Choose the correct time period and interval

Let the question determine the time settings

Two time choices shape every visualization. The period decides which measurements are included, while the interval decides whether those measurements appear as raw samples or as 15-minute, hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly groups.

Choose them to match the question you are answering. A period that is too short can miss the wider pattern; an interval that is too coarse can hide a brief peak. The steps below show how to set both and check that the resulting boundaries are complete.

Open the chart window

In Chat, locate Vega’s response containing the chart or table and select Open, identified by the external-link icon in the response actions. Vega opens the detailed chart window with the visualization on the left and its controls on the right. See Open and adjust the detailed chart window if the action is missing or unfamiliar.

All controls described below are in the right-hand panel of that chart window.

Choose a preset period

Open Time Period and choose one of these presets:

• Yesterday
• Last 7 days
• Last 30 days
• This month (month to date)
• Last month
• This year (year to date)
• Last year
• Custom Period

After choosing a preset, select Refresh. “This month” and “This year” are incomplete until the period ends, so do not compare them directly with a complete month or year without making that limitation explicit.

Enter an exact period

1. Choose Custom Period, or select either date field.
2. Set From to the first included calendar day.
3. Set To to the last included calendar day.
4. Confirm the site time zone shown by the result.
5. Select Refresh.

The date controls treat the To day as included. Explicit dates are preferable for invoice boundaries, incident investigations, and any report that must be reproducible.

If the dates are entered in reverse order, Vega normalizes them. Even so, read both fields before refreshing so the resulting scope is deliberate.

Move to the adjacent period

Use the left and right chevrons beside Time Period to move by one period of the same width. A calendar-aligned month moves by a month, a calendar-aligned year by a year, and another custom range by its duration. This action refreshes automatically.

This is useful for inspecting the period immediately before or after the current one. Confirm the new dates in the controls rather than assuming that both periods contain the same number of days or working hours.

Choose a time interval

Under Time Interval, the normal measurement choices are:

• Automatic — Vega selects an interval appropriate to the requested range.
• 15-minutes — useful for short operational patterns and demand changes.
• Raw samples — preserves source-level samples and is best kept to a narrow period.
• Hourly — useful for daily schedules and overnight behavior.
• Daily — useful for weekday, weekend, and short-term trend analysis.
• Weekly — groups Monday through Sunday.
• Monthly — useful for seasonality and reporting.
• Yearly — useful only when sufficient history exists.

Select Refresh after changing the interval. A finer interval produces more rows and exposes short gaps; a coarser interval is easier to read but can hide brief peaks and missing samples.

When PVGIS Calculation is selected under Metrics, Time Interval offers only Monthly and Total. Selecting that data type also changes an incompatible existing interval to Monthly. Return to a measured data type if you need raw, 15-minute, hourly, daily, weekly, or yearly intervals.

Match interval to the question

Use energy intervals to compare quantities accumulated over time. For demand questions, select Peak Power and make sure the requested statistic reflects whether you need a maximum, average, or ranked set of values.

A practical sequence is:

1. Start with Daily to locate an unusual day.
2. Narrow the period around that day.
3. Change to Hourly or 15-minutes.
4. Refresh and inspect the exact values in Table view.

Do not use a monthly point to claim that a change happened at a particular hour. Conversely, do not use a few raw samples to characterize a whole month.

Check coverage at the boundaries

The first and last bucket can be incomplete when the selected timestamps, source coverage, or synchronization window do not align with the chosen interval. Before relying on a result:

• inspect the first and last table rows,
• check the component’s measurement calendar,
• avoid mixing a partial current period with complete historical periods, and
• ask Vega to state missing intervals and the effective time zone.

See Review measurements, asset health, and events for the source-coverage checks.