Using Edge data in reporting and BI
Decide whether another dashboard is needed
Edge already provides local dashboards, data exploration and calculated readings. Use those tools when they meet the site team's needs.
A BI tool or spreadsheet can add value when a report combines energy data with production, occupancy, finance or other business information. Define the audience, period and decision before choosing the integration.
Choose a data path the receiving tool supports
Edge integration flows are configured for each destination. The receiving workflow might use an authenticated API, a staged file or a database populated through middleware.
Check whether the reporting tool reads MQTT directly; often a broker, ingestion service or database sits between the site and the report. Likewise, a CSV export needs an agreed location, schema and import or refresh process.
Confirm the actual connector, authentication and network access available in your chosen tool and deployment.
Define the calculations before drawing charts
Agree point identifiers, units, timestamps and the measurement boundary. Distinguish instantaneous power from energy, and accumulated meter totals from interval consumption. Take a period's consumption as the difference between cumulative totals, never their sum.
Document how resets, missing readings and replaced meters are treated. If you derive a new value, preserve its definition and make it distinguishable from the original measurement.
For comparisons across sites, align time periods and define what is included in each site's total. Check that charts with the same label measure the same activity.
Make refresh and access visible
Decide how frequently the report needs to update and what delay is acceptable. Show the latest available data or refresh time so viewers do not mistake an old report for a live operating view.
Agree who can access the source and the report. Keep credentials out of shared files and public URLs, and establish who handles rotation, failed imports and permission changes.
Validate the end-to-end result
Start with a small set of readings over a known period. Compare the source, intermediate data and final report as well as the import status. Check rounding, units, time boundaries and the treatment of missing values.
Test the agreed interruption and recovery behaviour before making the report operationally important. Then document the mapping and ownership so it can be maintained when the source equipment or reporting tool changes.
Read the IoT platform guide, the energy management guide or the carbon reporting guide.
