Meter detail

Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.nectarclimate.com/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

Navigate to Data Inventory > Meters and open a meter’s full page (for example from the meter sheet’s Open full page action, or by visiting /data-inventory/meters/<meter id>). The full page provides tabs for usage, coverage, account context, bills, connection context, and trends.

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Meter information and identifiers

The top sections show Meter Information (key fields at a glance) and identifiers (account IDs, meter IDs, and other provider-specific numbers). Use Edit to change meter fields and Manage identifiers to add or remove identifier rows.

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Tabs

From the meters list, the Meter Sheet preview uses the same tabbed content in a compact layout.

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Usage history

The usage history table lists usage entries over time.

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Linked meters

If this meter has been grouped with other meters (for example when a utility provider uses different identifiers for the same physical device), the Linked meters section on the Usage tab lists related meters and when they were linked.

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Actions menu

Open Actions on the full page or meter sheet to: To move a meter to another site, use Reassign site from the meters list (row actions or bulk actions) — not the meter detail Actions menu.

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How the Primary ID is determined

Every meter can have multiple identifiers — an account number, a meter serial number, a POD number, and so on. The Primary ID is the single identifier value Nectar displays in the meters table, the meter detail header, and everywhere else a meter needs a short label. Nectar resolves the Primary ID using a four-tier priority system:

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Tier 1 and 2 — Account preferences

If the meter’s account has a primary identifier type configured (for example, set to “Account”), Nectar looks for an identifier of that type on the meter and displays its value. If no match is found, Nectar tries the account’s secondary identifier type. You can configure these preferences in the account detail page by clicking Edit and setting the Primary identifier and Secondary identifier fields.

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Tier 3 — Standard ordering

If neither account preference yields a match, Nectar falls back to a global priority list. The first type in this list that exists on the meter becomes the Primary ID:

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Tier 4 — Any identifier

If no identifier matches the priority list, Nectar displays the first available identifier with a non-empty value.

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Placeholder

If a meter has no identifiers at all, the platform shows a contextual placeholder — for example, “Downtown HQ · Electricity” (combining the site name and utility type).

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Example

A meter has three identifiers:

• If the account’s primary identifier is set to “Account” → Primary ID shows 12345-678-9
• If the account has no preference set → Primary ID shows MTR-A12345 (Meter is highest in the standard ordering)

Hover over the Primary ID column in any table to see a tooltip listing all identifiers and which one was selected.

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Controlling which identifier is displayed

If the Primary ID column is showing the wrong identifier type (for example, an account number instead of a meter serial number), you can change it:

1. Navigate to Data Inventory > Accounts and open the account that owns the meter.
2. Click Edit on the account detail page.
3. Set Primary identifier to the identifier type you want displayed (for example, “Meter” to show meter serial numbers).
4. Optionally set Secondary identifier as a fallback type.
5. Save. All meters under this account will now display the chosen identifier type as their Primary ID.

If the account has no preference set (both are blank), Nectar uses the standard ordering — which puts Meter first, then POD, then Electric Choice, and so on.

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Managing identifiers

Meters can have multiple identifiers that map to different systems and utility provider formats. When a new bill is processed, Nectar looks at the numbers on the bill and matches them against identifiers stored on each meter. If the numbers match, the usage data is linked to the meter automatically. The identifier you see in the Primary ID column is determined by the priority system described in How the Primary ID is determined.

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Identifier types

A meter can have multiple identifiers. This helps when different bills reference the same meter using different numbers.

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How identifiers affect bill matching

When Nectar processes a new bill, it extracts identifier values from the document and compares them against the identifiers stored on every meter in the company. The matching algorithm requires that:

1. All identifiers extracted from the bill must exist on the meter.
2. Any extra identifiers on the meter that were not extracted from the bill must appear somewhere in the bill document text.

This means that adding an identifier value to a meter that does not appear on the utility bills can prevent future bills from matching to that meter.

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Best practices

• Add all identifier variations. If your utility prints the meter number differently on different bills (with or without dashes, with or without a prefix), add all variations as identifiers. This prevents Nectar from creating duplicate meters.
• Compare against the bill. Open the original bill PDF and compare the numbers on it against what is stored in Nectar. Incorrect identifiers are the most common cause of mismatched data.
• Do not use identifiers for categorization. Identifiers are for bill matching, not labeling. If you add a custom value like “Building A - Floor 3” as an identifier, Nectar will look for that string in every incoming bill and fail to match when it is not found.
• Check identifiers when data is mismatched. If usage data is showing up under the wrong meter — or not matching to any meter at all — check identifiers first.

Click Manage Identifiers to open a form where you can add, edit, or remove any of these identifier types.

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Changing a meter’s site assignment

If a meter is showing up under the wrong building, use Reassign site on Data Inventory > Meters (select the meter, then choose the action). This is a common fix during initial setup, when meters may have been auto-assigned based on incomplete information. What happens when you reassign:

• All of the meter’s usage data — past and present — moves to the new site immediately.
• Analytics for the old site will no longer include this meter’s consumption. If Building A was showing 50,000 kWh and you move a 10,000 kWh meter away, Building A now shows 40,000 kWh.
• Analytics for the new site will now include it. Building B gains that 10,000 kWh.
• This is not just a going-forward change — the entire history moves.

When to reassign:

• A meter was auto-assigned to the wrong building during onboarding
• Your portfolio has been reorganized and a building moved to a different site
• You are cleaning up data and realized a meter has been in the wrong place

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Handling duplicate meters

Sometimes the same physical meter gets created twice — for example, when a bill lists the meter number as “Meter A12345” on one bill and “MTR-A12345” on another. Nectar creates two separate meters, and if both have usage data, your site’s total consumption appears higher than it actually is.

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When to mark as duplicate

Common scenarios where duplicate meters appear:

• Supplier / LDC deduplication. The same service point is reported by both the energy supplier and the local distribution company (LDC), creating two meter records with overlapping usage data.

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What happens to your data

When you mark a meter as duplicate:

• The meter’s usage data is excluded from site and portfolio analytics aggregations to avoid double-counting consumption.
• Bill costs are still included in analytics — even if some meters on a bill are marked as duplicate, the bill’s total charges still contribute to cost reporting. Only usage (consumption) data is excluded.
• It is excluded from completeness tracking — it will not show as a gap.
• It is excluded from data exports.
• Usage data is preserved — marking as duplicate is fully reversible. Click Unmark duplicate at any time to restore the meter to active status.
• Bills linked to the duplicate meter still appear in Data Inventory but their usage data does not contribute to consumption totals.

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Resolving a duplicate

1. Identify the primary meter — the one with the most complete data and the correct identifiers.
2. Click Mark as duplicate on the secondary meter — this excludes it from all aggregations.
3. Reassign usage data if needed — if the duplicate has usage records the primary does not have, reassign them before marking as duplicate.
4. Update identifiers on the primary — add any identifier variations from the duplicate so future bills match correctly.

You can mark meters as duplicate individually from the meter detail Actions menu, or in bulk from the meters list by selecting multiple meters and choosing Mark as duplicate.

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Merging meters

Merge meters combines two or more meter records into a single record. Use merge when two rows genuinely represent the same physical meter — for example, when a utility changed the meter number format and Nectar created a second record.

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Requirements

• All selected meters must belong to the same account.
• The merge is initiated from the meters list by selecting rows and choosing Merge meters.

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Merge preview

Before confirming, a merge preview compares the selected meters:

• Identifiers — All identifiers from all meters are combined. Duplicates (same type and value) are kept once.
• Coverage — A before/after comparison shows how the merged meter’s data completeness improves.
• Usage data — Total usage records across all meters are counted.
• Primary meter selection — You choose which meter is the “primary” — the one that survives. Other meters become linked meters.

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What happens after a merge

• The primary meter keeps its ID, site assignment, and account association.
• All identifiers from the secondary meters are added to the primary (unless they already exist).
• All usage data and bills from the secondary meters are reassigned to the primary meter.
• The secondary meters become linked meters — visible on the primary meter’s Usage tab under “Linked meters.”
• The Primary ID may change after a merge if the newly combined identifier set causes a different identifier to win the priority resolution.

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When to merge vs. mark as duplicate

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Reading trends

Use the Trends tab for a calendarized usage chart. Spikes, drops, gaps, and seasonality are easier to see over time than in a single bill row:

• Sudden spikes may indicate a data extraction error, a rate change, or a real operational issue (for example a heating system running continuously).
• Sudden drops could mean a missing bill, an extraction that missed usage data, or a real reduction in consumption.
• Gaps mean there are no usage records for that period — usually a bill is missing or has not been processed yet.

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Tips

• Check site assignments after onboarding. The most common data issue in Nectar is a meter assigned to the wrong building. Spend a few minutes after initial setup verifying each meter is under the correct site.
• Add all identifier variations. If your utility prints the meter number differently on different bills (with or without dashes, with or without a prefix), add all variations as identifiers. This prevents Nectar from creating duplicates.
• Resolve duplicates promptly. Duplicate meters cause double-counting. The longer they exist, the more data accumulates under both records, making cleanup harder.
• Use the Trends tab and usage table together. A sudden spike, drop, or gap is worth investigating — it could be a data issue or a real operational event.

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FAQ