📌 1. What is MeterLogs used for?

MeterLogs helps you track and consolidate all household metrics without having to rely on multiple apps and device installations for analysis. In everyday life, we encounter apps from various manufacturers or older hardware (e.g., solar systems over 15 years old) for which no apps even existed. It is also difficult to enable digital analysis for fossil fuels such as oil or gas. This is often only achievable with a deep understanding of the subject and makeshift solutions. MeterLogs bridges that gap. Whether it’s off-grid or grid-connected energy and consumption data, MeterLogs brings it all together.

🛠️ 2. Practical Usage

📏 2.1 Units and Their Role

Units can be defined as desired. For example, “electricity consumption” can be measured in “kWh” or “gas consumption” in “m³”. It is important to note that the system will automatically group data by these units during the subsequent graphical analysis. The purpose of this is to prevent, for example, water usage data from being mixed with electricity data. This ensures a clear and meaningful overview. Feed-in, grid consumption, and solar output should be displayed in a single chart. Data for oil, gas, water, or electricity can thus be displayed separately. If the units are edited later, these changes are automatically applied to all measurements.

📊 2.2 Creating and Editing Measurement Types

The measurement type is created according to the input form. You must select a name (e.g., Water), an optional description, the unit (as defined in 2.1), the calculation method, and the color. The color ensures high recognizability, as it appears in all charts. There are three options for calculation methods:

Method 1: Increasing meter readings
Example: 3325 kWh → 3789 kWh → consumption = 464 kWh.
Method 2: Decreasing values
Example: 950 ltr → 875 ltr → consumption = 75 ltr.
Method 3: Direct consumption values
Example: January 56 kWh + February 45 kWh = 101 kWh.

Changes to a measurement type automatically affect all related entries.

📝 2.3 Entering Single Measurements

Individual measurements can be accessed either under the respective measurement parameter or directly in the measurement parameter overview. In the input screen, you enter the measurement parameter, the date of the measurement, the measured value or consumption value, and the current price. The price information is required for cost analysis. You can enter details regarding the feed-in tariff (i.e., revenue) as well as costs. Example: Feed-in tariff 0.11 EUR or grid purchase price 0.27 EUR. The values are expressed in the unit EUR/kWh. Since the sun fortunately provides us with free energy, this field can be left blank for this type of measurement. The input field has been designed for user-friendliness, so the system automatically retrieves the most recent price entered from the database. This means that the cost only needs to be entered once and only requires correction if there is a change in the rate (price increase or decrease). Each individual measurement can be edited or deleted later.

📈 3. Dashboards & Visualization

🔋 3.1 Energy & Consumer Dashboard

In the first dashboard, all metrics are displayed as bar charts. There is a separate view showing the trend over the course of a 12-month year and another showing the overall trend across all available years. This provides the best overview of how energy and consumption data change over the course of the year and how the individual years differ in total. Any anomalies become immediately apparent. The bar charts can be enlarged by maximizing or minimizing the chart. Within the chart itself, you can also hide and unhide specific metrics. Automatic grouping by units and measurement methods ensures that the measured values are presented in a logical manner and that water, electricity, and gas are not mixed together.

🔀 3.2 MeterLogs Visual Board

The MeterLogs Visual Board visualizes the data in a flowchart. The key is to correctly assign the measured values to their respective tiles. For example, a measured value for a photovoltaic (PV) system is assigned to the solar tile. A measured value for fossil fuels such as gas or oil is assigned to the heating tile. Tile assignment is done via dropdown menus of the available measured values and is required for cost analysis. This ensures the system uses the correct measured value for amortization calculations. A time range can also be set for the current view. The flowchart visualizes the values for the selected time period. Views can be set to monthly, three months, six months, twelve months, or the entire available time range. Below the flowchart, energy performance indicators are calculated. In addition to the degree of self-sufficiency, self-consumption rate, and battery storage share, the most important key figures are summarized in a table. The share of a wallbox or heat pump is also calculated and displayed as a percentage. The thermal energy of the heat pump can be calculated using the seasonal performance factor (SPF). The total heating energy demand is determined based on both the heat pump and fossil fuels. The heating demand for the entire household is calculated in kWh/m² based on the living space. This allows verification of whether the house is a low-energy building.

💶 3.3 MeterLogs Cost Check

The MeterLogs Cost Check visualizes the yields, costs, and amortization of individual investment costs across four tiles. The following key figures are calculated: PV system yield in kWh, feed-in tariff, savings through self-consumption with an indication of the average total savings per year. In addition, the total costs are calculated, consisting of costs for electricity, fossil fuels, and water. The costs for operating the heat pump and the wallbox are also calculated proportionally. The observation period can also be selected for this. For the investment costs, information can be entered for the PV system, battery storage, wallbox, and heat pump. The amortization period for each is then calculated. Example: Investment costs for the battery storage system: $4,640.00 -> Amortized after 8 years and 3 months. In addition to the battery storage, the monthly savings for the heat pump (as a replacement for fossil fuels) and the wallbox are also calculated.

🔔 4. Push Notifications

Registered users can activate and deactivate push notifications in their personal "Home" area. These notifications serve only as a monthly reminder to record measurements. The push notification then directs the user to the measurement input screen.

💳 5. Subscription & Cancellation

After the free trial period, the full range of features remains available for just €3.99/month. While measurements and individual data are not lost after the trial period, new measurements or data cannot be created. If an existing subscription is canceled, no measurement data is lost until the subscription is reactivated. The subscription can be canceled at any time, with the term ending at the end of the paid period. If the user account is deleted, all saved user data will be permanently deleted. Any active subscription will also be automatically terminated when the user account is deleted.

💡 6. Ideas & Feedback

Should you have any questions or suggestions for optimization while using MeterLogs.com, please feel free to contact us at [email protected]. We will endeavor to respond promptly.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

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