Adding utility data

Baseline > Building Description > Utilities

This article describes how to add a utility data for your new or existing buildings. Utility data is an important tool to verify the performance of the baseline energy model and to capture the correct pricing structure need to accurately calculate savings for FIMs, Designs and Projects.

Users are directed to this page after successfully adding a building to the VIP platform. It is also possible to navigate to it by clicking on the Utilities page in the Baseline section to view all the utility bills for the building.

General Layout

How to add a utility bill

How to edit an existing bill

How to delete a bill

Calculation Details

General Layout

This section details the different parts of the Utilities page. The information entered here is also reflected graphically in the Summary page of the Building Details section and Data Explorer page of the Performance section. Refer to the Glossary for descriptions of each field.

Overview

1. The type of energy being consumed in the building.
2. A list of all the invoices associated with the energy type for the building.
3. Add a new invoice to the list.
4. View or edit the details for the selected invoice.

Invoice Details

1. Account type and number. This is typically unique to the organisation, building and/or meter associated with the utility invoice.
2. The billing start and end date of the invoice.
3. The type of payment structure which is either a Block Rate (varying utility rates for different lump sum blocks of energy) or Time of Use (utility rates based on energy used during varying times of the day).
4. The amount of energy consumed during the particular time of day (Time of Use) or block usage (Block Rate) and the associated rates (cost per unit energy).
5. If applicable, the maximum hourly demand for electricity usage during the billing period and the associated rate. 
6. The sum of all the costs for the billing period.

How to add a utility bill

1. On the Overview page in Utilities, select the relevant energy type. Click the + button to expand the selection if needed.
2. Click the Add Invoice button.
   
3. Select if the new invoice is linked to an existing account number or a new one.
4. Populate the fields on the page based on the utility invoice.
5. Click the Create button to finalise.
   
6. The new utility invoice will appear in the Overview page.
   

Pro Tip: Toggle on the Upload utility bill feature to upload a bill document (in pdf format) to the platform. This will prompt the user to select a profile which the Setmetrics team will assist in setting up initially. The platform will automatically scan the document and populate the fields in the page.

How to edit an existing bill

1. On the Overview page in Utilities, click the View Details button for the desired invoice.
   
2. Change the values in the relevant fields.
3. Click Update once all the changes have been made on the page. Or click Cancel to undo all changes and revert back to the previous state.
   

How to delete a bill

1. On the Overview page in Utilities, click the View Details button for the desired invoice.
   
2. Click the Delete button.
   
   
3. Click Confirm to finalise the deletion process. Or click Cancel to stop the process and return to the Overview page.
   

Calculation Details

Usage Cost

The results of the baseline simulation are logged for hourly utility usage and if applicable, separated into peak and off-peak periods. The total utility consumption is summed up and the rate structure specified in the Utilities section is applied. 

It is recommended that any ancillary charges that a user wishes to take into account when determining FIM/Design/Project savings be combined with the Block Rate/Time of Use rates.

Demand Cost

If an electricity peak demand rate is entered, the system will determine the peak demand for the particular month by taking the highest electricity demand over an hour in that month and apply the rate to that figure. This is repeated for every month in the annual run period.