[Quick links to previous parts of this series: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5 ]

Let’s Partially Critique Energy Manager Graphs

Previously I laid out a few Usage Alert screens and some problems currently existing therein. Let’s move on and show some poor examples of graphs in Energy Manger ‘Energy Use’ detail screen.

Mr Flanagan: “About time!”

How so?

Mr Flanagan: “Well, it seems you’re being more positive than usual.”

Just setting bait, Mr F, just setting bait.

Mr Flanagan: “I don’t know about the rest of the virtual class, but I’m taking notes.”

Great, or you could just download the PDF.

Let’s get today’s show on the road and see if we can get outta this place before the weekend. Probably the last thing I’ll ever do. And, don’t let me be understood on that. Animals.

Proceeding right away…

The “House of the Rising Sun or Solar Power at Night” problem graphs

Figure 1. Solar Panels? Nope. Sun still up? Nope. Am I putting power on the CMP grid? Nope.

The “All in one Hour” or the “Almost All in one Hour” problem graphs

Figure 2. Look! All the energy is used in only one hour of the day! Nothing else used all day, and I was home socially distant.

Figure 3. Look! Almost all the day’s energy used in the last hour of the day. Phfffft!

The graph has values: 0.73, 0.45, 0.37, 0.40, 0.38, 0.36, 0.64, 1.22, 1.26, 1.46, 1.00, 0.72, 0.70, 0.40, 0.59, 0.58, 050, 0.58, 0.98, 1.01, 0.62, 0.48, 0.50, 5.87. Added up = 21.8 kWh; rounded (up) = 22 kWh. What an amazing coincidence.

But…the real values for each hour are: 0.745, 0.446, 0.466, 0.464, 0.468, 0.505, 1.003, 2.04, 2.139, 0.979, 1.066, 0.895, 1.018, 0.904, 0.725, 0.74, 0.632, 0.639, 0.923, 1.125, 1.36, 1.117, 0.909, 0.838. On the graph they would be rounded, as such: 0.75, 0.45, 0.47, 0.46, 0.47, 0.51, 1.00, 2.04, 2.14, 0.98, 1.07, 0.90, 1.02, 0.90, 0.73, 0.74, 0.63, 0.64, 0.92, 1.13, 1.36, 1.12, 0.91, 0.84. Added up = 22.18 kWh; and rounded (down) = 22 kWH. 22 kWh is what the graph got correct! Do you see it up there in the corner? Kinda makes you wonder how the CMP systems store the data for all this. The cloud? Yeah the cloud is all the rage. More like the fog bank though.

The “Let’s show the same Kilowatt hour for all 24 hours in the day” problem graphs

Figure 4. I did a great job keeping all my appliances using the same electricity all day! Not.

Figure 5. Go figure I can run my house this flat! Not.

Figure 6. Flat line energy use at 1.75 kWh. Shouldn’t be.

Oh, and there are about 8 more of these type of days, ie flat-liners, that I’ve come across in my usage data via Energy Manager!

The unexplained problem graphs

Really, they are all unexplained, but let me just pick on one of them – and that would be Figure 3 above. I don’t have an explanation, and that’s my explanation.

Yes, Mr F?

Mr Flanagan: “Yeah, those are some really messed up numbers. I can’t decide which is right and which is an illusion anymore.”

Understood!

Mr Flanagan: “So can we make all those numbers a little easier to read for everybody? Especially Figure 3. Like maybe in a spreadsheet table?”

Probably.

Mr Flanagan: “Well at least let us know how you know what the real numbers are. I followed your link, from Part 5, to your own energy manager system that you have hooked up at your house, and even that small “CMP versus you” comparison graph had some deltas for the usage data. So how do you know what values are right for CMPs own systems?”

Now that’s a ramble Mr F.

Remember I said there was another way? All the way back to about half way into part 4? Well that “another way” will be explained in Part 8 of this series. Meanwhile in part 7, we’re gonna take a side journey to add to our misery. So rest up your eyeballs and fluff up your aching seater packs.

Next time, virtual dudes and dudettes.

(Note: Click here to go to Part 7 of this Series.)