In previous versions of Metrix, you were forced to "tune"
the meters, and then compare "Baseline" usage and costs to "Actual" usage and
costs to determine Cost Avoidance.
Some Metrix users do not need the weather correction
methodology that Metrix offers, and instead just want to compare year over year
data. Metrix 4 now allows simple year
over year comparisons.
Now, with Metrix 4, you can continue to calculate Cost
Avoidance, but in addition (or instead), you can compare one year to another
year, and find simple savings in that manner.
User Interface
Item Table
One of the shortcomings of earlier Metrix versions was that
it could be difficult to find a specific meter in a large project.
We have resolved that problem in Metrix
4.
Metrix 4 allows you to view your project in table or tree
form. If you are looking for a specific
meter, you can sort all meters in your project by account number, meter name,
fuel type, or parent name. You can list
Sites, Areas, Rates, etc.
Item Tree
If you prefer the tree format, Metrix 4 will display your
project in tree format as well.
Tuning Indicators
You can easily tell which meters have been tuned
successfully, billmatched, have not been tuned successfully, or are empty by
the notations next to the meters in the tree diagram.
Easier to Understand Language
Some of the confusing language in the earlier versions of
Metrix has been clearly rewritten. An
examples is listed below:
Copy and Paste of Data
You can copy and paste data from Metrix 4 registers to
Excel, and visa versa. You can select
all data in a register by pressing control-A, or you can scroll and select only
the data you want to copy. You can then
paste the data into spreadsheets, word docs, etc.
Copy and Paste of Text
Finally, you can copy and paste text from one field or form
to another. The standard control-c and
control-v work in Metrix 4.
Easier to Understand Modification and Measure Factor Histories
The column labels are now easy to understand. In previous versions, you had to learn what
the various headings represented.
Improved Quality Control Interface
Now, rather than listing all the Quality Control Warnings
and Errors one at a time, Metrix 4 will lump them together for easier viewing.
Enhanced Scenario Inspection Screen
In Metrix 3, there were two Scenario Inspection Forms, which
were confusing to many users. Now you
can view data from all scenarios in one place with the Scenario Inspection
Screen. Now you can choose which
scenarios to view in the graph, and you can select which scenario's data to
view in the table. Even beginner users
will know what data they are looking at.
Tuning
Auto Tuning
Metrix will now automatically tune your meters for you,
based upon criteria you can set. Simply
pressing the Auto Tune button will result in automatically tuned meters.
Easier Tuning Screen Interface
Rather than having to learn how to interpret the tuning
screen, Metrix 4 now displays the tuning equation at the bottom of the Tuning
Screen.
Easier Bill Matching
If a meter does not tune, you can press the Set Fit to 0
button, which will zero out all tuning coefficients.
Then you can press the BillMatch button,
which will add the bill matching modification for you.
More Statistical Indicators on Tuning Screen
The Tuning Screen now shows the R2, the CVRMSE,
and Mean Bias Error. This makes it
easier to comply with the ASHRAE 14P Guideline when you tune.
Complies with ASHRAE's Guideline 14
The tuning algorithm has been adjusted to ensure 0 Net Mean
Bias Error to comply with ASHRAE's Guideline 14.
Tunings from older projects will not be
affected.
Tunes to Sum of TOU Periods
Experienced Metrix users know that sometimes tuning TOU
periods can be very difficult. Metrix 4
has found a better method to handle TOU meters.
If you want, rather than tuning each TOU period separately, Metrix 4
will sum the TOU consumption data, and take the maximum of the TOU demand
data. You can then tune only the Sum or
Max of the TOU Periods. Metrix will then
allocate Baseline and Target data back into TOU periods for your reports.
Demand can now tune to Maximum Temperatures rather than Average Temperature
You can choose if you want to tune your demand to Maximum
(for Cooling DT) or Minimum
Temperatures (for Heating DT).
Reports
Excel Reporting
All reports are created in MS Excel. A series of macros will create a wide variety
of tables and charts. To make reports,
you just proceed through a report-making wizard, which will gather the
information it needs to create the report you want. The end result is workbook that can contain
several tables and charts.
Reportable Units
You can report not just on energy units and dollars, but you
can also report on the following units which were not available in earlier
versions of Metrix:
kBtu
(adds all energy together into common units)
Load
Factor
Misc $
(and Tax $ and Credit $)
$/day
$/area
($/SQFT or $/SQM)
$/UserVar
($/student, for example)
tons
of CO2 emissions (and NOx, SO2, CO, VOCs, Mercury, Lead, and
Cadmium)
*Ratios are not shown in the above data form, but all the other time
across reports do report ratios.
Reports Available
Metrix 4 contains most of the reports available in prior
versions of Metrix, but has several additional reports as well. Reports include:
Bill
Ledger
Diagnostics
Verification
Reports
Missing
Bills Reports
Tracking
Tables and Charts
Tuning
Contract
Meter
Detail Report
Benchmarking
Reports
Pie
Charts
And
others...
Faster Report Making
Metrix 4 allows you to make reports for each Site, Area or
Meter (or selected Sites, Areas or Meters) with just a few clicks. If you want to make the same report for each
of 50 Sites in a Project, you merely make about 10 to 15 clicks and then let
the Report Maker create the reports. You
will then have a workbook with 50 reports, one for each site.
If you chose Many Graphs of Many
Sites, you could then choose which sites you want to create reports for in the
following Dialog Box:
Enhanced Diagnostics Report
The Diagnostics Report allows you to determine what tests to
perform, and what thresholds to use to determine whether a bill might be a
potential problem.
Export Reports to HTML, JPG, GIF
You can export reports to HTML, JPG or GIF formats.
User Defined Colors for Bars and Lines
You can define what colors you want associated with
different scenarios or years.
Customizable Reports
The Metrix Report Maker allows you to configure it to your
liking. This includes headers and
footers that will appear on all tables and charts, printer settings, graph
defaults, how you want your units to appear in reports, etc.
Custom Reports
If you want to make your own report in MS Excel, you can use
the Metrix Report Maker to grab raw data from Metrix.
You can then manually or through macros
format the data to make the report you need.
Grouping
Grouping in Metrix
In larger Metrix projects, you might want to make a report
that breaks out your meters into other groupings than just Sites or Areas.
For example, suppose you have a Metrix
project for a school district want to make a report that just shows Elementary
Schools. It is likely that you have a
different site for each school, so there is no easy way to make a report just
for Elementary Schools. Or suppose you
want to compare $/SQFT of Elementary Schools, Middle Schools, High Schools and
Administration areas. Metrix now allow
this with Grouping.
Each Site, Area or Meter can be assigned to a Group
Reports with Grouping
There are three ways Grouping works in reports:
Method
... which means ...
As a Filter
You make reports as normal, but only show data associated with your
particular SubGroup. Grouping works to
"filter out" any data from other SubGroups.
As a Level: with one report per SubGroup
You make reports by SubGroups, rather than by Sites/Areas/Meters.
One worksheet per SubGroup.
This would work with Time Across Years,
Scenarios and Fuel Type reports, but NOT with Time Across Items or
Benchmarking reports, which can compare all the SubGroups against each other
on the same worksheet.
As a Level: comparing the different SubGroups against each other in
one report
You make reports separating and aggregating data by
SubGroups, rather than by
Sites/Areas/Meters. All SubGroups
select appear in the same worksheet..
This would work with Time Across Items or Benchmarking reports
only, but NOT with Time Across Years,
Scenarios and Fuel Type reports, which will present one SubGroup per
worksheet.
Using Groups as a Filter
You can filter reports so that only Sites/Areas/Meters
associated with a Subgroup are shown.
All other Sites/Areas/Meters are left out.
In this example, we will compare monthly
usage for only the elementary schools.
We report on a Site level as we entered one school per site in the Metrix
project.
Or you can sum data up by SubGroup and compare SubGroups in one
report.
Or, you can aggregate data by SubGroup, and report one
SubGroup per worksheet.
New Reports
Savings: Energy and Dollars Report
One of the most popular reports in Metrix 3 was the
Savings: Energy and Dollars Report. It
is now included in an enhanced form in Metrix 4.
It will not only produce Energy, Demand, and
Costs, but will also show HDDs, CDDs, user variables, and Emissions.
In addition, the report will also create 2, 3 or 4 graphs
per page.
Savings by Meter Report
There is also a new report that breaks out savings on a
meter basis. Each printed page shows
energy and associated dollars for one year.
New Report Maker Interface
We have cleaned up the Report Maker interface to make it
look more appealing to our users.
The basic functionality is the same, except we now have two
methods of selecting the reports you want.
If you are a Metrix expert, then you may know you want a "Time Across
Scenarios Report." If this is you, then
you will likely want to use Fast Reports.
If you are not familiar with the old Metrix reporting
terminology, then you can use the Report Wizard, which separates reports by
function, and gives a preview of the different report types.
Underneath the sample reports are links which
bring up different samples of the report type you have highlighted on the left.
Double-clicking on the report-link on the left will initiate
the reporting process.
New Registration Scheme
There is a new Report Maker registration scheme.
We changed the scheme to make it easier for
you to request licenses.
Memorized Reports
Do you want a quick way of running the same report over and over? Do you have a hard time remembering how you
got a certain report? If so, then
memorized reports will be useful to you. With memorized reports you can run a
report, memorize it, and then run it again from the Fast Reports section.
When you create a report
you will be prompted with this dialog.
If you select yes, you
will be prompted with this dialog in which you can choose a name and other options
for your memorized report.
You can
then see a list of your memorized reports under "Fast Reports". Here you can
run your report, remove it, or change its options.
You will
probably want to change the options from time to time. If you press the "Details..." button, you can
determine whether to let the report allow you to change dates each time you run
the report, or change which sites/areas/meters/subgroups you are reporting on,
etc. If you want the report to allow you
SELECT the sites/areas/meters/subgroups, then you CHECK the
sites/areas/meters/subgroups checkbox. In
the example below, we wanted to keep the Start/End Dates the same as the time
the report was memorized, so we leave that box unchecked.
Note:
Items refers to bill line items.
Some reports allow you to report on several items at once, like CDD,
kWh, Total $, etc., These are what the dialog box is referring to as "Items."
You can
also write a written description of the report in the "Report Details" tab.
Add Logos to Reports
Would you like to add your company logo to
your Metrix Reports? The new Logos
feature of Metrix Report Maker will allow you to add your company logo to the
header of your reports improving the professional appearance of your reports.
To set up
your logo, click on "Report Maker Settings" from the main menu of Metrix Report
Maker. The "Report Maker Settings"
window will pop up.
With the "Header & Footer" tab open, make
sure the "Use Advanced Page Setup" checkbox is selected. Click "Setup..." to configure the Advanced Page
Setup. A print preview of the current advanced setup will
open.
To make
changes click on the "Setup..." button at the top of the screen. The "Page Setup" window will open. Click on the "Header/Footer" tab and then click
the "Custom Header" button to add a logo or text to the header of you Reports.
In the
Custom Header window add any desired text to the Left, Center, or Right section
by simply typing it into the appropriate text field. To add an image, select the field where you
would like the image to appear and click on the picture icon. Click OK to save your Custom Header settings.
Set up the
Custom Footer to the desired configuration using the same steps used to set up
the Custom Header, and then click "OK" to save your settings and exit the Page
Setup window. The print preview will now
include your header/footer settings. Next,
click "Close" to exit the print preview and "OK" again to save your Metrix
Report Maker Settings.
It is
likely that your logo in your header or footer will not be the right size. It will probably be either too large or too
small, you will see this when you look at print preview (like below).
To remedy
this, press the other picture icon.
Then you
can change the size of your logo by changing the height or width in the Size
tab.
Metrix now runs in Windows Vista
All of you who have upgraded or
would like to upgrade to Microsoft Windows Vista are now in luck. Metrix and
Metrix Report Maker now work with the Microsoft Windows Vista operating system.
#TOU Periods Options Moved to Bills Register
Have you ever been confused by the
various columns in the bill register or uncertain of how they got there? Now,
the settings that control the appearance of your bill register (the # TOU
Periods and Detailed Cost settings) have been moved from the Meter Setup tab to
the top of the bill register.
The new location of these settings will allow you to
immediately see how changing the #TOU Periods and Detailed Cost options affect
the columns in your bill register.
Location Settings in Project, Site, and Area forms
You may now set the location in
the Project, Site, and Area setup forms. This will allow you to apply a single
location to the entire project, to each site, or to each area in your Metrix
project.
Metrix Report Maker, Now In French
Parlez-vous francais? Report Maker can now generate reports in French. To set French as the language for the reports first select "Report
Maker Settings" from the Metrix menu.
Static $ values now in Fuel Adjustments
Are you modeling rates? Have you
ever needed to add an additional static cost or credit to your SimActual
scenario but didn't know how? Well now you can easily add or subtract a simple
dollar amount using a Fuel Adjustment.
If you have never used a Fuel Adjustment before you may add
one by right-clicking on the meter, selecting New, and then choosing Fuel
Adjustment.
Once you've added your Fuel Adjustment, you may click on the
Fuel Adjustment item to enter the register. By default the Fuel Adjustment
will have units of $/consumption unit (in the case of an Electric meter this
would be $/kWh). Selecting Static will change the units of the Fuel Adjustment
to $.
Now you are free to populate the register will any static
cost adjustments are necessary. These adjustments will be applied to the
"Misc" column in your meter's SimActual scenario.
Grouping
In larger Metrix projects, you
might want to make a report that breaks out your meters into other groupings
than just Sites or Areas. For example, suppose you have a Metrix project for a
school district want to make a report that just shows Elementary Schools. It
is likely that you have a different site for each school, so there is no easy
way to make a report just for Elementary Schools. Or suppose you want to compare
$/SQFT of Elementary Schools, Middle Schools, High Schools and Administration
areas. Metrix now allow this with Grouping.
Savings: Energy and Dollars Report
One of the most popular reports in Metrix 3 was the
Savings: Energy and Dollars Report. It is now included in an enhanced form in
Metrix 4. It will not only produce Energy, Demand, and Costs, but will also
show HDDs, CDDs, user variables, and Emissions.
Savings by Meter Report
There is also a new report that
breaks out savings on a meter basis. Each printed page shows energy and
associated dollars for one year.
New Report Maker Interface
We have cleaned up the Report Maker interface to make
it look more appealing to our users. The basic functionality is the same,
except we now have two methods of selecting the reports you want. If you are a
Metrix expert, then you may know you want a "Time Across Scenarios Report." If
this is you, then you will likely want to use Fast Reports.
Memorized Reports
Do you want a quick
way of running the same report over and over? Do you have a hard time
remembering how you got a certain report? If so, then memorized reports will
be useful to you. With memorized reports you can run a report, memorize it, and
then run it again from the Fast Reports section.
Add Logos to Reports
Would you like to add your company logo to
your Metrix Reports? The new Logos feature of Metrix Report Maker will allow
you to add your company logo to the header of your reports improving
Budgeting Reports
Report Maker now has a new budgeting report. Budgeting reports enable
you to easily create a forecast based on the previous year, or the average
of multiple years in the past. With this forecast, you can make modifications
as necessary to get a finished budget for the upcoming year.
Once You have made your Budget Forecast you can then track your expenses
as the year goes by and get instant reports as to whether you are within
your budget or not.
Scenario Inspection Costs
You can now choose to see the costs alongside the usages in the scenario
inspection tab simply by checking the "Show Cost" option. This makes some
comparisons more convenient.
Additional Notes Fields
There are now additional notes fields that can be used to keep track of
changes and/or remind you or your coworkers why you've made a certain
change. There is now a notes field in the "Rate Setup" tab within a rate,
and also in the "Modification Setup" tab within a modification.
Degree Day Tab
You now have the ability to quickly analyze your weather data with the
new "Degree Days" tab under each weather item. Under this tab, you can
see various graphs representing degree day values, both cumulative and
not. The data is also presented nicely in a tabular form as well.
Below are some examples.
Estimated Bill Column
When utility companies miss their meter read dates, the bill is often
an estimated based on the same month from the previous year (bill matching)
only to be corrected after the next meter read. Having the ability to indicate
whether a bill is estimated or not can save a lot of headache when trying to
explain an outlier month, where usage was expected to be different than it appears.
New Fuel Type: Garbage
There is now a new fuel type for garbage, so you can track garbage as a utility
type. The units are cubic yard.
FastData Deluxe
This is a powerful tool designed to streamline the process of updating your
database(s). Metrix 4.4 comes with a free 30-day free trial and if you like it
you can purchase the full license Here. Manual bill entry is tedious and prone
to error. This tool will save you both time and money. Once your data is entered,
FastData Deluxe can automatically insert this data into multiple Metrix projects
without messing with any MT1 import files.
Do you have to constantly process electronic bill data in Excel? We can create
a FastData Custom Routine to do it automatically with the click of a button.
FastData Deluxe Can Export to ANY Format You Need
For Additional Information about Fast Data Deluxe, please visit:
