Meters Without Interval Data
If a meter does not deliver quarter-hour values, you still get a consumption figure for every day. This article explains where those daily values come from, how to recognise them and what they can and cannot be used for.
When this happens
Some meters report no interval data. The grid operator then sends one consumption total for a whole period, for example several weeks, instead of a value per quarter-hour. In the market, such a meter is called NONSMART. A smart meter is switched to this state when its communication stays disturbed for more than 45 calendar days.
Such a delivery is called a reading with measurement period. A single total would distort every chart and calendar if we stored it as one measurement, so we handle it differently.
What we do with it
- We store the delivered total unchanged as a reading with its period start, period end and value.
- We spread the total over the days of the period. The weights come from the standard load profile (SLP) assigned to the meter, and the H0 profile is used if the meter has none. The daily values add up to the delivered total exactly.
- We save the result as one value per day and mark it as L3.
Only electricity is projected. Gas readings are stored but not projected.
Where you see it
- In the data calendar, a day that consists only of such values is shown as Projected in violet. Its detail panel says the value was calculated from a reading with measurement period and the assigned load profile, and that no measured value will follow.
- In the meter's detail page, the table Readings with measurement period lists each delivered reading with its period start, period end, source value in kWh, projection status and the load profile used. The table only appears for meters that have such readings.
- Everywhere else, projected days are ordinary L3 daily values. They appear in charts, reports, exports, the API and in webhook, MQTT and SFTP deliveries.
The projection status is one of these:
- Projected: the daily values exist.
- Awaiting profile values: the load profile values for the whole period are not available yet. The reading waits and is projected once they are.
- Overlap quarantined: the reading overlaps data that is already stored, so it is held back to avoid counting the same energy twice.
- Not projected: the reading is kept but produces no daily values.
L3 here and L3 elsewhere
On an ordinary smart meter, L3 marks an unreliable estimate, caused by a short interruption of communication, and the grid operator has to replace it with a reliable value within 60 days. The article on historical data therefore says that L3 is not the same as a standard load profile.
For a meter without interval data this has one exception: the L3 daily values are derived from the standard load profile. The meter never delivered measured values for these days, so there is nothing to replace them with later, and automatic data retry does not request them again. Treat the figures as a reasoned estimate of the daily consumption.
What the values are good for
The daily values reconcile with the delivered period total, so they suit totals per month or per year. They carry no information about the time of day. Pages that need at least hourly values, such as the Day Profile and the Heatmap, cannot use them.
Choose the load profile
The load profile is set in the meter's edit form under Advanced → Load Profile. We prefill a default from the energy direction and the building type. Change it only if you know your meter follows a different standard load profile.
After you change the profile, the checkbox Re-project historical estimates appears. Tick it to recalculate existing daily estimates with the new profile. Values that the grid operator delivered as measurements stay untouched. Without the checkbox, existing estimates keep the profile they were built with.
