Automatic Variables serve as the base level of ioTORQ and are used to import raw data from a sensor, a meter, a third-party report, and more. New Automatic Variables can be added to ioTORQ by navigating to Variables and selecting New Automatic Variable.
New Automatic Variables
When creating a new automatic variable, there are several important details to enter.
- Organization - where the variable will be saved
- Name and Description - what the variable will be called and what will be displayed in the right-hand Tree Structure
- Code - the unique identifier for this variable
- Frequency - the resolution at which data will be pulled from a sensor or a site database
- Aggregation - how the dataset will be aggregated and displayed at lower resolutions and in dashboard charts
- Data type - how the system will interpret each data point in an array, whether displaying the reading as-is or calculating the difference between subsequent time stamps
- Input Unit - the engineering unit of the incoming dataset
- Output Unit - the desired engineering unit for this variable, which will be displayed on the variable chart and in dashboard charts. The system will automatically apply the appropriate conversion factor for related unit types.
- Multiplication factor - a fixed constant multiplier that will be applied to each data point in the raw dataset, used to scale pulses from a meter or convert from one unit type to another
- Default chart - the chart type that the data will be displayed on the variable page
Each of these settings is described in more detail below.
Name, Description, and Code
The Name of the variable is what will be displayed in dashboards and schematics and is how you will search for your data in charts or the right-hand navigation bar.
The Description field allows for an extra descriptor to provide additional details like meter location, site identifier, scaling factors, PLC tag names, and more.
The Code field is the unique identifier for the variable and should not be changed once set. The unique code allows for raw data to be imported to the correct variable, and any changes to the Code field will disrupt the data connection.
Aggregation & Frequency
The Frequency represents the frequency at which the data will be pulled from the meters. The Aggregation defines how the data will be aggregated together when displayed at a lower resolution than the Frequency. It is possible to group the data by computing their Sum, their Average, their Maximum, their Minimum, their Cumulative Sum or just to Count them.
For instance, for an automatic variable using Sum with Frequency set to 1 minute, if we display the variable with a resolution of 5 minutes, all the data will be summed up in 5 minute buckets before being displayed. You can see an example below for a variable V. At the left we have the raw data and at the right, we have the data displayed with a 5 minute resolution.
Another example, one-minute-data can be calculated into a one-hour graph.
Data Type
After that, you will define the Data type. If you choose Consumption, the values inputted will directly be used as consumption values. If the Data Type is Incrementing ioTORQ will calculate the differences between consecutive data points to calculate the consumption values.
Furthermore, ioTORQ can handle differential data.
Input & Output Unit
The Input unit is the engineering unit of measure of the raw data and the Output unit is the unit you want to be used when displaying and using the data. Typically, these will be the same unit, but ioTORQ can convert between different unit types, for example, ccf to mcf or kWh to MWh.
Multiplication Factor, Tag, and Default Chart
The multiplication factor will be applied to the raw data before any other calculation and can be used to convert unscaled pulse counts or analog signals to useable data.
The tag field is currently unused and can serve as an additional descriptor.
The default chart option changes whether the data is displayed as a line chart or a bar chart.