree days, it's misleading to draw any conclusions from this low number of HDD because heating systems were probably turned off.

Cumulative Degree Days

The cumulative degree day charts are designed to allow you to compare one year's weather to another quickly as they relate to building energy usage. By comparing the cumulative degree days of one year with another year, you can see which year was more severe (more degree days) as it relates to heating and cooling needs. For example, if 2005 had 4,000 cumulative HDD and 2004 had 3,000 cumulative HDD, you can conclude that the 2005 weather was 33% colder and would have required about 1/3rd more heating energy. 

NOTE: The charts in this example are shown on a July to June fiscal year basis.  The month cycle is set in Tools >Options > Global > Settings, and conforms to the organization’s reporting cycle.

Weather Station Options

Use the Options shortcut button to establish viewing options. The first option sets the number of years displayed in the Heating and Cooling Degree Days and Mean Temperature charts.

The second option sets the base and comparison years shown in the Weather Monthly Degree Day Comparison chart.

Weather Data Reports

It is possible to view and print a variety of specialized weather data reports (see Reporting >Reports > Weather Reports).  Also, because weather data is a type of channel data, Channel Reports can be used to view and print weather data.

 

The Logical Device Code or Logical Device Name filter used in Channel Reports refers to the weather station code and display name.

Weather Data Analysis Charts

All weather data, whether daily or hourly, is stored in EnergyCAP as channel data.  This means that weather data can be reported and charted the same as any interval/channel data using Analysis > Charts (see Creating a Chart for further guidance).

In this case, the chart shows one year of daily mean temperature for LAX.  It can be useful to add hourly weather data channels to electric meter interval data charts to illustrate the relationship between weather variables and a building’s electric demand and consumption.

You can create your own weather data channels if you want to track data other than mean daily temperature.  Follow the example below to create a channel to track hourly dry bulb temperature in degrees F:

1. Open the Weather Station Manager (Setup > Weather Stations).
2. Select the weather station from weather station list in the center pane of the display.
3. Right-click and select Properties. The Weather Station Properties window will open.
4. Click Channels, then to create a new channel.
5. Set Type to Manual and Rule to Trip.
6. Select the channel data type from the list of available weather variables.
7. Select the observation interval and the total/average option desired.
8. Click OK.

You will want to import channel data, rather than enter it manually, because there will be a lot of it. Follow the instructions in Importing Weather Data from Other Sources.

Overview: To add a large number of meters, facilities accounts and/or vendors to your organization in EnergyCAP®, it may be convenient to use an Excel setup sheet provided by EnergyCAP, Inc.. This spreadsheet is comprised of 50+ columns; spreadsheet data provides a guide for the imptsk.exe importer to create the meters, accounts, and locations in their respective trees in the database. The Setup Sheet Import option is used most often for initial setup of the organization.

To download the current Import Setup spreadsheet, click here.

! IMPORTANT NOTE: The setup sheet’s columns are not customizable. They must not be re-ordered, removed, or supplemented  Do NOT use commas in any of the setup sheet data!

*We recommend that you use the meter code in the Meter GL
**If you have user-defined field information or rate code information we can import it at this point in one of the extra GL Subcodes.

Notes:
There are several items to consider when using the account setup function of the importer. It is recommended that you consult with your Implementation Engineer or Project Manager before you perform a setup import. Some of the things to consider are: 

• There can be no commas in any of the data! Commas will cause the importer to look for the end of record marker in the wrong area and will have unpredictable results. 

• The data must start on row 6 of the setup spreadsheet. Use the spreadsheet we provide to minimize chances of error. 

• If you are running this import to perform a mass creation of meters and accounts in an existing structure, only the first parent needs to be referenced. 

• This is not a tool to update accounts and meters. Use this only to create new objects. 

• If you need to create any tree structure with more levels than what we provide, you must manually create the levels in the facility and accounting trees prior to running the import. 

• After you save this file to .csv for import, it would be a good practice to open the .csv file into a text editor, such as Notepad or Wordpad, to view the data without the automatic formatting that Excel performs.

Example: 

-Company(s)
-Region(s)
-District(s)
-Facility(s)
-Place(s) or Cost Center(s)
- Meter(s) or Account(s) 

You must create the Company, Region, and District objects on the facility and accounting trees prior to import. Reference the District object as Parent’s parent Place Code & Name or Parent’s parent CC Code & Name.

There are two ways to import the Setup Sheet information to EnergyCAP.The easiest way is to use the import command from the File menu as follows:

1. Run the EnergyCAP software.
2. Navigate to the Facility Manager (Setup>Facilities).
3. Click File>Import. The Open window will be displayed. 
   
   
4. From the Files of type ... drop-down box, select Setup Import (*.csv).
   
   
5. Use the window browse features to navigate to the desired setup file and highlight to select it for import.
6. Click Open. The setup sheet information will be imported.

It is also possible to import setup sheet external to EnergyCAP by running the following command from a command line prompt. Follow the format of other documentation of external tasks: 

"Location of imptsk.exe file" -d ODBC DSN name -u EnergyCAP UserID –p Password -c STANDARD:ACCOUNT_IMPORT -f "Location of .csv file for import" -l "log.txt file location" 

The usage is:

Imptsk –d[dsn] –u[user] –p[pwd] –c[converter] –f[path] [-x] [-a path] [-l path] [-s section] [-v]
where
-d dsn -ODBC data source name
-u user -system user ID
-p pwd -system password
-c converter -name of the converter which is: STANDARD:ACCOUNT_IMPORT
-f path -file to be converted. Setup template saved in CSV format
-x -delete the import file after importing the data
-a path -archive the data to the specified path
-l path -name of the log file
-s section -profile section name
-v -verbose messages 

Example: "C:\Program Files\EnergyCAP Enterprise\imptsk.exe" -d ECE_Test -u ImportUser -p u$er1d -c STANDARD:ACCOUNT_IMPORT -f "c:\temp\TempSetup.csv" -l "C:\Temp\log.txt" 

1. "c:\Program Files\EnergyCAP Enterprise\imptsk.exe” – The file path for the importer program, imptsk.exe. It is typically located in your EnergyCAP Enterprise program folder. Be sure to enclose the file path in quotation marks. IMPORTANT - You must execute the command from the EnergyCAP program folder, i.e. log onto the folder before executing the imptsk.exe file. Simply pointing to the program folder from another location may prevent the imptsk.exe program from running required supporting DLL files.
2. –d ECE_Test –The name of the database into which you wish to import the data.
3. –u ImportUser – The User ID with which you wish to import the data. The User ID is the username you use to login to EnergyCAP Enterprise. Be sure adequate permissions exist to create the records.
4. –p u$er1d - The password associated with User ID you are using to import the data.
5. -c STANDARD:ACCOUNT_IMPORT – If you follow the import file specifications in this bulletin, this is the correct converter to use.
6. -f " c:\temp\TempSetup.csv " – The file path for the .csv document which you wish to import into EnergyCAP Enterprise.
7. -l " C:\Temp\log.txt " – The Meter/Account/Place (MAP) Importer creates a log file that tracks the changes made to EnergyCAP Enterprise. This is the file path to the location where that file will be saved.

After you run the importer you will see the following:

Prior to importing, the first screen will come up and perform error checks on the file.

After the error checks are performed, files that pass will proceed to the import process.

If any errors are found, you will receive an error message.

From this point, please reference the log file specified in the –l section of the command.

NOTES:

• If you are appending the same log.txt file each import, the latest import will be at the bottom of the file.
• Notice the “verifier column missing” error. This is not what caused the error but these items were skipped.
• This file errored out, because the meter code exceeded 16 characters.

In addition to assisting with initial organization setup, the import Setup Sheet can also be used to quickly add large groups of Places, Meters, or Vendors to an existing organization. However, since the importer has been designed only to add NEW database objects and not to overwrite existing data, it is impossible to update existing organization properties,

This limitation can actually be an advantage in many instances.

To import a list of new vendors, for instance, prepare the csv file by simply pasting the vendor codes and display names into the appropriate columns in the Setup Sheet and then insert existing organization data into the remaining required fields.

Then import the data. Since the importer will not overwrite existing data, only the NEW information (in this example, vendor code and vendor display) will be added to the organization database. The image below shows the result of the import above:

The same technique used for vendors can be used to import places, accounts, or meters. It is also possible to create additional layers in the Account Manager or Facility Manager hierarchy by correctly referencing a previously-created Parent Place and/or Cost Center.