Working on an audit with 15-minute interval data going back 3 years. Excel is choking on files this big. What software do you all use for analyzing interval meter data? Looking for something that can handle large datasets and spot usage patterns/anomalies efficiently.
Interval meter data analysis - what software tools work best?
Steve, I've had good luck with MATLAB for heavy data analysis, but it's not cheap. For a more budget-friendly option, try R with some specific energy analysis packages. Takes some learning but very powerful once you get the hang of it. Can easily identify demand spikes, ramp rates, all that good stuff.
Alice is right about Python - that's become my go-to. For those not ready to code, I've also used Power BI Desktop with good results. Can connect directly to CSV files and has decent built-in analytics. Plus it's included with most Office 365 subscriptions now.
Thanks for all the suggestions everyone. I've been limping along with Excel and it's definitely time to upgrade. Think I'll start with Power BI since we already have Office 365, then maybe look into Python down the road. Randy, do you have any good Python tutorial recommendations for energy data analysis?
I've been using Tableau for interval data visualization. Really good at creating dashboards that show usage patterns by time of day, day of week, seasonal trends. Makes it easy to spot when equipment is running outside normal schedules. Not the cheapest option but the time savings are worth it.
For those on a budget, Python with pandas and matplotlib libraries works great. Completely free and can handle massive datasets. I've processed 5+ years of 5-minute interval data without breaking a sweat. The learning curve is steeper than Excel but once you're comfortable, you'll never go back.