RBgrid

Tariffs

Overview

The Tariff Configuration page manages electricity pricing plans, time-of-use zones, and economic calculations for the RBgrid power measurement system. It enables cost tracking for consumption and valuation of exported energy (feed-in), computed per zone and period.

Purpose and Importance

Tariff configuration is essential for:

  • Economic Analysis: Calculate actual electricity costs per device and total system
  • Feed-in Valuation: Value energy exported back to the grid at your feed-in rate
  • Device-level Costing: Determine operating costs for individual loads
  • Budget Planning: Project monthly and annual electricity expenses
  • Time-of-Use Visibility: See which periods cost more or less, by zone

Active Plan Header Section

Displays the currently active tariff plan summary for quick reference.

Header Information

Plan Name

  • Type: String
  • Description: User-defined name for the tariff plan
  • Example: Builder Plan, Time-of-Use Residential, Business Day/Night

Provider Name

  • Type: String
  • Description: Electricity provider or utility company
  • Example: Local Provider, National Grid, City Power Company

Status

  • Values:
    • Active - Currently applied to calculations
  • Inactive - Saved but not in use
  • Draft - Being edited, not yet activated

Current Zone

  • Description: Active tariff zone at current time
  • Format: [Zone Name] = [Rate] [Currency]/kWh
  • Example: Day = 0.190 EUR/kWh
  • Updates: Real-time based on system time

Tariff Plan Configuration

Plan Management

Each tariff plan contains complete pricing structure including zones, taxes, and fees.

Plan Controls

  • EDIT PLAN: Modify existing tariff configuration
  • ACTIVATE: Set as current active plan
  • DUPLICATE: Create copy for modification
  • DELETE: Remove inactive plan
  • IMPORT/EXPORT: Share configurations via JSON

Net Metering Configuration

Manages bidirectional energy-flow accounting (import and export).

Enable Net Metering

  • Type: Toggle switch
  • Default: Disabled
  • Description: Activate bidirectional metering for Main Supply unit
  • Requirement: Main Supply unit must be configured

Feed-in Calculation Method

  • Type: Radio selection
  • Options:

1. Tariff Ratio

  • Description: Feed-in rate as percentage of buying rate
  • Range: 0-100%
  • Example: 51% means selling at half the buying price
  • Formula: Selling Rate = Current Buying Rate × Ratio
  • Use Case: Dynamic pricing following market rates

2. Fixed Selling Rate

  • Description: Constant feed-in tariff regardless of time
  • Format: 0.0000 [Currency]/kWh
  • Example: 0.0850 EUR/kWh
  • Use Case: Fixed feed-in tariff contracts

Net Metering Behavior

When energy flows FROM grid → Apply current buying rate
When energy flows TO grid → Apply selling rate (ratio or fixed)
Net calculation per billing period → (Consumption × Buy Rate) - (Export × Sell Rate)

Tariff Zones Configuration

Time-based pricing zones for different periods of the day or week.

Zone Capacity

  • Maximum Zones: 16
  • Minimum Zones: 1 (flat rate)
  • Types: Time-based or weekend

Zone Parameters

Zone Name
  • Type: String
  • Examples: Peak, Off-Peak, Day, Night, WEEKEND
  • Purpose: Identify zone in reports and UI
Zone Type
  • Options:
    • Time Range - Specific hours (e.g., 07:00-18:00)
  • Weekend - All day Saturday/Sunday
  • Special Event - Utility-defined special rates
Buying Rate
  • Type: Decimal
  • Format: 0.0000 [Currency]/kWh
  • Description: Energy purchase price for this zone
  • Range: 0.0001 - 99.9999
Tax Component
  • Type: Decimal
  • Format: 0.0000 [Currency]/kWh
  • Description: Additional tax per kWh
  • Calculation: Added to base rate
Time Range (for time-based zones)
  • Format: HH:MM - HH:MM (24-hour)
  • Example: 18:00 - 23:00
  • Overlap: Allowed. Zones do not have to be mutually exclusive — when several apply to the same hour, the device selects one by type priority (see Zone Priority & Coverage below).
Days Active (weekday mask)
  • Type: Weekday mask, Monday–Sunday (each day on/off)
  • Default: All days
  • Logic: A zone's conditions combine with AND by default (this time range and these weekdays). A plan can switch a zone to OR logic via conditions_and_logic.
Default Zone
  • Field: default_zone_id
  • Purpose: The zone applied during any hours not claimed by another zone. Uncovered hours fall to the default zone rather than extending a neighbouring zone.

Zone Examples

Example 1: Simple Day/Night

Zone 1: "Day" | 06:00-22:00 | 0.1900 EUR/kWh
Zone 2: "Night" | 22:00-06:00 | 0.0950 EUR/kWh

Example 2: Complex Time-of-Use

Zone 1: "Night" | 00:00-07:00 | 0.0800 EUR/kWh
Zone 2: "Day" | 07:00-18:00 | 0.1900 EUR/kWh
Zone 3: "Peak" | 18:00-23:00 | 0.2700 EUR/kWh
Zone 4: "Late Night" | 23:00-00:00 | 0.1200 EUR/kWh
Zone 5: "WEEKEND" | Weekend | 0.0400 EUR/kWh

Zone Priority & Coverage

Zones may overlap. For any given hour the device resolves which zone applies by type priority, highest first:

  1. Critical Peak
  2. Weekend (Saturday / Sunday)
  3. Evening Peak
  4. Morning Peak
  5. Night
  6. Late Evening
  7. Day

Critical Peak behaves as a fixed window with the highest priority. It does not take supplier-announced (day-ahead) events — there is no way to feed them in this release.

Any hour not claimed by a zone falls to the Default Zone (default_zone_id). The Week by Zones view shows which zone is in effect for every hour of the week, so overlaps and the default are visible at a glance — there is no need to make zones cover all 24 hours manually.

Taxes and Fees

Additional charges applied to energy consumption.

Energy Tax

  • Field: energy_tax_per_kwh
  • Type: Rate per kWh (not a percentage)
  • Description: Energy tax charged per kWh consumed
  • Application: Added to the per-kWh rate, like the zone's tax component
  • Example: 0.0200 EUR/kWh added on top of the energy rate

Additional Fees (all per kWh)

  • Grid / Network Fee: Per-kWh grid usage charge
  • Ecological / Renewable Levy: Per-kWh green-energy support charge

🔎 Energy tax, grid fee and ecological levy are all per-kWh rates. VAT is the only percentage in the plan (see Fixed Monthly Charges → VAT).

Fixed Monthly Charges

Recurring charges independent of consumption.

Monthly Fee

  • Type: Decimal
  • Format: 0.0000 [Currency]/month
  • Description: Basic service charge
  • Example: 14.00 EUR/month

Grid Fee

  • Type: Decimal
  • Format: 0.0000 [Currency]/month
  • Description: Grid connection and maintenance
  • Example: 9.50 EUR/month

VAT (Value Added Tax)

  • Type: Percentage
  • Range: 0.00% - 99.99%
  • Description: Tax on fixed charges
  • Application: Applied to sum of fees

Total Fixed Charges

  • Calculation: (Monthly Fee + Grid Fee) × (1 + VAT%)
  • Display: Automatically calculated with VAT
  • Example: (14.00 + 9.50) × 1.20 = 28.20 EUR/month

Economic Calculations

Consumption Cost

Hourly Cost = Energy (kWh) × (Zone Rate + Energy Tax/kWh + Grid Fee/kWh + Ecological Levy/kWh)
Daily Cost = Σ(Hourly Costs) + (Fixed Charges / 30)
Monthly Cost = Σ(Daily Costs) + Fixed Monthly Charges    # VAT (the only %) applies to Fixed Charges

Export Value

When net metering is enabled, exported energy is valued at the feed-in rate (ratio or fixed) and netted against import cost over the billing period:

Export Value = Exported Energy × Feed-in Rate
Net Cost = (Consumption × Buy Rate) − Export Value

Device-Level Costing

Device Cost = Device Energy × Zone Rate × Time in Zone
Device Daily = Σ(Device Hourly Costs)
Device Monthly = Σ(Device Daily) × Days

Best Practices

Zone Configuration

  1. Set a Default Zone: It covers any hours no other zone claims — you don't need to tile all 24 hours manually
  2. Align with Utility: Match zones to provider's schedule
  3. Weekend Rates: Configure if different from weekdays
  4. Seasonal Adjustments: Update for summer/winter rates

Net Metering Setup

  1. Verify Contract: Ensure feed-in tariff matches utility agreement
  2. Regular Updates: Adjust rates when contracts change
  3. Monitor Ratios: Track if percentage-based rates remain favorable

Tax Configuration

  1. Include All Taxes: Energy tax, VAT, environmental levies
  2. Separate Components: Track different tax types for reporting
  3. Update Annually: Tax rates may change yearly

Multiple Plans

  1. Seasonal Plans: Different rates for summer/winter
  2. Contract Changes: Keep old plans for historical data
  3. Comparison: Maintain alternative plans for analysis

Integration with Other Systems

Statistics Module

  • Applies tariff rates to consumption data
  • Calculates costs per period
  • Generates economic reports

Units Configuration

  • Each unit's consumption priced individually
  • Main Supply uses net metering rates
  • Alternative Supply is valued on its import and export at the plan's rates

Time Configuration

  • Critical for correct zone selection
  • Timezone affects zone transitions
  • Sync required for correct cost tracking

Telemetry

  • Exports cost data with measurements
  • Includes current rate in real-time data
  • Sends summaries aligned to your supplier's billing period

Troubleshooting

Incorrect Zone Applied

  • Check: System time and timezone
  • Review: Zone type priority — when zones overlap, the higher-priority type wins (Critical Peak → Weekend → Evening Peak → Morning Peak → Night → Late Evening → Day)
  • Verify: The Days Active weekday mask and AND/OR logic of the zone
  • Confirm: The Default Zone is set for otherwise-uncovered hours; use Week by Zones to see the effective zone per hour

Zero Cost Calculations

  • Check: Tariff plan is activated
  • Verify: Rates are configured (not 0.00)
  • Ensure: Units have consumption data

Feed-in Not Calculating

  • Check: Net metering enabled
  • Verify: Main Supply configured
  • Ensure: Bidirectional flow detected

Fixed Charges Missing

  • Check: Monthly fees configured
  • Verify: VAT percentage set
  • Review: Billing period alignment

Data Export

Tariff configurations can be exported for:

  • Backup: Save configuration before changes
  • Sharing: Transfer between devices
  • Analysis: Import to spreadsheet software
  • Documentation: Include in system reports