Edge aggregation
Niagara JACE or Robustel gateway collects every utility at native protocol — BACnet, Modbus, pulse, LoRaWAN, REST — buffering through outages.
Computation Layer
Multi-Utility Submetering Computation Layer
The hardware is necessary but not sufficient. The computation layer is the software tier that turns six independent meter networks into one decision-ready data product.
How It Works
Four mechanics that define a real computation layer
Common taxonomy
Every measurement point is mapped to a canonical tag dictionary on ingest, so dashboards and queries speak one language.
Normalized time-series
Timestamps aligned to a single timezone, units converted, gaps flagged, and rollovers reconciled before data leaves the edge.
Single integration target
Cleaned data is published once — to Niagara as virtual points, to ERP via REST or MQTT, to ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, and to the tenant-billing engine.
Hardware Coverage
Six utility networks, one cleaned data product
Electric
Panoramic Power PAN-10/12/14/42 + BCM
Hardware detailsWater
Neptune T-10, ultrasonic EES-101/201 clamp-on
Hardware detailsNatural Gas
Sage Metering thermal mass, VorTek insertion vortex
Hardware detailsBTU
Onicon EES-301/401 ultrasonic
Hardware detailsSteam
Header-level vortex / orifice meters
Hardware detailsCompressed Air
VP Instruments insertion thermal mass
Hardware detailsSide by Side
Traditional siloed approach vs computation layer
| Dimension | Traditional Siloed Approach | Computation Layer Approach |
|---|---|---|
| Number of dashboards | One per utility (3–6) | One — across all utilities |
| Time-series alignment | Each system stamps own time, no shared clock | Single normalized time-series across every meter |
| Tag/unit normalization | Site-by-site, manual, drifts over time | Canonical taxonomy, enforced on ingest |
| Cross-utility insights | Manual spreadsheet work, weeks behind | Native — chiller kW/ton, $/scfm, steam-trap loss in real time |
| Tenant billing | Separate exports, manual reconciliation | One billing run covers electric, water, gas, BTU |
| BMS/ERP integration | One driver per system | Single Niagara, REST, or MQTT endpoint |
FAQ
Common questions
Which submetering systems monitor electricity, water, gas, and compressed air?
A complete multi-utility stack combines Panoramic Power wireless sensors and BCMs for electricity, Neptune and Onicon meters for water and BTU, Sage Metering and VorTek flow meters for natural gas and steam, and VP Instruments meters for compressed air. The hardware is the easy part — the computation layer is what turns six independent sensor networks into one clean, time-aligned data set you can actually use.
One clean data product across every utility
Let's design a computation layer that unifies your facility's electric, water, gas, BTU, steam, and compressed air data.