How to create a heatmap
A heatmap shows one measurement as a colour map over time: each cell is a time slot, and the colour is the value. It's the view that reveals patterns — that an installation always runs too warm on Monday mornings, or that consumption doesn't drop in the evenings the way it should.
How to create a heatmap
- Open the building you want to work on. See How to switch building and search for a building.
- Go to Analysis > Heatmap in the sidebar.
- Click New.
- Choose the timeseries the heatmap should show.
- Choose the Aggregate: Average, Sum, Max or Min.
- Choose the Color scale.
- Give the heatmap a name.
If you have no heatmaps yet, it says Create a heatmap to get started. The overview is called Heatmap overview.
How to choose the view
Month or week controls the resolution:
- Month — the whole month, one cell per day and hour. Use this to see weekly patterns and differences between weeks.
- Week — one week, tighter. Use this to see the daily pattern clearly.
Current month and Current week jump to the present period. Show week number adds week numbers, handy when referring to a period in a report or a message.
How to choose the aggregate
The aggregate decides what the colour in each cell means:
Aggregate | Suits |
|---|---|
Average | temperatures and levels — the typical state |
Max | peaks — when did it get too warm or too high |
Sum | consumption — how much in that slot |
Min | troughs — did the value drop too low |
Note: Average smooths out short spikes. If you're hunting brief peaks, Max gives a completely different — and often more accurate — picture of the same data.
What a heatmap does better than a graph
A timeseries graph across a month is a dense curve where it's hard to see whether anything repeats. A heatmap stacks the days beneath each other, so a recurring pattern becomes a vertical stripe you spot immediately.
This is why heatmaps are good at exposing wrong operating hours: if the ventilation runs from five every morning, that's a stripe — and a stripe covering the weekends too is an operating schedule that doesn't match how the building is used.
Frequently asked questions
Can I share a heatmap?
Yes. The recipient is asked Import … to your heatmaps? and the import works as it does for analyses: After importing, edit and use this heatmap. If the original changes, ask for a new link and import it again. Imported heatmaps are marked Imported.
Can I put a heatmap on the dashboard?
Yes. Note that deleting it then removes the widget too: Delete this heatmap? Any widget based on it will also be deleted.
Can I show several timeseries in one heatmap?
A heatmap shows one measurement — the colour is the value, so there's only room for one. To compare two series, use a timeseries analysis: How to create a timeseries analysis.
Why are parts of the map empty?
There's no data in those time slots.
Tip!
Look at a heatmap across a full month before setting up an alarm on a value. The pattern tells you what's normal at what time — and that knowledge is what lets you set the threshold and the active schedule correctly from the start.