It’s that time of year again to start thinking about changing your K Factor Seasons and asking the question, “When Should I Do This?” The exact time truly depends on your company and how you’re currently using K Factors. Each company is different and that’s why every answer is different. The information in this article will help you make the best decision for your company and customers. One thing is for sure, we do recommend using separate K Factor seasons throughout the year. Doing this allows you to more accurately forecast your accounts.
We‘ve found that most companies have a difficult time using all 4 K Factor seasons within Ignite; as a result, it is our recommendation to use only the Winter and Summer K Factors OR to use Smart K (for more information on Smart K please view the Smart K help file).
For the purpose of this document, we will focus on using Summer and Winter K Factors. So, when exactly should you switch seasons? Since we have clients in different parts of the country we certainly can’t tell everyone to change K Factor seasons on the same day. For example those clients with customers in Maine will have colder temperatures earlier and they will last longer than those in Virginia. Our rule of thumb is when you are ready to shut off the heat and thinking about opening the windows at your own home on a consistent basis, then it’s time to switch from Winter to Summer (probably mid-April to mid-May). If you’d prefer a more “calculated” method, you can review your DDays for each day; once there have been several days where the DDay has been less than 28, you can switch to Summer.
The reverse is true for switching from Summer to Winter. When your air conditioner has been off for a while, you are keeping your windows closed on a consistent basis, andyou are starting to think about turning on the heat at your home, then it’s time to switch yourK factor season to Winter (probably mid-Oct to mid-Nov). You can use your DDay values to help make the decision, once there have been several days where the DDay has been 28 or higher, then you can switch to Winter. (28 is the # of DDays Smart K uses to consider it ‘Winter.’)
Once you’ve decided to change your K Factor season, follow these steps: First, go to Daily Work > DDays and write down the most current Total DDay values. Then go to Management > Maintenance. Once there you’ll need to click on the ‘Change K Factor Season’ button. A pop up with step by step instructions to change your K Factor Seasons will display. Follow the steps to change your season. If you run into any issues we suggest reviewing our Help Document “Changing K Factor Season” which should answer most of your questions. If you have additional questions, please contact support and we’ll be available to assist.