Green Button Frequently Asked Questions Why is NHEC launching Green Button? NH Electric Cooperative has joined leading utilities across the country by providing the “Green Button” on our web site. With a click of the button you can now view your electricity usage quickly and easily from our website. This information is provided in a standardized format that electric utilities across the country are also using – encouraging awareness of energy use and allowing third parties to develop applications giving you the information and tools to more effectively manage your energy costs. What is Green Button? Green Button gives you easy and secure access to your personal energy usage data. By using Green Button you can download your energy usage data to gain better insight on how you use energy. You can download your energy usage monthly, daily, hourly over a time frame you specify—up to 14 months! After downloading your usage data, you can view it in your internet browser, or upload it to any third party site that supports Green Button data analysis. For more information on Green Button, you can visit www.greenbuttondata.org What’s the benefit of using Green Button? The ease of access to energy use will be useful for: Analyzing your bill: understanding home energy usage and finding ways to reduce consumption may help you reduce your bill Heating and Cooling: customized heating and cooling activities for savings and comfort; Retrofits: improved decision-support tools to facilitate energy-efficiency retrofits; Verification: measurement of energy-efficiency investments; Real Estate: provision of energy costs for tenants and/or new home purchasers; and Solar: optimize the size and cost-effectiveness of rooftop solar panels. Green Button data will support energy audits for both homes and businesses to help them make decisions, optimize the size and cost-effectiveness of solar panels for their home, or verify that energy-efficiency retrofit investments are performing as expected. Is the information I download secure? Yes, your usage data is secure. Keep in mind that you are accessing this data through your SmartHub online account. You need your user name and password to access this information. Once you have downloaded your usage data, it is yours. What types of usage data can I download? You choose: “Hourly”, “Daily”, “Monthly” usage data. Or you can specify a date range and extract the data to a file. It is your data, you can use it for your own analysis or if you are looking at energy options you can download your data and forward it to a 3rd party. Are there limits on the amount of usage I can download? There are some parameters that you should be aware of when extracting your data using Green Button. Hourly: maximum of 45 days per download Monthly: maximum of 14 months per download Daily: maximum of 14 months per download Multiple accounts: limited to one account per download. How do I download my usage data? Step 1 Use a PC or a MAC Please note: Green Button cannot be accessed via a mobile device—this includes I-Phones, i-Pads and Android phone and tablets. Step 2 Login to your NHEC online account (SmartHub) (If you do not have an online account, create an NHEC online account. Have your NHEC account # ready and follow the prompts to create account.) Step 3 Once you have logged into NHEC online account select: ‘View My Usage” on the upper left hand navigation bar “Explore Usage Management” which is the 3rd tab shown. “Use the Green Button tool”, this will open the application, “Download My Data” and you will be prompted to configure your download based on your usage intervals and time frames Note: You can extract the data into (2) different file formats : CSV File or XML File. If you plan to share your Green Button data with a third party, please be sure to download the file in “XML” format only— XML is the Green Button format that is accepted by third party sites. What is a CSV file? CSV stands for Comma Separated Values, this is a common file format in which data fields are listed in a string separated by commas. CSV files are commonly created by spreadsheet programs (like Excel) or text editors (like Notepad). What is a XML file? The Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a computer-readable file. You will need an application to properly read and determine the content of the file. I have multiple NHEC accounts, how do I use Green Button? For multiple accounts, you need to extract the “Hourly”, “Daily” or “Monthly” data per account. If you require a summary of all usage for all accounts, you will need to combine the data in XML file to accomplish a total usage summary for multiple accounts. Can I access Green Button for Net Metering Account? Yes, you can use Green Button to download your data for your net metering accounts. Here are the instructions: Below the Cap Net Metering Accounts (Solar PV systems installed on or before December 31, 2015) Please note the “Monthly” download option on Green Button combines the delivered, received, and the net kWh totals (The Delivered, Received and net lines on the bill). Under the “Daily” and “Hourly” view it will show the net usage only. Above the Cap Net Metering Accounts (Solar PV systems installed after December 31, 2015) Please note the “Monthly” download option on Green Button combines delivered and exported kWh totals. If you require a break down between delivered, exported and net kWh please select “Daily” or “Hourly” download option. Can I access Green Button for Time- of -Day Account? Yes, you can use Green Button to download your data for your time-of-dayaccounts. Here are the instructions: Time-of-Day Accounts Please note that the total kWhs are captured. Due to a system limitation, “time of day” data cannot be delineated for off peak/on peak usage.