Description of Data Post Office

Data Post Office will serve as a general data receiver, which means that anyone providing data to Min Bolig (My Home), Se Elforbrug (View Electricity Consumption) or other equivalent systems, via the Web service of the Danish Electricity Saving Trust to data recipients, will supply data to this location.

In order to be able send data to the Data Post Office, senders must use a Web service in which the data string itself, some provider information and a reference number must be stated (see Description of data format).

The reference number should be unique, which means that companies generating such a number should compile it from the following constituent parts: a country code, CVR (VAT) registration number and HouseControl ID, e.g. DNK-21318671-1234567890.

The HouseControl ID should preferably not be a GUID, such as e.g. e99e6e2a-0a10-4797-83d4-ad3cdcc26d53, because this can be very difficult to key in. A HouseControl ID in this format should therefore be replaced by a code consisting entirely of numbers, while still being unique. In respect of, for example, a reference number from viaSENS, the HouseControl ID and data logger ID will typically be identical inasmuch as these do not operate with a HouseControl ID.

A reference number is one which must be displayed and provided directly to the user via a label on, for example, the viaSens box from Seluxit, or on the homepage on which the user requests to have data sent to the Data Post Office. In respect of the latter, this will mean that the data provider must present the reference number directly and clearly on the screen, along with information that this is the number to be utilised by users on the homepage where the data will ultimately reside.

On the homepage where the data will be used there must be a heading explaining to the user that, if they have ordered data from a data provider, they must supply a reference number here and click on ‘download’. Thereafter, all the meter sessions with this reference number will be associated with this particular user and homepage. Each night, all data with this reference number will be automatically downloaded from the Data Post Office.

For additional and easier access to the data, all data sent/downloaded from the Data Post Office will be automatically created as permanent data associated with the given data logger ID. This means the elimination of the work which previously sat in an ‘in box’, from where it was set up manually as a permanent meter session, and which thereafter could be linked to, for example, a meter location in Se Elforbrug (View Electricity Consumption).