Sigma Online User Manual

EI Data Guide

Energy Intelligence (EI) - An Introduction

Energy Intelligence (EI) is an intuitive business intelligence and analytics module that provides you with the capability to interact with your energy data. You can perform multi-dimensional analysis to provide meaningful “Energy Intelligence” that supports energy management decisions and strategy.

There are over 30 datasets, covering 300+ data fields available in Sigma EI and in this guide we will summarise this information, helping you to build the reports and visualisations you need. The description and language used is aligned with Sigma and how your energy estate is setup using the objects within the system (e.g. Sites, Accounts, Meters, Channels etc.).

EI has the concept of Views and Categories which contain the data that you need to create your reports. Pre-defined reports are available in each of the available Views so you can interact with your energy data out-of-the-box. You can also build your own reports and visualisations with the self-serve reporting tools.

The EI hierarchy is summarised in the infographic below. More information will be provided on each of these items in the subsequent sections.

Data Enrichment

A key feature of EI is the automated data enrichment it gives you out-of-the-box, enabling you to get greater insights into your energy data with minimal effort and without having to perform manual data loads and manipulation.

The following list highlights this core enrichment:

Degree Days

This data will be maintained within EI, using a base temperature of 15.5oC 

The Degree Day Region is determined by using the Site postcode to look up the region against the UK Degree Day reporting regions.

  • Regional Degree Day Actuals – enabling year on year comparisons
  • Standard Degree Day Data - enabling comparison of weather-corrected energy consumption figures of comparable buildings in different regions
  • 20 Year Average Degree Day Data - to enable budget setting and benchmarking

Consumption Normalisation

Your energy consumption can be normalised against the following Site metrics:

  • Heated floor area
  • Floor area
  • Population
  • Occupancy

Allowing you to easily assess, visualise and report over site performance on a like-for-like basis, without having to manipulate your data.

Emissions Data

EI automatically loads the following government emission factors:

  • CO2
  • CO2e
  • N2O
  • CH4

They are sourced from the GOV.UK website, and calculates emission data based on your consumption across your energy portfolio.

Consumption Data

The Consumption data that has been loaded for a Channel that includes Periodic, Non-periodic and Account (for bills) channels.  Channels with the following Channel Data Types will be included:

  • Consumption
  • Consumption by Mass
  • Energy Consumption
  • Volumetric Consumption
  • Volume

Note:  Gaps in consumption will not be filled, unless using the Best Available Data Reports and the Estimation Techniques are switched on

Consumption Data Unit Conversion

It is likely that you load energy data into Sigma using different units (e.g. mWh, kWh, m3 etc.)

For each commodity, Sigma EI will automatically convert your data into a common unit, as listed below, to enable like-for-like reporting across your portfolio.

  • Electricity – kWh
  • Gas – kWh
  • Water - m3
  • Waste – tonne
  • Diesel – l
  • Heat – kWh
  • Oil – l
  • Propane – kg
  • Steam – kg
  • Other - no conversion applied, will remain in its native unit

Time Fields

The fields in this category relate to the view that is being used. Where one of these fields is used in a report, it will relate to specific dates as follows:

  • Bill View – Bill Read (End) Date
  • Consumption Views – Consumption Date
  • High Frequency Periodic Data View -
  • Bill Queries View – Query Raised Date
  • Bill Validation View – Validation Run Date

e.g. If the Formatted Date (Month Name) is used in a report based on the Bill View, the dates returned will refer to Bills that have a Bill Read Date in that Month

The following Times can be selected when creating a Report:

  • Date
  • Formatted Date (Year)
  • Formatted Date (Month Name)
  • Formatted Date (Week of Year)
  • Calendar Year
  • Calendar Quarter
  • Month
  • Week Number
  • Day 
  • Fiscal Year
  • Fiscal Quarter Number 
  • Fiscal Month Number
  • Fiscal Week Number
  • Fiscal Day Number
  • Day Number
  • Day Short Name
  • Month and Year
  • Month Name and Year
  • Month Short Name
  • Month Number
  • Fiscal 4-4-5 Quarter
  • Fiscal 5-4-4 Quarter
  • Fiscal 5-4-4 Month Number
  • Fiscal 4-4-5 Month Number
  • First Day of Month
  • UK Bank Holiday
  • Weekday or Weekend
  • UK Bank Holiday Name
  • Last Day of Month

Data Fields

Each field contained within a category is defined as a Dimension or a Metric which identifies how it can be used in analysis and reports.

A Dimension can also be a Date or Geography field.

Each type of field serves a different purpose as detailed in the table below:


Field TypeTypeIconDescription
DimensionD

  Yellow square

Retrieves the data that will provide the basis for analysis in a report. Typically text or date fields e.g. Site Name
MetricM

  Blue circle

Retrieves numeric data that is the result of pre-defined calculations on data in the database e.g. gross amount of a Bill

DateDT

    Yellow square or calendar

Date fields are either recognised as date, datetime, or timestamps in the database, or are text/metric fields that have been converted.

GeographyG

  Yellow or blue geo

Geography fields

Pre-Defined FilterF

  Green funnel

Pre-defined filter values

Available Views and Categories

Nine pre-defined Sigma Views and six Tenant Billing Views have been created on top of the Sigma database to expose the key groups of data.

Sigma Views

ViewDescriptionData Availability*
Bills - ChargesThe bills that have been loaded into Sigma, including individual charge lines, bill tags, batches and associated to all Sigma Items
Bills - Daily ConsumptionEnriched daily consumption generated from bill totals, normalised to common units per account commodity and associated to all Sigma Items
Bills - QueriesAll queries raised against bills within Sigma and associated to all Sigma Items
Bills - ValidationThe validation results for bills in Sigma and associated to all Sigma Items
Estate - Best Available Consumption - click for more detailsThe best available consumption for a supply point combined with independent Consumption Data Channels For Supply Point Consumption: - Data is sourced from meters, Bills and Supplier statements - Data is prioritised, and estimated according to flexible config - Data is converted to common unit of measurement, per commodity - Data is filled using “Missing Data Imputation” Machine Learning - Data is forecasted to current date - Data Enriched with Emissions, Associated data and degree days Data is also sourced from 'Consumption Data' channels nested under Organisation, Site Group or Site Items5 years

Estate - Structure

All Sigma item types available for reporting

5 years

Estate - Supply Point Configuration

Provides access to Sigma items that relate to Supply Points


Meters - Daily ConsumptionEnriched daily consumption data loaded in Sigma against both non-periodic and periodic channels, normalised to common units per commodity and associated to all Sigma Items
Meters - Data Monitoring NotificationsData Monitoring Strategies and the Notifications that have been created for each Strategy

Meters - High Frequency Consumption

High frequency data loaded from periodic channels

14 months

Monitoring Points - Daily Consumption***

Enriched daily consumption and cost data from Monitoring Points in Sigma (Only those that are held under Sites and Building Units)5 years
Monitoring Points – High Frequency Consumption***HH consumption and cost data from Monitoring Points in Sigma (Only those that are held under Sites and Building Units)5 years

*Note: The Data Availability column defines the maximum age of the data which will be available in Energy Intelligence.

**Note: The Views use outer joins to join the entities to each other.

*** Note: Restricted access


Sigma Categories

View CategoriesBills - ChargesBills - Daily ConsumptionBills - QueriesBills - ValidationEstate - Best Available ConsumptionEstate - StructureEstate -Supply Point ConfigurationMeters - Daily ConsumptionMeters -Data Monitoring NotificationsMeters - High Frequency ConsumptionMonitoring Points - Daily ConsumptionMonitoring Points - HH Consumption
AccountYYYYYYYYYY

Account PropertyYYYYYYYYYY

BillYYYY







Bill ChargeY










Bill Cost CentreYY









Bill TagY










Building Unit




YYYYYYY
Building Unit Property




YYYYYYY
Bulk Bill BatchYYYY







Bulk Bill Batch PropertyYYYY







Channel



YYYYYY

Channel HF Data








Y

Channel Property



YYYYYY

Consumption/Consumption & Emissions
Y

Y

Y

Y
Consumption Data Channel



Y






ContractYYYYYYYYYY

Contract PropertyYYYYYYYYYY

Cost Centre




Y





MeterY
YY
YYYYY

Meter PropertyY
YY
YYYYY

Monitoring Point









YY
Monitoring Point Property









YY
Monitoring Point Issues









YY
Monitoring Point Items 









YY
Monitoring Strategy







Y


Notifications







Y


OrganisationYYYYYYYYYYYY
Organisation PropertyYYYYYYYYYYYY
ProviderYYYYYY
YYY

Query

Y








SiteYYYYYYYYYYYY
Site GroupYYYYYYYYYYYY
Site PropertyYYYYYYYYYYYY
Site Group PropertyYYYYYYYYYYYY
Supply PointYYYYYYYYYY

Supply Point PropertyYYYYYYYYYY

TimeYYYYY

YYYYY
Time of Day (Periodic Channel Data Datetime)








Y
Y
Validation Result


Y







Sigma Best Available Consumption View

The best available consumption will pick the best consumption to use based on the hierarchy that has been set globally or within an individual Supply Point.

Click here for more information.

Available Sigma Categories

Once you are in a view, a number of categories will be available. These categories group the data fields contained in the views in a meaningful and business friendly manner, aligned with how information is seen and managed across Sigma. This grouping facilitates you being able to quickly access the data you need.

For example, in the Account category, you will see data items associated to an account such as Account Number, Account Commodity and Account Meter Number etc.

CategoryDescription
Account                                         All the utility billing accounts that have been created in Sigma
Account Property             

All the properties that have been defined and associated to an Account in Sigma

(Note - Only accounts linked to sites are available.)

Bill     

Details of all the EDI and Manual bills that have been entered into Sigma

 (Note - Tenant Bills are not shown)

Bill Charge

The Bill charge data entered into Sigma. A row is returned for each charge on a Bill.

Bill Cost Centre

The applicable apportionment factors for each effective Cost Centre defined for the bill*.
(Note - If a single Cost Centre has a split factor during the period of a bill, a weighted average will be calculated based on the number of days in the bill period that each individual factor is applicable.)

Building Unit

Details of building units defined in Sigma
 (Note - Only building units linked to sites are available)

Bill Tag

The Bill Tags used in a Sigma Bill. Each item of information within a Bill is stored as a 'Bill Tag' for the type of Bill e.g. the Bill Tags in an electricity bill will differ from those in a gas bill. They can be used to provide information about a particular value in a bill. A row is returned for each Bill Tag populated in a Bill.

Building Unit PropertyThe User defined properties that are associated to a Building Unit within Sigma
Bulk Bill Batch                               The batches of bills that have been loaded into Sigma
Bulk Bill Batch Property                The User defined properties that are associated to a bulk bill batch within Sigma
Consumption / Consumption & Emissions (Best Available View only)

The Consumption data that has been loaded for a Channel that includes Periodic, Non-periodic and Account (for bills) channels.

Only Channels with the following Channel Data Types will be included:

Consumption, Consumption By Mass, Energy Consumption, Volumetric Consumption and Volume

The emission conversion factors e.g. Cons CO2 are sourced from the GOV.UK website ‘Government emission conversion factors for greenhouse gas company reporting’ or custom values if they have been entered

Consumption Data Channel

The consumption or emissions data that has been loaded for a Consumption Data Channel

Channel                                         The periodic or non-periodic channels that exist in Sigma and are associated with a meter. The channel holds the data coming from the meter
Channel HF Data                          Periodic channel raw data at the granularity and units as loaded into Sigma. For example, Half Hourly consumption data
Channel Property    The User defined properties that are associated to a channel within Sigma
Contract                                        The Contracts that have been loaded into Sigma
Contract Property                         The User defined properties that are associated to a contract within Sigma
Cost Centre                                  The Cost Centres defined for an Account, to facilitate apportionment of bills, as required for accounting purposes
Meter                                            

The Meters that have been defined in Sigma

(Note - Sub meters are included, but virtual meters are excluded)

Meter Property                           The User defined properties that are associated to a Meter within Sigma
Monitoring Strategy

The Monitoring Strategies that exist in the Data Monitoring Activity

Notifications

The Notifications created for each Monitoring Strategy

Organisation                               The details of each Organisation defined in Sigma
Organisation Property                 The User defined properties that are associated to an Organisation within Sigma
Provider                                      The Providers that have been defined in Sigma – these usually represent utility supplier, data aggregators, meter operators and data collectors
Query                                          

The queries that have been raised in Sigma against an Account

Site      The sites that have been defined in Sigma. These represent the physical location of a property
Site Group         The site groups that have been created in Sigma in order to group individual sites together
Site Group Property The User defined properties that are associated to a site group within Sigma
Site Property   The User defined properties that are associated to a site within Sigma
Site                                            The sites that have been defined in Sigma. These represent the physical location of a property
Site Group The site groups that have been created in Sigma in order to group individual sites together
Site Group Property                   The User defined properties that are associated to a site group within Sigma
Site Property                             The User defined properties that are associated to a site within Sigma
Supply Point                             The supply points that have been defined in Sigma – i.e. the MPAN (electricity) or MPR (gas)
Supply Point Property               The User defined properties that are associated to a supply point within Sigma
Time                                           A number of different time related options (e.g. month, year etc.) to help consolidate your data into periods of time
Time of Day (Periodic Channel Data Datetime)

A set of fields to identify the time of day that data represents. Only available in the Sigma High Frequency Periodic Data view

Validation Result                       The results that have been created as a result of performing bill validation within Sigma


Tenant Billing Views

View DescriptionData Availability

Tenant Billing - Bill Consumption (IDR)3*

Useful for Tenant Billing Customers only. Daily consumption generated from bill totals, and associated to all Sigma Items

5 years

Tenant Billing - Bill Queries

Useful for Tenant Billing Customers only. All queries raised against Tenant bills within Sigma and associated to all Sigma Items

5 years

Tenant Billing - Bill Validation

Useful for Tenant Billing Customers only. The validation results for Tenant bills in Sigma and associated to all Sigma Items

5 years

Tenant Billing – Bills and Charges (IDR)3

Useful for Tenant Billing Customers only. The Tenant bill charges that have been created by Sigma and associated to all Sigma Items

5 years

Tenant Billing - Meter Consumption

Useful for Tenant Billing Customers only. Enriched daily consumption data loaded in Sigma against both non-periodic and periodic channels, normalised to common units per commodity and associated to all Sigma Items

5 years

Tenant Billing - Supply Point Configuration (IDR)3

Useful for Tenant Billing Customers only. Provides access to Tenant billing Sigma items that relate to Supply Points5 years

*in Day Refresh

Data available within these Views can be refreshed manually from within Sigma


To start building a report in Sigma EI, go to the main navigation bar on the left hand side, click Create > Report, select one of the nine Views and start using the drag and drop tool to build your data.

The data category access matrix below details of the categories available in each of the views.

Tenant Billing Categories

View CategoriesTenant Billing - Bill Consumption (IDR)3*Tenant Billing - Bill QueriesTenant Billing - Bill ValidationTenant Billing – Bills and Charges (IDR)3Tenant Billing - Meter ConsumptionTenant Billing - Supply Point Configuration (IDR)3
Building UnitYYYYYY
Building Unit PropertyYYYYYY
Channel




Y
Channel Property




Y
ConsumptionY


Y
ContractYYYYYY
Contract PropertyYYYYYY
Meter


YYY
Meter Property


YYY
OrganisationYYYYYY
Organisation PropertyYYYYYY
Query
Y



SiteYYYYYY
Site GroupYYYYYY
Site PropertyYYYYYY
Site Group PropertyYYYYYY
Supply PointYYYYYY
Supply Point PropertyYYYYYY
Tariff




Y
Tariff Entry




Y
Tariff Cost Definition Entry




Y
TenantYYYYYY
Tenant AccountYYYYYY
Tenant Account PropertyYYYYYY
Tenant AdHoc Charge




Y
Tenant BillYYYY

Tenant Bill Charge


Y

Tenant Bill Cost CentreY

Y

Tenant Billing GroupYYYYYY
Tenant PropertyYYYYYY
Tenant Provider YYYYYY
TimeYYYYY
Validation Result

Y




        

Available Sigma Tenant Billing Categories

Additional Tenant Billing Categories


CategoryDescription
Tariff

The User defined properties that can be assigned to and populated for a Tariff within Sigma

Tariff Entry

The User defined properties that can be assigned to and populated for a Tariff Entry within Sigma

Tariff Cost Definition Entry

The User defined properties that can be assigned to and populated for a Tariff Entry within Sigma

Tenant

The User defined properties that can be assigned to and populated for a Tenant within Sigma

Tenant Property

The User defined properties that can be assigned to and populated for a Tenant within Sigma

Tenant Account

The Accounts defined within Sigma. A row is returned for each Tenant Account in the system.

Only Accounts that are directly linked under a Supply Point are included

Tenant Account PropertyThe User defined properties that can be assigned to and populated for a Tenant Account within Sigma
Tenant Ad hoc Charge

The user defined properties that can be assigned to and populated for a Tenant Ad hoc Charge within Sigma.

Tenant Bill

The Tenant Bills entered into Sigma. A row is returned for each bill where the source is Tenant Bill.

Tenant Bill ChargeThe charges calculated for a Tenant Bill
Tenant Bill Cost Centre

The applicable factor for each applicable Cost Centre defined for an Account that a bill is for. A row is returned for each Cost Centre associated to the Account associated to a Bill where the Cost Centre effective from date is on or before the Bill Read (End) Date.

If a single Cost Centre has a split factor during the period of the bill, a weighted average will be calculated based on the number of days during the bill each individual factor is applicable.

Tenant Billing Group

The user defined properties that can be assigned to and populated for a Tenant Billing Group within Sigma.

Tenant Provider

The Providers defined in Sigma. A row is returned for each Tenant Provider in the system



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