System Architecture

Our applications use industry standard protocols to communicate over regular IT networks. This provides the greatest flexibility, while at the same time, ensuring a technically robust deployment.

A typical installation will consist of three key elements, namely:

• The database - This holds the configuration data for the meters in the system as well as all logged data. By using Microsoft SQL Server for this element we have a database that performs well at scale and is usually fully compliant with client IT requirements.
• MeteringService - This is a windows service that runs in the background, executing on the hour and the half hour, to read data from the configured meters and store the resulting readings in the database. As a result of performance monitoring and continuous improvement this element is robust and performs well at scale, capable of reading several hundred meters in a matter of a few minutes.
• The web application - This is the primary graphical user interface to the logged data and configuration settings in the database. Using a web application for this interface means that there is no need for any client software, other than a standard web browser, to access the data within the system. This architecture also means that bespoke web applications can be developed and deployed alongside the standard web app, allowing organisation specific pages and dashboards to be used to complement the standard pages.

Additional services are also available to support baseload calculation, automatic import of data from suppliers, automatic export of data to bill validation systems, temperature logging and other requirements.