When you add notes to your analytics, you’re basically transforming your building’s data into actionable intelligence. When something unusual happens, it’s best to add notes on the spot.
Effective note examples:
| Situation | Note Title | Note Details |
|---|---|---|
| Maintenance | “Chiller Service” | “Annual maintenance 8AM-12PM, system offline, expect rebound usage” |
| Weather Event | “Heat Wave Response” | “95°F peak, all cooling stages engaged, normal response” |
| Tenant Activity | “Weekend Event” | “Marketing conference Sat 8AM-5PM, 200 attendees, extra cooling” |
| Equipment Issue | “AHU-3 Fault” | “Unit tripped 2PM, reset at 3PM, investigating root cause Monday” |
Helpful Hint: Adding notes takes just 30 seconds but saves hours later when managers ask “Why was energy usage high that day?” Documenting everything unusual, even if it seems minor, could save time later.
Creating notes
There are two ways to create a note: using the Add note buttons on the page, or right-clicking directly on the load curve chart.
Only users with a Full User role on the building can create notes. If you have a Viewer role, you can see existing notes but the controls for adding new ones will not be available.
Using the Add note button
There are two Add note buttons on the usage page: one above the load chart, and one in the header of the notes list below it. Both work the same way.
- Click either Add note button.
- You’ll be prompted to choose which data source to attach the note to. The options include the building itself and each of its individual meters.
- Select the date and time for the note. This determines where the beacon will appear on the load curve.
- Enter your note content and save.
On campus pages, the Add note buttons offer the buildings and meters within the campus as data source options.
Right-clicking on the load chart
You can also create a note by right-clicking directly on the load curve chart.
- Right-click at the point on the chart where you want to place the note.
- Select Add note from the context menu.
- The date and time will be pre-populated based on where you clicked, so you won’t need to enter them manually.
- Choose the data source to attach the note to, enter your content, and save.
This method is particularly useful when you’re investigating a specific moment on the chart and want to record your findings in context.
Viewing notes on the load chart
Notes appear on the energy use load curve chart as small colored beacons, positioned at the date and time associated with the note.
On a building’s usage page, you’ll see beacons for notes attached to the building itself as well as notes attached to any of its underlying meters. The same is true on campus pages, where beacons from all buildings and meters within the campus are displayed together.
Beacon colors
Beacon colors indicate the type of note. Green beacons are notes left by users, and red beacons are notes generated by Gridium’s automated analytics. This makes it easy to distinguish your team’s annotations from system-generated observations when scanning the chart.
Beacon positioning
Beacons always sit on a data line in the chart. When the specific data line a note is attached to is visible (for example, an individual meter line when “show meters” is turned on), the beacon appears on that line at the correct time and demand level.
When the specific line is not visible, the beacon moves to the aggregate load line that includes the note’s data source. For example, a note attached to a meter will appear on the building aggregate line when “show meters” is turned off. The beacon keeps its correct position on the time axis so you can still see when the note was placed.
Hover details
Hovering over a beacon displays a tooltip with the note’s content and the name of the building or meter the note is attached to. This makes it straightforward to identify the source of each note, particularly when you’re viewing notes from multiple meters on a single chart.