The word “dashboard” was first used to describe the protective barrier at the front of horse-drawn carriages. Today it has a much broader meaning and range of benefits in the business world.

Dashboards are used in a range of industries, providing value to businesses and customers. This value comes from the data that dashboards aggregate.

Businesses use this data to get a better understanding of their customers. Consumers use this data to learn more about how they use their products.

Our article highlights how dashboards are used by businesses and customers in the energy sector. We explain what energy dashboards are, why they’re a good investment and list the benefits they bring.

TL;DR

1. Energy dashboards aggregate data from multiple sources. This data is displayed dynamically and interactively in a single source of truth.
2. Dashboards and reports are proper tools that energy companies can use to make data-driven decision
3. Energy dashboards must display data tailored for their users.
4. Dashboards help energy companies to dig deeper into the consumption habits of their consumers. This helps companies make informed business decisions.
5. Dashboards allow energy consumers to understand and modify their energy use. This helps them to choose their supplier and reduce expenses.
6. Investing in an end-user energy dashboard helps to increase consumer trust in businesses.
7. End-user energy dashboards provide not only data for clients but also about clients. This helps to contribute to the success of businesses in the energy industry.

What is an energy dashboard?

Dashboards are everywhere and they bring immense value to businesses. Indeed, one definition of a dashboard from the Oxfordify English Dictionary describes it as “a graphical summary of various pieces of important information, typically used to give an overview of a business.”

In the energy sector, dashboards provide relevant data and serve as a single source of truth for the decision-making process.

The greatest value a dashboard brings is the aggregation of real-time and historical data from multiple sources.

This information is displayed on a single platform in a way that’s simple to understand. The benefit of this is that it’s quick and easy to track KPIs, metrics, and key-data points identified as relevant for energy businesses.

Unlike reports with periodical creation, dashboards allow for the continuous monitoring of information.

While reports share static data, dashboards are dynamic and usually interactive. However, both can (and should) live together — a good energy dashboard should allow automatic report generation.

Energy dashboards and reports are both proper tools for data-driven decision-making processes. Each can be a valuable addition to an energy business.

What data does an energy dashboard display?

Let us go back to the Oxfordify English Dictionary definition. What is the important information in the Oxfordify explanation of “dashboard”?

We believe that only the people who use the dashboard can answer this question. This is because exploring the concept of importance in this context brings to light the subjectivity inherent in what may or may not be considered important for one or another.

For instance, if I am the CEO of an energy provider group then I’m probably interested in the savings and costs of the last year, as well as the predictions for the years to come.

On the other hand, if I’m a security engineer who takes care of one of the power plants then I need to monitor the status of the installation with real-time information. This is so I can act quickly to solve an issue that might arise.

The same can apply to consumers who want to monitor their home energy consumption:

• Am I interested in a more high-level analysis of my costs?
• Will this information help me decide if I should alter my energy consumption patterns?
• Maybe my energy consumption is on an upper trend line and I need to decide if I should move to a different provider to reduce costs?
• Perhaps I should change my contract to reflect the time range when I am spending the highest amount of energy?

We can conclude that the data displayed can be relevant for some people and irrelevant for others. What does this mean? That the energy dashboards must display data tailored for their users.

Who uses an energy dashboard?

Earlier in this article, we explained that dashboards are often related to businesses.

This statement is even more valid in the energy business, where executives play in a high-regulated market that requires constant and real-time monitoring of consumer behaviour.

Dashboards play a crucial role for energy business owners and executives as a tool to dig deeper into the consumption attitudes of consumers. This can be used to draw a correlation between their business and their competitors' strategy, understanding what is working and was isn’t working.

Long story short, energy businesses work with different data from multiple sources.

Dashboards automate, consolidate, and display the results from various data points. They significantly reduce the time and effort required to compile, analyse, and share this data across the company.

It’s true that dashboards are a valuable decision-making tool for energy businesses. What's also true is that dashboards bring real value to energy consumers.

Energy is essential to life — can you imagine how our lives would be without energy?

There would be no power to use the fridge or freezer. Heating and water would be compromised. So many things of the things we need to live our lives on a daily basis depend on energy. These are just some of the key sectors that rely on energy:

• Construction
• Hospitals
• Schools
• Transportation
• Telecommunications

Energy isn’t something people wish. It’s something people need.

For this reason, dashboards are a tool to help energy consumers understand and modify their energy habits. They help them to choose their supplier company and reduce expenses. Why should energy businesses invest in consumer dashboards?

In an industry where the product (energy) is essential for human beings, companies need to stand out from competitors in different ways. Price, source of energy, advertising channels and campaigns are just some of the different strategies that can be used.

The fact is that consumers are more demanding than ever and data democratisation is not only a business concern anymore. Instead, data plays a key role in the customer buying process, especially when talking about energy.

Investing in an end-user dashboard means providing a tool that consumers can use to understand their energy consumption.

They can discover and compare the impact of their current and past usage patterns. They can then use this information to modify their behaviour, saving them money and/or giving them more of the energy they need.

How does my energy business benefit from using dashboards?

Businesses that hide information from consumers are at risk of, well, going out of business.

Businesses need to position themselves as allies of their customers. They must provide information that reassures their consumers. They must deliver data that increases confidence in their services.

And, let's face it, an energy dashboard provides not only data for your client but also about your client.

In the end, these are valuable insights that will help you to make informed business decisions and succeed in the energy market.

Do you want to build a platform to display your data in a dashboard?

At Mindera, we have the experience and knowledge to help you on this journey. Whether you want to revamp your existing tools or create a new one, our Ux/Ui Designers, Product Owners, and Software Engineers will make that happen.

Contact us. We would love to know more about your project!

This article was written jointly by Alexandra Bigotte de Almeida and João Ferraz.