Chapter

5. eciQUEST

In ecWIN the end-user tasks such as compi= ling reports, drawing load profiles and doing data-minig are all accomplished wi= th the Web based module eciQUEST.=

he eciQUEST= module is used by the = majority of end-user to view reports and/or profiles in the ecWIN system.

Access is controlled with a username/password combination entered on the eciQUEST home page. The user simp= ly selects the database of interest from the drop down-list, enter his/her user username and password for the selected database and press the Logon= push button.

Figure: eciQUEST Home / Logon window

If the username/password combination is incorrect for the selected database, the u= ser will not be granted access to eciQ= UEST and this message displayed just below the Logon frame.

Figure: If the eciQUEST Logon failed, this text is displayed

If the user has forgotten his/her password, the Remind me link can be pressed. This will open up a window as presented in the image below where the user must input his/her e-mail address and then press= the Submit button.

Figure: Data field / push button to use to get a password reminder via e-mail

Should the e-mail address be configured for a user in the ecWIN database, the relevant username and password will be e-ma= iled to that user (e.g. “Password = for user MICKEY is MOUSE”), and the following message is displayed be= fore the user is returned to the Logon window.

Figure: Message displayed on a successful passwo= rd retrieval<= /o:p>

Otherwise, the next message is shown on redirection to the Logon page.

Figure: Error message displayed if the supplied = e-mail address is not registered

After a successful logon, the user is presented with the Profile Selection screen discussed in the next section. Other links provided in the top-right corner= on the home page (as well as all other eciQUEST pages) include:

a)&n= bsp; Home – returns the user the home / logon page.

b)&n= bsp; Help – displays this documentation

c)&n= bsp; Contact us – displays a page with contact details of IST Otokon as in the ima= ge below.

= &nb= sp; i. &nb= sp; The e-mail link can be clicked to open up the e-mail program and send an e-mail= to IST Otokon.

= &nb= sp; ii. &n= bsp; The Web URL can be clicked to open IST’s home page on the Web.=

= &nb= sp; iii. &= nbsp; Pressing the Return to eciQUEST button w= ill take the user to the previous screen.

Figure: eciQUEST Contact Information page

5.1 View Profiles

After a successful logon or when View Profiles are selected in the leftmost drop-down list, this Profile Selection screen is shown:

Figure: eciQUEST – Profile Selection screen

Each of the controls presented will be discussed in = the following section.

5.1.1 Profile Selection controls

a)<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> My Profiles = ;/ Specify New = ;drop-down list:

&nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; i. &nb= sp; Selecting My Profiles the drop-down list next to it can be used to select a previous= ly defined Favourite. Once selected, the relevant entities and profile paramet= ers will be restored as was saved previously.

&nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; ii. &n= bsp; Otherwise, Specify New can be selected to type in a name for a new Favourite that must be stored with the selections made.

b)<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> Pressing the View push button will displ= ay the selected entities for the dates specified on a profile of the selected type= .

c)<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> The Save push button can be pressed= to store the current profile settings under the Favourite name specified (shou= ld the user have sufficient rights to do it). A message will appear revealing = the outcome of the attempted updating.

Figure: eciQUEST – successful Favourite update message

Figure: eciQUEST – unsuccessful Favourite update message

d)<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> Pressing Delete will remove the Favourit= e from the database (should the user have sufficient rights to do it). A message w= ill appear revealing the outcome of the attempted removal.

Figure: eciQUEST – successful Favourite removal message

Figure: eciQUEST – unsuccessful Favourite removal message

e)<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> Regarding the dates of interest for the profile, the user must make a selection betwe= en Billing Period or Specified Dates:

&nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; i. &nb= sp; If B= illing Period is selected, the user can select on of the previously defined default Billing Periods. Making this selection will automatically put the start/end dates in the data fields provided. (Note that editing the dates afterwards will automatically change the radio-button selection to Specified Dates).

&nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; ii. &n= bsp; Selecting Specified Dates the profile will be drawn for the p= eriod between the start and end dates. If an invalid date is entered (e.g. the st= art date is after the end date), the system will automatically adjust these fie= lds.

f)<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> = In the Data drop-down list, the us= er must make a selection between the following:

&nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; i. &nb= sp; 10/1= 5/30/60 Minutely: This is typically = used to display the raw data for entities. The system will automatically determi= ne the relevant integration period of the profile from the entities selected. Should the integration period of the entities differ, the largest integrati= on period will be used. All other entities will be scaled upwards to the higher integration period (either summated or averaged, dependent on the entities’ configuration)

&nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; ii. &n= bsp; Daily Values Summated: For the dates spec= ified, the raw values of the entities are summated / averaged to result in one val= ue per day. (The selection between summation and averaging depends on the entity’s configuration: if set to Accumulate, the values are summated; otherwise, if set to Average, the values are averaged for each day).

&nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; iii. &= nbsp; Daily Values Averaged: For the dates spec= ified, the raw values of the entities are averaged to result in one value per day, independent of the entity’s configuration.

&nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; iv. &n= bsp; Mont= hly Values Summated: For the dates spec= ified, the raw values of the entities are summated / averaged to result in one val= ue per billing month. (The default billing periods are used for this calculati= on).

&nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; v. &nb= sp; Mont= hly Values Averaged: For the dates spec= ified, the raw values of the entities are averaged to result in one value per bill= ing month. (Once again, the default billing periods are used for this calculati= on).

&nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; vi. &n= bsp; Comp= arison: The entity selected in the first li= ne will be plotted on all 8 colours, but for the previous 7 periods as well. E= .g. if a start and end date of 1 August 2006 and 7 August 2006 is provided, the first line will show the entity’s data for this week, the second line= for 25 July 2006 to 31 July 2006, the third one for 18 July 2006 to 24 July 200= 6, etc.

g)<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> Dependent on the selection made in the Data <= /i>drop-down list, the following Profile Types can be selected:

&nbs= p;            &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;      i.   &nb= sp; Stan= dard: This= is the default value and will simply return the values as found in the database for the selected entities.

Figure: Standard Profile

&nbs= p;            &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;    ii.   &n= bsp; Stac= ked: Requ= ested by a large number of customers, this profile type has been made part of ecWIN 6. When selected the entities’ values are accumulating, i.e. the first value is added to r= aw second value to give a new second value, that is added to the raw third val= ue to give a new third value, etc. (The Stacked profile for entities of type Average, will look like the Standard profile).

Figure: Stacked Profile

&nbs= p;            &= nbsp;           &nbs= p; iii.   &= nbsp; kVA<= /i>: The apparent power (kV= A/S) values will be determined on-the-fly by using the active energy (kW/P) enti= ty provided (and determining the correct reactive energy/kVAr/Q entity to use = from the configuration in the database). (Note that only active energy (kW/P) entities can be used for this functionality).

Figure: kVA Profile

&nbs= p;            &= nbsp;           &nbs= p; iv.   &n= bsp; Power Factor: The Power Factor (PF) = values will be determined on-the-fly by using the active energy (kW/P) entity prov= ided (and determining the correct reactive energy/kVAr/Q or apparent energy/kVA/S entity to use from the configuration in the database). (Note that only acti= ve energy (kW/P) entities can be used for this functionality).

Figure: Power Factor Profile

&nbs= p;            &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;    v.   &nb= sp; Avg = / Max / Min: A new feature of ecWIN 6 is the fact that this gr= aph type can be selected for Daily and Monthly profiles. It will then display t= he maximum (Red), minimum (Green) and average (Blue) of the entity selected. (= Note that this functionality only use the entity supplied on the first line).

Figure: Avg/Max/Min Profile

&nbs= p;            &= nbsp;           &nbs= p; vi.   &n= bsp; Link= ed: The entity selected in the first= line will have itself and its linked entities plotted on seven lines:

·         Actual Budget

·         Sliding Budget

·         Budget Cost

·         Production

·         kVA

·         kVAr

Figure: Linked Profile

&nbs= p;            &= nbsp;            vii.   &= nbsp; Comp= onents 1-8; Components 9-16; Components 17-24: If a Group/Section is placed in= the first drop-down list and this option is selected, the entities making up its formula are plotted instead of the selected Group/Section itself.

Figure: Components 1-8 Profile

&nbs= p;            &= nbsp;          viii.   =    Comp= arison: The entity selected in the first li= ne will be plotted on all 8 colours, but for the previous 7 periods as well. T= his is especially useful to determine daily or weekly patterns. E.g. if a start and end date of 1 November 2006 and 7 November 2006 is provided, the first line will show the entity’s data for this week, the second line for 25 Oct= ober 2006 to 31 October 2006, the third one for 18 October 2006 to 24 October 20= 06, etc.

Figure: Comparison Profile

&nbs= p;            &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;   ix.   &n= bsp; Tari= ff xyz: All activated tariffs will= have a option which can be selected; these profiles are automatically drawn as 3D bar graphs.

·         If the tariff is a Time-of-Use (TOU) tariff (i.e. different consumption rates for different time periods), the profile = is consisting of three colours (red=3Dpeak, blue=3Dstandard and green=3Doff-pe= ak)

Figure: TOU Tariff Profile

·         Otherwise, if the tariff is a two-part tariff (i.e. constant consumption rate and a demand applicable in peak time), the profile is consisting of two colours (red=3Dpeak and green=3Doff-peak)

Figure: Two-part Tariff Profile

h)<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>      Using the 8x selection drop-down lists, the user can select up to 8 entities to display simultaneously on the same profile. By using the default entry (Non= e), the relevant line on the profile will be empty.

i)<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>      = This eight drop-down lists can be shortened = by specifying a Wildcard. Only entities with similar names will then be displayed in the drop-down lists a= fter leaving this data field.

j)<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>      = By placing a tick mark in the Large Display check-box the profile area can be maximized and the toolbar minimized.

k)<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>      If a tick mark is placed in the Static= Image check-box before pressing View,= the profile will be seen as a JPEG image (i.e. none of the controls discussed in the next section will be available).

5.1.2 Profile Controls

Once the profile is displayed additional controls be= come available which are shortly discussed below.

a)<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>      The user can zoom into a specific area of the profile= by clicking, holding the mouse button down and drag right. A rectangle will be displayed which will be enlarged once the mouse button is released. To zoom= out again click, hold down and drag left.

b)<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>      To Hide/unhide any of the 8 entities, use the tick= marks in the legend section of the profile.

c)<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>      To see the selection toolbar again, without closing the profile, the Large Display check-box must be cl= eared.

d)<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>      By clicking on the View Statistics link (just above the top left corner of the profile) summary values of all the entities on the profile is displayed, similar to the diagram below.

Figure: Profile Statistics

e)<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>      The Graph Tools can be displayed by double-clicking= on the profile; from here the profile can be customized to user’s preferences and the profile values can be seen, exported, saved to a specif= ic file type and even e-mailed. To see more information on any of these option= s, click on this window’s Help <= /i>push button.

Figure: Result of double-clicking on a profile

5.2 View Reports

After selecting the View Reports entry in the leftmost drop-down list, the user must select one = of the reporting options.

Figure: eciQUEST report options

All four these options will be discussed next.

5.2.1 Basic Report

This option is used to quickly see a list of parameters (i.e. total, maximum, minimum, average, load factor, etc.) from a list of entities, previously ad= ded to a report.

Figure: eciQUEST Basic Report selection screen

The user must select one of the previously defined r= eports from the drop-down list on the right hand side. The following selections ca= n be made before clicking on the View Re= port push-button to present the requested information:

a)&n= bsp;     The user selects the Billing Period= = or Specified Dates radio-button (for the latter a start and = end date must be specified).

b)&n= bsp;     The user must specify which parameters to display for each entity by placing/removing a tick mark next to relevant Basic Report Options= .
c)&n= bsp;     The number of Decimal Places= = (by default set to 0) can also be selected.

d)&n= bsp;     Pressing View Report will yield the foll= owing results:

Figure: eciQUEST Basic Report result

e)&n= bsp;     If all entities have the same engineering unit, a Report Total row at the bottom will show summary statistics of = the report.

f)&n= bsp;      Pressing on the + or – push buttons will increase/decrease the font size.

<= /span>

5.2.2 Energy Management Report

Figure: eciQUEST Energy Management Report selection screen

a)&n= bsp;     The user must select one of the previously defined reports from the drop-down list on the right before clicking on the= View Report push button to present= he requested information.

b)&n= bsp;     The user selects the Billing Period= = or Specified Dates radio-button (for the latter a start and = end date must be specified).

c)      One of the standard Report Types= must be selected from the drop-down= list (Consumption, Cost, Consumption + Budget, Consumption + Cost, Consumption + Production) or one of the previously defined tariffs.

d)      Selecting one of the two Energy Management Report Options on the right-hand side above (i.e. Totalised / Averaged Values per Month) will only allow the user to view a c= ost or consumption report. However, if one of the left two options is selected (i.e. Totalised Values or Average Values), a report presenting consumption versus cost, consumption versus production or consumption versus budget can also be presented.

e)      The number of Decimal Places<= !--[if supportFields]>= (by default set to 0) can also be selected.

f)      = The View Report push button opens up a report as in the image below= :

Figure: eciQUEST Energy Management Report results screen

g)&n= bsp;     If all entities have the same engineering unit, a Report Total row at the bottom will show summary statistics of = the report.

5.2.3 One Entity Report

It is sometimes needed to get information regarding one specific entity. The opti= ons currently supported by ecWIN 6 is the raw data, PDF account, cost calculation of a customised tariff= or the comparison of costs between two customised tariffs. In these cases, a previously defin= ed report isn’t needed; the entity is simply selected from the drop-down list provided.

Figure: eciQUEST One Entity Report selection screen

To generate this report:

a)      The user selects the billing= period or start/end dates of interest.

b)      From the list of Channels/Gr= oups, an active energy (kW/P) entity is selected.

c)      A tariff from the list of pr= eviously defined ones must be selected in the Tariff 1 drop-down list., or one of the <None> options to see raw data or a PDF account. (Note that to see the PDF accounts, the Site Configuration must be configured correctly: Aux 3 ne= eds to be set to Enable).

d)      If a tariff was selected in = the Tariff 1 drop-down list, an optional second tariff can also be selected in = the Tariff 2 drop-down list.

e)      By putting a tick mark in th= e Use this check-box, the system wil= l be forced to use the specified date/time for the maximum demand value. (Note t= hat if this date falls outside the start/end date range specified that the maxi= mum demand value will then be zero).

f)      = Clicking the View Report push button will then reveal the associated data/co= sts.

Results of the different report options are presented below.

Figure: eciQUEST One Entity Report – Raw data

Figure: eciQUEST One Entity Report – PDF account

Figure: eciQUEST One Entity Report – Tariff analysis

<= /span>

5.2.4 Report Configuration

This functionality is utilised to build report templates to be used in the Basic Reports and Energy Management Reports options of eciQUEST.

Figure: eciQUEST Report Configuration screen

5.2.4.1 Report Configuration = controls

a)<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>      My Reports / Specify New drop-down list:

&nbs= p;            &= nbsp;           &nbs= p; iii.   &= nbsp; Selecting My Reports the drop-down list next to it can be used to select a previously defined Report. Once selected, the relevant entities as was saved previously are presented in the list on the right-hand side.

&nbs= p;            &= nbsp;           &nbs= p; iv.   &n= bsp; Otherwise, Specify New can be selected to type in a name for a new Report that must be sto= red with the selections made.

b)<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>      On the left-hand side of the screen are all entities that the logged on user h= as access to.

c)<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>      This long list can be shortened by specifying a Wildcard. Only entities with similar names will then be displayed in the list after leaving this data field.

d)<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>      Entities to be added on the Report are simply highlighted in this list on the left-h= and side and then the Add >> = push button need to be pressed.

e)<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>      To remove previously selected entries from the Report, simply highlight the ro= ws in the right-hand list and press the &= lt;< Remove push button.

f)<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>      = The Save push button can be pressed= to store the current selected entities under the Report name specified (should= the user have sufficient rights to do it). A message will appear revealing the outcome of the attempted updating.

Figure: eciQUEST – successful Report update message

Figure: eciQUEST – unsuccessful Report update message

g)<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>      Pressing Delete will remove the Report f= rom the database (should the user have sufficient rights to do it). A message w= ill appear revealing the outcome of the attempted removal.

Figure: eciQUEST – successful Report removal message

Figure: eciQUEST – unsuccessful Report removal message

(End of Doc= ument)