Energy & utilities tracking
For the helpdesk teamEnergy & utilities
Section titled “Energy & utilities”The energy surface tracks two things: the meters the trust owns (the catalogue) and the readings taken from them (the time-series). One screen surfaces both.
Why bother
Section titled “Why bother”Energy data feeds the trust’s annual emissions report. It also catches leaks — a sudden 40% jump in water consumption usually means a stuck float valve or a burst on a feeder somewhere.
Meters
Section titled “Meters”Each meter has:
- A utility type — electricity, gas, water, heating_oil, other.
- A site it belongs to (you can have multiple meters per site).
- A label — “Main board, kitchen wing” is more useful than the serial number.
- An MPAN / MPRN / SPID — the supply-point identifier, used when ordering switches or DCC change-of-supplier.
- An optional is_smart flag — informational; doesn’t change the workflow.
Readings
Section titled “Readings”Click a meter on the index to see its 12 most recent readings as a sparkline plus a list. Add new readings here — date, reading value, optional note.
period_consumption is calculated automatically from the previous reading. The first reading shows as null.
Anomalies
Section titled “Anomalies”A reading is flagged as an anomaly when its period consumption is more than double, or less than a quarter of, the rolling 8-reading median. The flag is set on save — there’s no separate background job, so you see the badge immediately. At least 3 prior readings are needed before the check fires.
Anomalies are a hint, not a verdict. Fewer readings during the holidays will trip the flag legitimately. Use it as a prompt to glance at the chart, not as something to chase.
Gotchas
Section titled “Gotchas”- Meter readings can only go up (or stay the same — manual reads aren’t always perfect). If you fat-finger a reading lower than the previous one, the form refuses; correct the previous reading first.
- Smart meters that ingest automatically (via a future DCC integration) will land in the same table. The
is_smartflag is the marker. - Bulk import of historic readings: use the imports tool (admin) rather than retyping a year of meter cards.