Powerhouse Dynamics eMonitor c Series User manual

User Manual for Commercial Customers

© 2012 Powerhouse Dynamics, Inc. 2
eMonitor User Manual for Commercial Customers
Last Update: 11-5-12
Table of Contents
1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 3
Key features…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..3
How the eMonitor Works ......................................................................................................... 3
2. The eMonitor Portal and Dashboard .............................. ................................................ 4
3. Navigating the eMonitor Dashboard....................................................................................... 4
HOME Tab ............................................................................ .................................................... 6
Equipment Tab ..................................................................... .................................................. 12
Controls Tab………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..13
Reports Tab .......................................................................... .................................................. 14
Alerts Tab…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….15
Settings Link ......................................................................... .................................................. 16
4. Management Portal…………………………………………………………………………………………………………19
5. Support ................................................................................................................................... 22
Appendix A: Registering and Configuring your eMonitor........ .................................................. 23
Step 1: Account and Contact Information ........................ .................................................. 24
Step 2: Building and Location Information……………………………………………………………………….24
Step 3: Utility Rate Information........................................ .................................................. 25
Step 4: Channel Configuration............................................................................................. 25
Appendix B: Explanation of Fields on Channel Configuration Page............................................ 29
Appendix C: Description of Selected Alerts……………………………………………………………………………..31
Appendix D: Configuring a Smart Thermostat…………………………………..........................................33
Appendix E: Phantom Power…………………………………………………………………………………………………..37
FCC Information ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..39

© 2012 Powerhouse Dynamics, Inc. 3
1. Introduction
The eMonitor™ c-Series, by Powerhouse Dynamics, provides a powerful way to monitor and control the electricity
usage in your facility. By showing you exactly where your electricity is going, you can more easily pinpoint wasteful
usage –such as excessive usage during non-business hours. You may also be able to identify equipment that is not
operating correctly or efficiently. If you are generating your own power –for example through a Solar PV system or
wind turbine –the eMonitor will keep you up-to-date on the amount of electricity you are producing, the savings you
are realizing in dollars and carbon output, and any problems or issues with the system.
Optional Smart Thermostats enable you to monitor and control any number of thermostats remotely. Temperature
sensors can be used to help monitor HVAC equipment, refrigeration equipment, food prep equipment and more.
The eMonitor consists of the eMonitor base unit, which is installed inside your electrical circuit panel(s) (along with
Expansion Pods if required), the eMonitor Gateway, which connects the system to the Internet and can potentially
capture data from other sensors, and the eMonitor Portal and Dashboard, available at www.emonitor.us.
Key features:
Real-time web display and smart phone (iPhone® and Android®) interface
Circuit level monitoring of energy use with translation into costs and carbon footprint
Easy to read graphs—down to the minute—making it easy to see what causes spikes in energy use, when and
where energy is being used, and what is driving demand
Remote control of Smart Thermostats
Monitoring of energy-producing systems such as Solar PV
Ongoing alerts about equipment performance, unusual usage, overloaded circuits, electric bills to-date,
equipment left on when it shouldn’t be, and more. Alerts can be received via text and e-mail.
Energy “Reports” —available on-line and via e-mail—summarizing usage, off hours costs, and more
Analysis of contributors to demand charges and power factor penalties and related alerts
Benchmarking of multiple facilities on a facility and equipment group basis
How the eMonitor Works
The eMonitor uses sensors to detect
the amount of electricity moving
through each circuit in the electrical
panel(s), then connects to the
broadband router in the facility and
sends this data to the eMonitor
servers, where it is analyzed and
displayed on a web-based
“Dashboard”. Portions of the
information are also available on a
smart phone interface.

© 2012 Powerhouse Dynamics, Inc. 4
2. The eMonitor Portal and Dashboard
The eMonitor Portal and Dashboard provide summary and detailed energy-related information about your facilities,
including current and historical energy usage, allowing you to track the electricity use of all equipment and circuits in
each facility. It can show the impact of equipment upgrades or servicing, changes in operating procedures, or other
changes that affect energy use, all in real time.
After you have completed the setup process, you can log in securely to the eMonitor Portal using the eMonitor
username and password you created in the registration process. Go to:
https://www.emonitor.us
Once you have logged in, if you have access to registered eMonitors at more
than one location, you will be taken to the Summary or Benchmarking page
of the Management Portal. The Summary page is shown below, but the
Management Portal will be discussed later. You can view the Dashboard for
any individual location by clicking View on the Summary page facilities list.
Note: For security reasons,
the system will automatically
log you off if you take no
action for an extended period
of time. If you are still using
the system, you will see an
advance notice so that you
can avoid the Log Out. If you
are logged out, you will be
returned to the Log In screen
where you can log right back
in. You can disable this
automated log out on the
Settings/Your Information
Tab.

© 2012 Powerhouse Dynamics, Inc. 5
3. Navigating the eMonitor Dashboard
The eMonitor Dashboard uses a simple “tab” structure for navigation. You will see six Navigation tabs: Home (1),
Circuits (2), Controls (3), Report (4), Alerts (5) and Settings (6). (NOTE: If you have not installed a Smart Thermostat or
other smart control you will not see the Controls tab). The Location identification (7) identifies the Account & Location
that you are viewing. At the top right are Support (8) and Log-Out (9) links.
The Tabs:
1. Home –Provides a summary of key elements of the energy usage of the facility.
2. Equipment - Provides more details on each of the circuits, including real-time and historic usage and costs.
3. Controls –Provides access to Smart Thermostats or other controls, allowing you to view and change current settings
and see historical data.
4. Reports –Provides a summary of energy trends of the facility by circuit, as well as some results of the eMonitor
usage analysis.
5. Alerts –Central location to set up and modify Budget, Safety, Savings Opportunities, Equipment Performance and
Comfort Alerts
6. Settings - Lets you see and change any of the settings established during the Registration process.
Immediately below the Tabs you will find an Information Bar.
This will provide you with a quick snapshot of factors such as current usage levels and how that translates into cost per
hour given your current electric rate (10) and estimated “burn rate” or cost per hour, current voltage (11), and current
outside temperature for the zip code (12). You will find new data added to the Information Bar over time. The
Management link (13) will take you back to the Summary page of the Management Portal showing all of the buildings
that you have access to.

© 2012 Powerhouse Dynamics, Inc. 6
HOME Tab
The Home tab provides a summary of energy use in the facility. This page is divided into three sections.
The eMonitor Dashboard Home Page

© 2012 Powerhouse Dynamics, Inc. 7
Top Section
The top panel shows current power consumption with a live analog-style gauge on the left showing watts being used.
To the right is a list of the top 10 circuits that are currently active and how much they are using. These two areas are
updated every minute.
Clicking on any of the active Circuits will take you directly to that Circuit’s details page (which can also be accessed
from the Circuits tab, which is described on page 32).
Many utilities charge commercial customers a “Power
Factor Penalty” when Power Factor falls below a certain
level, often as high as 90 or 95%. If you have indicated that
you are charged that way, beneath the current power
consumption gauge is an indication of the real-time Power
Factor in the facility. Clicking this link will display a list of
the 5 worst circuits from a Power Factor perspective, along
with an explanation of Power Factor and a list of things
that can be done to improve Power Factor.
At the right of the top section is a representation of your “Carbon Footprint” – how much carbon dioxide your facility’s
electricity usage releases into the atmosphere, and how your Footprint compares over the past two 30-day periods.
Note the Phantom Power link below carbon footprint. Phantom
Power is the power consumed by electronic devices even when
they are off, including printers, chargers, TVs, and other devices. Identifying the
cost of devices that could perhaps be unplugged when not in use can lead to
savings. Phantom Power is discussed further in Appendix E.
Monitoring Renewable Energy
If you are monitoring solar or wind power, the eMonitor will automatically show you how much you power you are
pulling from the utility grid (shown as your Utility Meter), and how much your renewable energy system is producing
(the blue gauge to the right). The sum of those two represent how much power you are using, shown in the gray box
below the gauges. A small icon to the right or left of the Production gauge indicates what type of renewable energy
system you have. Clicking on that icon will take you to the detail for that circuit. (If you have more than one inverter,
Throughout the eMonitor Dashboard you will see (informational)
icons. Hover your cursor over these icons to see a pop-up window
with more information about that area of the screen.

© 2012 Powerhouse Dynamics, Inc. 8
you will first be taken to a summary of each inverter). The gauge below shows power production of 2809 watts from
solar.
When you are drawing energy from the grid, the Utility Meter will be orange and show as a positive number. If you
are producing more energy than you are using, the Utility Meter will turn green and “spin backwards”, representing
“Net Metering”. In the illustration below, the blue gauge shows power production of 3,086 watts, but with power use
at only 1,254 watts, 1,832 watts can be sent back to the grid, (-1,832 watts on the utility meter). Please note that Net
Metering rules with respect to utility payments vary from state to state.
Middle Section
The middle section of the page provides monthly cost information. The
pie chart on the left side shows the last 30 days usage for the 12 circuits
that used the most energy, along with a 30-day estimated cost for each
circuit. If you hover your cursor over any slice of the pie, or its label, it
will show you that circuit’s percent of the 30 day usage.
Clicking View All Circuits will bring up a larger pie chart
that shows all circuits (right).
Clicking a slice of the Pie Chart takes you directly to
that Circuit’s details page.
The top
right of the
middle
section shows Electricity Cost by Month, a month-to-date comparison of
costs this month vs. last month, including a projection for the remainder of
this month. As noted in the information box, this will NOT compare exactly
with your utility bill, which is not based on a calendar basis.
Beneath this, the Top 4 Users, Last 30 days quickly shows the biggest
electricity users.

© 2012 Powerhouse Dynamics, Inc. 9
Bottom Section
The graphs in the bottom section
help analyze power usage over
different periods of time. They
display usage in increments from
one minute to one month.
The
bar graph on the left shows cost by month for the past year, and by day for the past month.
If you have a Demand charge, the bar will stack the demand and usage portions.
Usage is shown with green bars. If you have renewable energy production, it is shown with
blue bars. Click on any bar for more information.
Clicking on the View History Details button will bring up a detailed history view that lets
you look at any time period.
The default “base” graph is Usage. You can choose a
different base graph by clicking the Select dropdown
menu and choosing a different parameter.
Then, by clicking the colored circles in the box below
the dropdown, you can compare production, cost, or
CO2,and overlay any of these variables on the base
graph. When you change your base parameter, the
“Compare to” choices change. If you have
renewable energy production, you can also look at a
production view.
You can compare production to other parameters, such as
“Utility Meter”, to compare production with energy being
taken from the utility grid. The graph above shows that during
April and May, solar production was greater than the amount
used from the grid.
The graphs will default to a monthly view. You can drill down to a
daily view for that month by clicking on the bar for that month.
You can then drill down to an hourly view by clicking on a day.
You can adjust the granularity of the hourly view by clicking the
tabs at the bottom of the graph, as in this hourly view.

© 2012 Powerhouse Dynamics, Inc. 10
Return to a monthly or yearly view by clicking Back (above right of the Select dropdown menu). Close the history detail
window by clicking on the Close link at the upper right of the window to return to the home page.
The graph on the right side of the bottom panel shows the facility’s usage for the past day, week or month, selected
using the tabs at the top. Along the bottom of
the graph a time period will be displayed (hours,
for instance, when you’ve selected “Past Day”)
and the vertical axis will show power usage. In
the daily view, two areas are shown. Green
indicates the current day and gray represents
the previous day. In the daily view, you are
looking at minute-by-minute usage measured in
watts; in all other views you are looking at watt-
hours.
Zooming In
For an even closer analysis you can drag your mouse over
a section of the graph to “zoom in” on that area. (This is a
feature of all line graphs in the Dashboard). You may
notice when you zoom in that the vertical axes
automatically adjust to cover the range of values that are
displayed.
You will automatically get back to the “un-zoomed“ graph
every minute as the information is updated, or you can
click the Back button on the right hand side. Note that the
above graph also has Production and Both tabs. These tabs will only show if you have renewable energy production.
This graph shows renewable energy production for
the past week.
Selecting the button for Both shows usage and
production together
“View” Buttons
When you are looking at power usage, you will see a button labelled “View Circuit Detail.”
If you looking at power production, you will
see View Production Savings. If you select
“Both”, no View button is shown.
Clicking View Production Savings shows your savings for the selected
period (in this case, past 7 days). Savings are shown in kilowatt hours
produced, dollars and CO2saved, and power exported to the grid, along
with the associated dollar value. Please note that the dollar values are