Device-specific Energy Insights

More and more homes and businesses are being equipped with devices that can provide energy data. These could include new smart heat pumps, smart plugs, or separate meters. These devices or meters are specifically designed to perform tasks within the home or business that consume energy, with the energy consumption data stored in the device and available for access. This energy data provides valuable insights for homeowners and business owners who are considering how they are performing and what they can do to save energy in the future.

Eliq’s platform enables access to energy data from these devices, providing it to end users. It allows developers to input device-specific energy data into the Data Management API, and for apps to present energy insights for each created device (referred to as a "meter" in our platform) to the end user, via the Energy Insights API.

The result is the ability to offer deeper insights into end users' locations by allowing them to see energy insights for specific meters or other devices. This not only helps users track and understand their energy usage more effectively but also creates more engagement by providing more data.

How to add device-specific Energy Data

Creating and configuring devices is done using the Eliq Data Management API, where each device is registered as a meter, and energy data is continuously provided for it.

Add one or more meters to a location

For each Location, through the Data Management API, it is possible to create one or more meters. A meter can be an installed Electricity (or other fuel) Meter, providing the energy consumption for a fuel , or it could be a Smart Device that provides Energy Data for its specific purpose (heat pump, EV charger and more).

It is possible to add any number of meters to a single Location which could be a combination of different meters for the same fuel type, different fuel types as well as other smart devices.

For more information about how to add Energy Data using the Eliq Data Management API, visit the Step-by-Step guide to Eliq Data Management API

Set sub_meter parameter

For each meter it is possible to define whether ir provides the total energy data for the Location and fuel or if it is providing a sub set of energy data. This is determined when creating the meter by setting the parameter is_submeter to true or false . The set value will determine whether the Eliq platform will add or subtract energy data for a period for each meter in order to provide the correct total energy data when requesting the locations total energy data e.g. Get Location/consumption.

Note! It is important that the is_submeter value is correct when creating or updating a Meter. If the is_submeter value is incorrect, the end user will get incorrect Total Consumption values.

Categorise the meter (optional)

If the meter is explicitly consuming energy for one (1) of the supported Energy Usage Categories, it is possible to set a category string value for each meter. This will “tag” all the energy data from the meter to a specific category. The list of available Energy Usage Categories names can be found on the page linked above.

category should be set to null if:

1. You aren’t certain what the category the meter is for.
2. The meter is not explicitly consuming energy for 1 specific category, e.g. an electricity meter.
3. The meters EUC may change in the future, e.g. if the end user decides to move or reconfigure it.

Note! It is currently not possible to expose meter-specific EUC data from the Eliq platform but it will be possible in the future.

How to expose meter-specific Energy Data

The Insights API endpoint Get location consumption is used to request the complete energy consumption data for a location, period and fuel and will return a total value of consumption that is calculated based on each meter and their is_submeter value.

Meter Id and Metadata

The meter Id and other useful metadata for each meter can be found in the Get Location endpoint.

• user_setup_completed will always be false . In a future update, it will be possible to allow end users to configure or reconfigure meters that are created for a Location. This will enable use cases such as:
  • Allowing end users to set custom names for meters.
  • Allowing end users to update Energy Usage Category if the use of the meter changes.
  • Allowing users to set Energy Usage Category for meters where only they can know what it is used for.
    
• name_suggested is the name of the meter when it was created through the DM API.
  
• category_suggested is the Energy Usage Category set for the meter when it was created or updated through the DM API.

In a future update to this feature, it will be possible for end users to set meter names and categories. If and when that is support and has been done by an end user, the response for the meter will be as follows:

Meter Energy Data

To expose energy data for a single meter, request the Insights API endpoint Get meter energy data for a specific meter and period. The results will be returned in a similar way as the Get Location/Consumption endpoint but with the energy data for only the specific meter.

Available Fuels, Units, Resolutions and Directions

Meter-Specific Energy Insights can be provided for multiple fuels , units and resolutions . For details on what is supported, visit the API reference Documentation listed below.

Meter-specific Energy Insights can be provided for both Import and Export directions support both Consumption Meters (who use energy that is imported to the location) as well as Export Meters (for locations equipped with solar panels and meters responsible for exporting energy from the location and to the electricity grid).

API Reference Documentation

Detailed information Requests and Response calls as well error messages, available resolutions and supported fuel types can be read in each APIs Reference Documentation, linked below.

Data Management API

• Get meters
• Get meter
• Create or update meter
• Delete meter

Insights API

• Get device energy data

Use Cases

Below are a few important Use Cases to show case a few important and possible implementations of device-specific energy insights in an app.

Show device-specific Heating Insights

If Heating Energy Consumption can be accessed from a location through a device or meter, this information can be made available to end users through an app by creating a meter for Heating, setting a relevant name, and allowing the end user to select either the total energy consumption for a location or the energy consumption specifically provided by the Heating device.

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