Ignite has the most robust forecasting system available on the market today. When setting up a new customer there are many different forecast types to choose from. Deciding which one is the best fit for each customer is sometimes challenging. In this article we will review all the Forecast Types available and give some examples of what type of customer would be the best fit.
Auto – Baseload – This customer uses their fuel for heat and for something other than heat on a consistent basis. This forecast type is commonly used for propane customers. This customer’s fuel consumption is affected by the weather as well as the other systems that use the fuel. This forecast type will use the Heat Only Total from the DDay table plus the Baseload on the customer’s account.
A couple examples would be:
1) A gas warm air furnace and a gas range and/or dryer.
2) An oil boiler and a separate oil fired hot water storage tank.
Auto – Baseload & HW – This customer uses the fuel for heat and their heating system is used to heat their hot water and they also use an additional system other than heat on a consistent basis. This customer’s fuel consumption is affected by the weather, the hot water usage and the other systems that use the fuel. This forecast type will use the Heat & HW Total from the DDay table.
A couple examples would be:
1) A gas boiler with a tankless hot water coil and a gas range and/or dryer.
2) An oil boiler with a tankless hot water coil and a separate pool heater.
For both ‘Auto – Baseload’ and ‘Auto – Baseload & HW’ when the Recalc K Factor is checked, Ignite will ONLY adjust the Current K Factor and will not adjust the Baseload value. The only way the baseload will change is by manually changing it or when changing baseload seasons.
Auto – Heat & HW – This customer uses the fuel for heat and that heating system is used to heat their hot water. These types of heating systems may need to heat up or maintain their temperature in order to provide hot water to the house. This customer’s fuel consumption is affected both by the weather and the amount of hot water used by the household. During the warmer days there are additional DDays added to the Heat Only DDays to compensate for heating the hot water and therefore Ignite uses the Heat & HW Total from the DDay table.
A couple examples would be:
1) A boiler with a tankless hot water coil installed.
2) A boiler with a direct or indirect hot water storage tank.
Auto – Heat Only – This customer uses the fuel for heat only. Their water is heated using a different energy source. This customer’s fuel consumption is ONLY affected by the weather and Ignite will use the Heat Only Total from the DDay table. An example would be a customer with a warm air furnace or boiler and an electric hot water storage tank.
Gal Per Day – This customer uses the fuel for something other than heat and the consumption is consistent throughout each season. This customer’s fuel consumption is NOT affected by the weather. The consumption is easily calculated by multiplying the # of days since the last delivery by the Current Baseload.
A couple examples would be:
1) A customer with just a gas range and/or dryer
2) A manufacturing facility
On Hold – This forecast type is used to stop this fuel record from being pulled on the pull automatics screen while still calculating their consumption based ONLY on the ‘Use HW?’ check box and the K Factor. It will not calculate the gallons used based on gals/day or baseload values.
Scheduled – This customer can use the fuel for any number of things and their consumption can vary greatly. This forecast type give you the greatest flexibility to schedule deliveries to this customer when you want. You can create a delivery schedule to fit your exact needs. You can choose exact dates as well as assign specific delivery amounts for those tickets.
Stopped – This forecast type will ignore the fuel record when posting a delivery to the customer’s account and thus, the delivery history and forecast information will not be updated.
Tank Monitor – This customer has a tank monitor on their tank and Ignite will import the tank level data daily. This is the most accurate forecast type because the true level is given directly from the customer’s tank.
Will Call – This forecast type is for those customers who prefer to monitor their own fuel level and call for deliveries. Ignite will try to forecast their consumption based on history but cannot be accurate if the customer doesn’t always get a fill.