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How to Upload Consumption Files

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Mike Pulumbarit
  • Updated

File Types Supported

The only file type currently supported is CSV. If you have a file type you would like us to consider, please email it to support@helioscope.com.

  • CSV Consumption File: Must have the following:
    • Interval data in 60-minute, 30-minute, or 15-minute intervals
      • 60-minute: 8760 rows of data or 8784 if the specified year is a leap year
      • 30-minute: 17520 rows of data or 17568 if the specified year is a leap year
      • 15-minute: 35040 rows of data or 35136 if the specified year is a leap year
    • Date and time information (must have 1 complete year to align with the interval data mentioned above) in one of the following formats: 
      • DD/MM/YYYY HH:mm
      • MM/DD/YYYY HH:mm
      • DD/MM/YY HH:mm
      • YYYY/MM/DD HH:mm
      • YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm
    • Power or energy information

How to Construct a CSV Consumption File

Note: The following files have been created and formulated to ensure the appropriate amount of data and formatting is present for upload. Any changes made to the formulas may result in improperly reported consumption data.

Please select one of the files below: 

The links above will allow you to create a copy of the template and then open it in Google Sheets. If you are not already signed into your Google account, you will be prompted to do so.  Some of the formulas used in these documents do not work in Excel. Google Sheets should be used exclusively as follows:

  1. Navigate to the "Consumption Data" tab at the bottom of this document.
  2. Enter the Date & Time into Column A (keep track of the format you use as you will need it for upload) and Energy (in kilowatts) in Column B. 
  3. Select the intervals from the dropdown menu. Is the data presented in 15 minute, 30 minute, or hourly intervals?
  4. Indicate whether or not the year being used is a leap year using the dropdown menu. 
  5. Check for failures. If you see a failure, it means the amount of data entered (rows of data) does not sum up to 1 total year. You can compare entered vs expected to determine if you have too much or not enough data.
  6. Select the timezone associated with the project from the drop down menu. If you are not sure what the timezone is, a simple Google search can help (you will need the address from the project in HelioScope).

Once the above is complete, the CSV file is ready for download.

  1. Navigate to the "File Upload" tab at the bottom of the document. 
  2. At the top of the screen, select File > Download > Comma Separated Values (.csv)

Step-by-step Instructions: How to Upload Consumption Files

  1. Navigate to the Overview Page and scroll down to the Consumption Details
  2. Click the Upload New button
  3. Choose the consumption file from your computer
  4. Choose formatting based on the formatting of your file:

  • Date Format: choose the appropriate date format based on your CSV (Y = year, M = month, D = day, H = hour, m = minute; be sure to select the correct order and number of digits)
  • Interval Length (options are 60 minutes, 30 minutes, and 15 minutes)
  • Column (the column where the data is found; A would be column 1, B would be column 2, etc.)
  • Energy Units (options are Energy and Power)
  • Energy Scale (options are kWh and Wh if energy was chosen; options are kWp and Wp if power was chosen)
  • Column (the column where the data is found; A would be column 1, B would be column 2, etc.)
  • Number of Header Rows (the number of rows before the interval data starts; in the below example, there would be 1 header row):

5. You will not be able to upload until the formatting is correct. The parser will provide details on any differences between the file selected and the configuration specified (in the below example, no data was found in the specified row, meaning that the incorrect number of header columns was chosen):

6. Once the configuration specified matches the formatting of the CSV file, you will see a snapshot of the monthly consumption (daily available in the daily tab):

7. Confirm the consumption looks accurate, then click Save.

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