Can I upload less than a full-year's worth of interval metering data?

As OpenSolar requires a full year worth of metering data in 8760 csv format - we need to serve a full year worth of metering data back to the solar App. If only a month, even only one data point would be missing - OpenSolar will return an error and the calculation will not get executed. Our interval metering data engine is so elaborate that we can accept part-year data too, which is ideal when your customer has switched retailer in the past year, or when you've installed some temporary metering. As customers meter data is an essential part of an accurate assessment - we've embedded this feature into our tool - notifying you if data is missing automatically and suggesting a solution to fulfill OpenSolars data requirements. 

Here's a detailed step by step description describing how that all works.

1. Upload and format your interval metering data in the usual way

Upload and format your customer's part-year interval metering data file in the usual way. 

• Wonder how to upload your customers meter data?

2.  You'll be warned that a part-year file has been detected

Our tool will serve that message only if a part year file has been uploaded. This warning provides you straight with the solution - to extrapolate the data.

If you ignore this message and don't extrapolate before proceeding - you'll be able to proceed to the next step via Save Changes - however the missing month will only appear as a flat line as no data has been provides. If you now try to push this data to OpenSolar via Export to OpenSolar - you'll get blocked from doing so and another error message will appear. This is to protect you from sending inaccurate data over to the Solar App - resulting in inaccurate calculation. Even if your customers consumption really appears to be 0 for several month of the year (e.g. irrigation pumps, ...) - please proceed with the extrapolation and ensure at least any data has been served to every month of the year. The data points can be 0 - as long as any data has been served.

3. Click the Yes, please extrapolate text within the warning

This will convert the intended interval metering data consumption profile into an editable consumption data format by averaging the consumption on weekdays/weekends respectively, for each month where data is available.

• What's the difference between meter data consumption profiles & editable consumption profiles?

4. Fill in the data for missing months

This is a critical step. If you don't fill in the missing months, then your ROI calculation will only be based on a part-years worth of results, under-selling your project potentials dramatically. You'll then need to manually fill in the data for missing months.

You can specify the information directly in your browser using a spreadsheet-like interface. Here you can edit each individual cell of the table until every month contains some data for both - trading and non-trading days.

• edit individual data points,
• copy and paste values from existing month
• fill across or fill down (You can extend data by selecting the corner of a selected cell and dragging it across or down)

We recommend simply using the web edit method and simply copying values from a month which contains data over to a month with missing data.

1. Click on the month which contains data on the very top to highlight the whole column

2. Grab the highlighted column on the bottom right corner - a little cross will pop up

3. Keep your mouse clicked while pulling the cursors to the right hand side to pull the values across and copy into the empty month.

For our other editing methods - see:

• See details about different editing methods

5. After editing the data, click Save changes

This will bring you in our preview screen - allowing to review & fine tune your profile a last time before sending it over to your OpenSolar project.

If you have entered any data into the missing month - none of the colored lines should appear to be flat anymore and the calculated average daily consumption should reflect your customers annual average daily consumption accordingly.

6. Done! Push the data to your OpenSolar project

Just press the Export to OpenSolar button on the bottom right