Use PEAK Charts to get full visibility on your building's equipment operating performance.
Sections in this article
1. What is PEAK Charts?
With PEAK Charts you have control over your building’s equipment data to perform:
Equipment Trend Analysis - Graph all equipment points live and over time to spot failure, waste and optimisation opportunities
Equipment Comparison - Compare the same data points across multiple equipment over time to spot bad and confirm good performance
Weather API Overlay - Overlay external weather API data vs equipment data based on exact site location
Calculations - Compare individual data points vs average, sum, min, max, difference calculations over time
Sharing - Share quick links and export your data for further analysis
2. Overview of PEAK Charts
Access PEAK Charts via the sidenav under “Charts”
1. Control Fields
Key control fields to customise your equipment trend analysis:
Site - select from buildings/ sites you have permission for
Equipment - search for and select individual equipment
Favourites - select from available data points for selected equipment
Calculator - calculate and aggregate individual equipment data points (see section)
Copy - compare similar data points across multiple equipment (see section)
Working Hours - toggle to display building operating hours in charts (grey shade)
Reference Lines.- add reference lines to visualise data vs benchmarks (see section)
2. Date Range
Select start and end date range for period to analyse and click Draw Chart to visualise equipment trend data.
Your data is securely stored in the cloud back with the start date going back to when you first connected to PEAK and the end date being the last 15 minutes of live data.
3. Chart Visualisation
Chart trend and analyse your equipment performance query.
Analyse - hover over chart to see equipment data point labels, values and timestamps. Click and drag to zoom closer in to a period
Display Chart Type - customise visualisation of trend data by splitting charts by individual equipment or unit type (see section)
Share and Export - export all data in CSV as flat or pivot format. Download chart as image or share your analysis as quick bookmark-able links (see section)
3. Equipment Trend Analysis
Graph all equipment points live and over time to spot failure, waste and optimisation opportunities.
Example: Confirming overnight operation of an AHU
In the example above we are interested in confirming the overnight operation of a specific Air Handling Unit (AHU). To perform equipment trend analysis apply the following controls:
Equipment - select individual affected equipment (e.g. AC-6 is the AHU we are interested in analysing)
Favourites - select relevant data points, selecting more data points can increase your confidence of an issue (e.g. to confirm overnight operation we select Status, Pressure and Speed data points which are available to AC-6)
Working Hours - toggle working hours on to make it easier to visualise overnight operation
Start and End Date - select the relevant start and end date, recommend limiting to smaller periods when analysing a large volume of data points (e.g. we select the past week to confirm if there has been overnight operation)
Analyse - click the “Draw Chart” button to visualise the data in charts. Split charts by None (see how to Split Charts) and hover mouse over charts to compare performance
PEAK Charts Insight 💡
We can identify that AC-6 began operating overnight from the evening of Wed 2 March with positive fan speed, pressure and unit status readings verifying the unit has been running overnight. Adding additional data points can eliminate false positive issues such as faulty status switches which may not warrant a call out to investigate. Learn how to assign this issue to a contractor for investigation using PEAK Actions.
4. Equipment Comparison
Compare the same data points across multiple equipment over time to spot bad and confirm good performance.
Example: Compare overnight operation across all AHUs
In the example above we want to compare the overnight operation across all AHUs in the building. To compare multiple equipment apply the following controls:
Equipment and Favourites - select individual equipment and favourite data points we want to copy and compare across other equipment (e.g. Equipment - AC-6 and Status data point)
Copy - Click the Copy icon and then select all the other AHUs we want to compare against (see screenshot below)
Working Hours - toggle working hours on to make it easier to visualise overnight operation
Start and End Date - select the relevant start and end date, recommend limiting to smaller periods when analysing a large volume of data points (e.g. we select the past week to confirm if there has been any overnight operation)
Analyse - click the “Draw Chart” button to visualise the data in charts. Split charts by equipment (see how to Split Charts) and hover mouse over charts to compare performance
PEAK Charts Insight 💡
We can confirm that AC-6 is the only problem AHU that is running overnight whilst all other AHUs in the building are switching off as required overnight. A number of other AHUs appear to be switching on for a short period of time later in the evening likely due to after hours requests, to confirm this we can add additional after hour data points. Learn how to assign this issue to a contractor for investigation using PEAK Actions.
5. Weather API Overlay
Overlay external weather API data vs equipment data based on exact site location.
Example: Check whether building outside air temp sensor is mis-calibrated
In the example above we want to confirm whether the building’s master outside air temp sensor is mis-calibrated vs the actual outside air temp conditions.
We can compare any equipment data point vs exact outside weather (via 3rd party API) by applying the following controls:
Weather - select the equipment named Weather and select from Favourite data points (temperature, humidity, pressure, wind speed) (e.g. here we are interested in the Temperature only for this building)
Equipment and Favourites - click Add Equipment and select additional equipment and favourite data points to compare (e.g. select Building from equipment and Unit Outside Air Temperature to select the building’s master outside air temp setting; this point is typically used to control central plant lockouts and economy mode control)
Analyse - click the “Draw Chart” button to load data and hover mouse over to compare data points. Hover over to compare data points
PEAK Charts Insight 💡
We can see the building’s outside air temp is +40% higher than actual weather conditions during the day, this could be due to the outside sensor being in a poor location exposed to sun or mis-calibrated sensor. This is an important sensor point which can negatively affect the control of central plant lockouts and economy mode control. Learn how to assign this issue to a contractor for investigation using PEAK Actions.
6. Calculator Function
Compare individual data points vs average, sum, min, max, difference calculations over time.
Example: Calculate daily power consumption of Chillers
In the example above we want to compare the daily power consumption of our two major Chillers.
We can perform calculations on individual equipment data points by using the Calculator Function:
Equipment & Favourites - select the relevant equipment and favourite data points you want to calculate (e.g. add Chiller-1 and Chiller-2 as equipment and select from the available Power Consumption data point for each)
Calculator - click the calculator icon for the relevant equipment data point (e.g. repeat steps below for both Chiller-1 and 2)
Function - select from the relevant calculation function you want to apply (e.g. sum, average, min, max, difference). In our example we want to sum the rolling daily consumption so select the “Sum” function.
Time Period - select the rolling aggregate time period you want to apply the function calculation across (e.g. select 1 Day time period as we are comparing daily consumption).
Analyse - click the “Draw Chart” button to load data and hover mouse over to analyse.
PEAK Charts Insight 💡
We can see Chiller-1 is consuming the most power operating most days. Chiller-2 has only operated for 2 days out of the week consuming an average of 600-700 kW for each day. For further analysis we could overlay Weather API data to confirm if chiller consumption is outside weather dependent (see Weather API). Learn how to share and export this analysis below.
Analysing Cumulative Data Points
Example: Analysing gas sub-meter data (cumulative meter data)
In the example above we want to analyse the interval consumption of a gas sub-meter but the raw meter data is captured as cumulative total.
We can use the Calculator Function to calculate the difference between points:
Equipment & Favourites - select the relevant equipment and favourite data points you want to calculate (e.g. add main Gas Sub-meter and select the cumulative gas usage data point)
Calculator Function - click the calculator icon for the relevant equipment data point, select the “Difference” function
Analyse - click the “Draw Chart” button to load data and hover mouse over to analyse.
Example: Cumulative Gas Sub-meter with Difference Calculator Function applied
PEAK Charts Insight 💡
Using the Calculator Function to calculate the difference we can more easily see the daily interval consumption of the gas sub-meter. We can verify that there has been no wasted gas consumption outside working hours and over the weekends. Learn how to share and export this analysis below.
7. Splitting Charts
Split your charts for more granular analysis:
Example: Click on chart options to split charts by type
Split by None - Chart all data points in a single chart
Example: Split by None to compare FCU VSD motor speed across all FCU equipment. Easily identify two outliers vs other units - FCU-L06 operates at 2-3x the motor speed as other units and FCU-L08 is wastefully operating at a constant speed 24/7
Split by Equip - Split charts by individual equipment
Example: Split by Equip to compare VAV Airflow vs Setpoint across individual equipment units to identify mechanical airflow blocks and leaks
Split by Unit - Split charts by unit type (e.g. l/s, %, temp, Pa, kW)
Example: Split by Unit to compare VAV control vs unit types. Identify VAV block by comparing: Chart 1 (Unit Pa) - parent AHU supply pressure control; Chart 2 (Unit %) - VAV damper position; Chart 3 (Unit l/s) - VAV current vs desired airflow; Chart 4 (Unit Degrees) - VAV zone temp vs setpoint
8. Adding Reference Lines
Add reference lines to analyse and share insights vs fixed benchmarks.
Example: Confirm wasteful operation of Hot Water Boilers
In the example above we want to identify whether the hot water boilers are operating unnecessarily when outside conditions are warm and above recommended lockout temp.
We can add reference lines to improve our analysis:
Equipment & Favourites - select relevant equipment and favourite data to compare (e.g. we want to compare our Weather API temp data against our hot water boiler status points)
Add Reference Line - click Add Reference Line and insert relevant value and label (e.g. include a target boiler outside air temp lockout reference line, our boiler should not be operating when Weather API temp is above this level)
Analyse - click the “Draw Chart” button to load data and hover mouse over to analyse.
PEAK Charts Insight 💡
Adding a Reference Line for Boiler Outside Air Lockout Temp can help us easily visualise that Hot Water Boiler 1 is operating unnecessarily when outside conditions are warm. We can now share and assign this issue to our contractor to lower our Boiler Lockout temperatures to reduce gas consumption. Learn how to assign this issue to a contractor for investigation using PEAK Actions.
8. Sharing and Exporting
Share and export your data via the following methods:
Download Chart Image - select hamburger icon, click save as JPEG or PNG
Export Data - export data as CSV by clicking Export CSV or clicking Pivot Table to view chart data in pivot table format and then click Export CSV button
Share Chart - bookmark or copy and paste the URL and share with a teammate. Anyone with the same site permissions will have access to your saved chart view
Add Chart Link to Action - add your chart links in a PEAK Action ticket, links are automatically shortened for easy bookmark access. Learn how to create PEAK Actions.