Here are some frequently asked questions regarding monitored data. There is a good chance that the answer to your question can be found here.

 

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A monitoring unit (MU) is a collection of power units at a facility that are grouped together from the constraints of the data collection method. This is most commonly observed when a facility may have many power units, but only one fuel meter for the power units, resulting in data for all the individual power units being combined into one monitoring unit. One monitoring unit may record performance for one or more power units, and there may be more than one monitoring unit per facility.
 

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A power unit (PU) is the actual electrical generator. Examples of power units include the following:

• Microturbines
• Fuel Cells
• Engine Generators

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Data collected by the system can be plotted by clicking on the Monitored Data - Plots and Graphs option, which is accessed under the Reports tab. Depending on the plot options selected, there are typically three or four steps required to plot data.

1. Select the facilities to be plotted. Facilities can be selected individually, or grouped as desired. Groups of facilities can be selected by choosing from different classification types, such as Sector, Electric Utility, or Generator Technology.
2. Select the date range desired, data channel(s) to be plotted, plot type, and other plotting options (selectable by choosing the additional options link).
3. Select the plot data interval (hourly, daily, or monthly data) if necessary.
4. An additional response may be required to select the Aggregation Quality desired.

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There are ten data points included in the online database (for some sites, one or more of the data points may not be available):

1. DG/CHP Generator Output
2. DG/CHP Generator Output Demand
3. DG/CHP Generator Gas Input
4. Total Facility Purchased Energy
5. Total Facility Purchased Demand
6. Other Facility Gas Use
7. Useful Heat Recovery
8. Unused Heat Recovery
9. Status/Runtime of DG/CHP Generator
10. Ambient Temperature

There are four additional data points that are calculated from database values:

1. Total Facility Energy
2. Total Facility Demand
3. Total CHP Efficiency
4. Electrical Efficiency

Details for the online database can be found in the facility documentation section for a given facility under the "Facilities" tab.

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The Simple Plotting contains options that are the most common for plotting the data. The Additional Options allows you better control through a number of options for plotting data. Under the Additional Options, you can do things like plot data channels on separate plots or combine data for monitoring units into a single data set. You can also choose to plot any two data channels against each other in a custom XY scatter plot. There is also the option to select the Data Quality methods to apply. Changing the Data Quality method will result in more data being displayed on the plot, but the certainty that the data represents useful information will decrease. Under the simple interface, the Data Quality is always set to the highest level for the type of plot. For more details see the help section on Plotting Data.
 

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Data can be downloaded by selecting Monitored Data - Download (CSV file) under the Reports tab. You can select the desired sites, the date range and the data interval for download. The data is displayed in a comma separated variable (CSV) file that is easily imported into most spreadsheet programs. Data can also be downloaded after creating a plot. A Download CSV Data button appears at the top of the plot output page containing the data displayed in the plot. For each monitoring unit included in the plot, there are separate files available for download.
 

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Standardized reports are updated each time new data is made available for the online database. They contain tables and plots that further describe the performance of the CHP System for a given site. There are Monthly and Annual reports available in PDF format, which can be viewed using Adobe Acrobat Reader.
 

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There are four types of standardized reports available:

1. Generator, Facility, and Meter Power - contains tables and plots that summarize the Generator power generation and total facility electricity load.
2. Generator Status, Gas Use, Heat Recovery, and Facility Gas Use - displays tables and plots describing the generator runtime, generator and facility fuel consumption and the performance of the heat recovery system.
3. Generator Power Quality - contains tables and plots describing the generator power production including Voltage, Current, Power Factor, Harmonic Distortion and Frequency.
4. Facility Meter Power Quality - contains tables and plots describing the facility power use including Voltage, Current, Power Factor, Harmonic Distortion and Frequency and also compares the facility power characteristics with and without the generator operating.

 
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