Select metrics, meters, and sites

Define what the visualization actually measures

Before reading a chart, be clear about what contributes to it. In Vega, that means choosing both the quantity—such as consumption energy or peak load—and the physical or calculated components that supply it. A broad or overlapping selection can produce a convincing result that answers a different question from the one you intended.

The chart window calls every selectable measurement asset a Component. Depending on the site’s setup, a component may represent a utility meter, inverter, calculated total, or another item in the hierarchy. Select it by site and displayed name, and use its ID when similar names make the choice ambiguous. Understand sites, meters, and energy assets explains how these elements relate.

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. This opens the detailed chart window; the instructions below refer to its right-hand control panel. For the complete opening flow, see Open and adjust the detailed chart window.

Select a data type and metric

In the chart window’s control panel, use Metrics in two stages:

1. Choose a data type.
2. Choose one or more compatible metrics.

The user-facing data types relevant to normal analysis are:

• Peak Power — Load, Generation, Battery charging, or Battery discharging, normally displayed in kW.
• Energy — Consumption, Production, Expected Production, Production Forecast, Net, Battery charge, or Battery discharge, normally displayed in kWh.
• PV Performance — Plant Energy Production (EY), Specific Yield (YF), Reference Yield (YR), Performance Ratio (PR), or Energy Performance Index (EPI).
• PVGIS Calculation — long-term reference production, irradiation, or variability.

Changing the data type removes metrics that are incompatible with the new type and selects a suitable default when necessary. It can also restrict the available interval, breakdown, statistics, and filters.

Do not compare unlike units on the same basis. Energy describes quantity over a period; power describes rate or demand. For more detail, see Analyze consumption, demand, and energy costs.

Production Forecast is the short-term operational PV forecast, normally available for the component’s local day through D+2. It is different from the historical Expected Production benchmark and the long-term PVGIS Calculation reference. Forecast gaps remain unavailable rather than becoming zero, and results can carry issuance and model provenance. See Use and interpret PV forecasts before comparing forecast and actual production.

Select sites and components

1. Under Components, select Select components.
2. Use Search sites to narrow the site list if necessary.
3. Select the checkbox beside a site to include all its components.
4. Alternatively, expand the site and select individual components.
5. Use Load more when the required site is not in the first page.
6. Close the component selector and review the summary, such as “1 site, 2 components.”
7. Select Refresh.

Selecting a whole site replaces individual selections from that site. While the site remains selected, its child component checkboxes are treated as included and cannot be changed individually.

If the summary says All sites, all components, there is no explicit component restriction. This can create an unexpectedly broad total. Select the intended scope whenever the result will support a decision or report.

Avoid double counting

A site can contain parent, child, and calculated components. Do not select a parent total together with children that already contribute to that total unless the purpose is to show them as separate series.

To verify the hierarchy:

1. Open Inventory.
2. Select the site and open Components.
3. Expand the tree and locate the component name and ID.
4. Confirm whether it is a source component, child, or calculated component.
5. Return to the chart window and select only the required analytical boundary.

Use Breakdown: Component when you want separate series for selected components. Use Breakdown: None when you intentionally want their combined value.

Resolve an empty result

If refresh returns no measurements:

1. Confirm that the active account contains the selected site.
2. Reopen Select components and check that the site and component still exist.
3. Choose a known complete period.
4. Confirm that the component provides the selected metric and direction.
5. Inspect its Measurements calendar for gaps or an out-of-range synchronization window.
6. Try one component and one metric before rebuilding a wider selection.

For Production Forecast, also confirm that the component supports operational forecasting and that the requested period overlaps a stored forecast. Vega may report the available forecast dates and latest issuance when the selected period contains none.

If several components share a name, verify their IDs in Inventory. A connector ID or meter ID identifies the source, while the editable component name is the label used in selectors.

After refreshing, verify the title, legend, unit, and table columns. Continue with Use chart types, breakdowns, and filters to control how the selected data is grouped.