eGuard Portfolio Manager

Information pertaining to the online eGuard Portfolio Manager

eGuard Overview

There's a lot in eGuard! Additional documentation can be found in the eGuard Fundamentals chapter.

eGuard Overview

eGuard is an administrative management system for eGauge devices that allows an individual to monitor and manage multiple eGauge meters from a single web interface.

 

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eGuard Portfolio for group "Sunnyvale"

The eGuard interface allows you to view the current status and statistics for all devices you have rights to. With proper authorization, you can also use eGuard to enable remote administration, create device notes, assign and manage groups, monitor device uptime, and check production and/or usage statistics.

eGuard can also generate alerts to inform users of device connectivity issues, low production, high usage, and incorrect time settings.

Devices can be added to groups or sites. Groups can be used to allow other eGuard users to monitor and administer specific devices, while sites allow devices to be organized based on installation location.

To access eGuard, you will need to create an account at eGauge.net. Log in using the green login button at the top of the page. After logging in, the login button will change to a drop down menu. All eGuard functions (as well as other functions outside of the scope of this document) can be found here.

Who is eGuard For?

eGuard is a complementary tool for those who need to manage five or more eGauge devices. eGuard provides quick and direct access to device status information. eGauge highly recommends that any new customer ordering more than five eGauges contact the eGauge support department at support@egauge.net to set up an eGuard account. Newly purchased devices are added to eGuard automatically, before they are shipped.

Use eGuard as a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool or in conjunction with other CRM software to identify and address issues quickly and efficiently. Note that eGuard is a tool intended for installers and site administrators and is not intended for use by the average end user. No additional information is provided through eGuard that cannot also be obtained through the eGauge interface directly.

Signing up for eGuard

Please see this article for information on signing up for eGuard and obtaining access to a group of devices.

 

eGuard Functionality

Portfolio (main view)

The eGuard Table page is the main summary area for eGuard. This page presents a table of devices associated with your username. The data on the page is updated hourly.

Top Menu Bar

The top menu bar (below the Portfolio/Permissions/Groups/Alerts/Sites tab bar) has several functions:

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Register a new eGauge meter and bring into account.

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Choose to display only one of your owned groups, or sub-groups.

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Display average wattage in the summary table.

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Display total kWh values in the summary table.

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Hide or show columns/fields.

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Enable group-by device view which shows group separator row and groups by Group/Subgroup, Job name, or Owner (registrant).

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Perform a mass CSV export of devices in portfolio.
Device filter (search)

On the right-hand side of the page there is a device filter (search) function. Any devices listed in the table can be filtered for text found in the name, job, and other fields.

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Enter your search text here.

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Advanced search: also enter specific Group, Job, Owner and other field filters.

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Hide/show the "Showing N to X of Y records" and "N records per page" option.

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Multi-level sorting function.

 

Main Table Data
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eGuard Portfolio for group "Sunnyvale"

The following columns are available to display data for the devices.

Group

Each device belongs to a group. A single user can administer multiple groups, and each group can contain multiple subgroups (which can then be shared with other users). Permission required: Administrator or Manager.

 

To the left of the group name is a Group Editor button. Clicking this button will allow the user to make or change group assignment if they have appropriate permissions (Administrator or Manager).

Job This value is set on the Device Details Page and allows the user to identify the specific job of an meter, if desired. This value does not need to be unique for each eGauge.
Owner User who registered this device. This may or may not be the same as the eGuard administrator. For example, a device might be administered by “Installer” but owned by “Homeowner”. This value will be blank if the device is not registered
Name

The name of the eGauge meter. This can only be changed by contacting eGauge directly, and is guaranteed to be unique. The name itself is also a link to that eGauges user interface (provided the device is online).

 

A notepad icon appears to the left of the Name. When clicked, it will open the Device Details Page for the eGauge adjacent to the button. Job name and notes can be edited here, as well as certain actions like password resets.

Map If a meter has latitude and longitude set in Settings -> General Settings, this column will display a globe icon. When clicked, a map centered on the location of the device will load in a new window.
Status

Shows whether the eGauge was on the proxy during the most recent check by eGuard.

 

This value updates once an hour, so it is not guaranteed to show if a meter is currently available or not.

Availability Describes the device uptime over the past five days as a percentage. Hovering the mouse cursor over the percentage will cause a popup to display with an hourly uptime chart, as well as the last seen date and time.
Temp Device internal operating temperature. This should not be confused with ambient temp, and will almost always be warmer.
Link Quality Connection quality reported by eGauge. Will show 100% for Ethernet. HomePlug and WiFi/cell may show various values.
Firmware Shows current firmware version for a given device. Versions listed in red should be up-graded as major bug fixes and patches have been implemented in newer firmware, please update firmware in this case.
Model The model of the eGauge unit. May be blank on older model eGauge2 units.
Power/Energy Values The right-hand side of the table displays either average wattage (kW) or total energy (kWh) depending on what is selected in the top menu bar. These values reflect the Usage and Generation virtual registers configured on the meter.
Device Details Page

The Device Details Page is a summary and control area for a specific eGauge meter. Each meter will have its own device page, regardless of whether it is in a group or site with other meters. Use caution when changing settings on the device page, as it is possible to overwrite settings and user credentials.

The device details page can be accessed by clicking the notepad icon to the left of the device name in the eGuard Portfolio table, shown in the red circle:

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Device Details Page for eGauge9995

The following information and functions are available on the Device Details page (some information may not be available on lower privileges than admin)

"You are an admin for this device"

Shows your user level for the device, and some additional information about it.

Data For Device: Opens eGuard portfolio view with only that device.

Reset Password: A random password can be generated for the selected user account.

Privileged Device Info Shows privileged device information such as MAC(s) and serial numbers for device.
Remote Administration Control Enables or Disables remote administration for the first user configured on the eGauge.
Firmware Download firmware files for EG3xxx and EG4xxx for manual upgrades via interface or USB.
Remote Configuration Control Allows a different device's configuration to be copied to this device, assuming the other device is in the user's group and both are online, same model and sufficient registers.
Job Name This is the Job name that shows up in the eGuard portfolio view.
Installer Notes Custom notes may be added and associated with the device.
Create Site Info Create a new site and link device to it.
Link eGauge9995 to an Existing Site If a site already exists, link device to it.

Groups

See the eGuard Groups article.

Permissions

See the eGuard Permissions article.

Alerts

See the eGuard Alerts article.

Sites

See the eGuard Sites article.

eGuard Fundamentals

Basic concepts and eGuard usage

eGuard Fundamentals

eGuard: Groups

eGuard has a hierarchical group structure. Devices exist in a top-level group or sub-group of a top-level group. Sub-groups are separated by the parent group with a colon. There is no defined limit for the number of sub-groups that can exist.

An eGuard user may have access to multiple top-level groups and sub-groups, if for example they manage devices for multiple companies.

 

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From main eGuard Portfolio view

The above image, taken from the main eGuard Portfolio view, shows 6 devices. They all exist under the Sunnyvale top-level group. There are 4 devices in two sub-groups: "Main Housing" and "Shared Space 1" are both sub-groups to Sunnyvale.

Groups Management Page

The Groups Management Page can be found in eGuard at the top tab bar.

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eGuard Groups Management Page

The top page allows you to set a default group to display in the Portfolio view if you have access to multiple groups, or you have multiple sub-groups of devices.

Create Group

Here you can create sub-groups in any of the groups you administrate. Sub-groups can be created under sub-groups.

For example, this would create a sub-group "East" under the "Main Housing" sub-group of Sunnyvale:

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There would now be a group called Sunnyvale: Main Housing: East

 

Descriptive Example of hierarchy

Fruit: Pear
Fruit: Apple: Fiji
Vegetable
Vegetable: Garlic
Vegetable: Lettuce
Vegetable: Lettuce: Iceberg
Vegetable: Lettuce: Romaine

Here, Fruit is the parent to Pear, and Fruit is also the parent to Apple (it is a top-level group). If a user has access rights to group Fruit, those access rights also apply to Pear and Apple, and any sub-groups of those such as Fiji. No access to Vegetable or the sub-groups of Vegetable are granted.

If a user has access rights to Pear, those rights would not apply to Apple Or Fiji or any devices directly under Fruit.

Similarly, a user with rights to Fiji would have no rights to devices under Pear or Apple or Fruit, only access to those devices under the Fiji sub-group.

 

Fruit contains no devices in the Vegetable group. Vegetable: Garlic is separate from Vegetable: Lettuce and all its sub-groups of Iceberg and Romaine.

 

A user can have access to any mixture of sub-groups with different permissions. For example, a user can have administrative access over devices in Vegetable: Lettuce and also have management access to Fruit: Apple. They would not have access to devices directly in Fruit, Fruit: Pear, Vegetable, and Vegetable: Garlic.

 

eGuard Fundamentals

eGuard: Permissions

The eGuard Permissions page can be found in eGuard at the top tab bar. Permissions allow you to grant and manage user privileges, as well as request access from other eGuard users.

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eGuard Permissions Page

Permissions for each level are described at the top of the page:

Request Access

If you have no privileges, you may request access from another eGuard user via username. If no other user has permission to the group, eGauge Support will need to be contact to grant initial access to a user.

Create Group Permission

You can only create permissions for users that already have some type of access to a group you administer that appears in the User Permissions table.

You can grant additional privileges to users here, such as to additional sub-groups for groups you administrate.

User Permissions

A table displays of all user permissions to groups you administrate, displaying the group and permission level for each user login. Sub-groups are separated by colons.

Edit Permission Change the user's Group or Permission level.
Delete Permission Revoke the user's access to the group. Only applies to that row permission, if user has access to multiple groups (multiple permission entries) each entry needs to be deleted.

Permission Examples

General Description

For example, given groups:

Fruit:Pear
Fruit:Apple:Fiji

Here, Fruit is the parent to Pear, and Fruit is also the parent to Apple. If a user has access rights to group Fruit, those access rights also apply to Pear and Apple, and any sub-groups of those such as Fiji.

If a user has access rights to Pear, those rights would not apply to Apple Or Fiji or any devices directly under Fruit.

Similarly, a user with rights to Fiji would have no rights to devices under Pear or Apple or Fruit, only access to those devices under the Fiji sub-group.

 

Example from eGuard

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Portfolio page showing 6 Sunnyvale devices

 

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Permissions page showing Sunnyvale permission management

Here is the effective user permission list:

Username Group Device Permission
user Sunnyvale eGauge9996 Administrator
user Sunnyvale eGauge9998 Administrator
user Sunnyvale: Main Housing eGauge9992 Administrator
user Sunnyvale: Main Housing eGauge9993 Administrator
user Sunnyvale: Shared Space 1 eGauge9994 Administrator
user Sunnyvale: Shared Space 1 eGauge9995 Administrator
user2 Sunnyvale eGauge9996 Manager
user2 Sunnyvale eGauge9998 Manager
user2 Sunnyvale: Main Housing eGauge9992 Manager
user2 Sunnyvale: Main Housing eGauge9993 Manager
user2 Sunnyvale: Shared Space 1 eGauge9994 Manager
user2 Sunnyvale: Shared Space 1 eGauge9995 Manager
user3 Sunnyvale: Main Housing eGauge9992 User
user3 Sunnyvale: Main Housing eGauge9993 User

 

If there were additional groups and devices under Sunnyvale: Main Housing such as Sunnyvale: Main Housing: East and Sunnyvale: Main Housing: West, then user3 would also have user permissions to devices in that group.

eGuard Fundamentals

eGuard: Alerts

eGuard offers limited alert functionality. eGuard processes alerts once a day (around midnight). If there are devices that change from non-alert status to alert status, or change from alert status to non-alert status, they will be listed in an email sent to the eGauge.net user's email.

You will only receive emails when devices change into an alerted state, or when that alerted state is resolved. If eGuard sends a low production alert for eGauge1234 and it continuous to have low production for the next week, you will only have received an email the first time it entered low production. A new email will be sent when that device leaves the low-production alert state (starts producing minimum levels).

Alert types

Creating Alerts

The eGuard Alert page can be found in eGuard at the top tab bar.

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eGuard Alerts Page: Create an Alert

In the above example, we are creating an alert for if Usage in the past 24 hours exceeds 1,000 kWh. This alert is only for devices in group "Sunnyvale: Shared Space 1" that is, for only devices under the sub-group "Shared Space 1" in "Sunnyvale". Any devices directly under "Sunnyvale", or other sub-groups such as "Sunnyvale: Main Housing" will not be monitored for this alert.

From a previous eGuard group example:

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The above alert configured will only affect eGauge9994 and eGauge9995. No other devices will be affected by this alert.

 

Deleting existing rules

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Viewing 3 configured alerts

Any configured alerts will show in the Alert Management table. Above image shows an Energy Generated (low generation) alert for the "Solar Farm" sub-group of Sunnyvale, an Energy Used (high usage) alert for devices under the "Shared Space 1" sub-group of Sunnyvale, and finally a Lack of Connection alert configured for all devices under the Sunnyvale top-level parent group.

You may edit an alert configuration by using the "Edit Alert" button. To delete an alert rule, use the "Delete Alert" button.

Viewing triggered alerts

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Viewing 3 triggered alerts

Any triggered alerts will display in the "Active Alerts" table. An entry remains in this table until it is no longer in the triggered state. For example, if eGauge9996 produces more than 72 kWh of energy before the next daily alert check, it will no longer be triggered and entry removed from this page.

Any time an entry is added or removed from this page, it is included in the daily email. If no entries are added or removed from this table during the daily alert check, no email is generated.

 

eGuard Fundamentals

eGuard: Sites

Sites allow for a grouping of devices based on location, and has fields to add information relevant to that
particular location, geared towards solar production. Multiple devices can be added to a single Site where they can easily be cross-referenced for troubleshooting or other purposes. Devices can be added or removed from Sites as needed.

The eGuard Sites page can be through eGuard at the top tab bar.

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Main eGuard Site View

From this page, you can create a new site, expand and edit an existing site under "Your Sites", or quickly link a device to an existing site on the right-hand side of the page.

Creating a site

To create a new site, click the large "Create Site" button at the top.

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"Create Site" view

Here you may enter various information about the site. When finished, locate your device using the "Link Device to This Site" entry.

Editing and Updating Sites

Locate the site of interest in the eGuard Sites page, and click on the name to expand it. Here you can quickly remove devices from the site. You may also edit the site information by clicking the Edit button above the information. You can add additional sites by clicking the "Edit" link:

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Site Information Expanded

 

When editing a site, you may update any of the information, unlink devices, and link new devices to the site by using the "Link new device" on the right-hand side. If the site is deleted, all devices are unlinked.

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Edit Site page

 

Resetting an eGauge password through eGuard

You will need to have an installer account set up in eGuard or register your device before resetting your password. See this article for more information on registration and password reset.

If you receive an error in the meter saying "Sorry, you are not authorized...", you may need to enable remote administration, as shown at the bottom of this article.

Provided an eGauge is online and connected to the proxy server, remote password resets can be performed through eGuard (available at https://egauge.net).  Note that an account at egauge.net is required, and the eGuard user must have manager or administrator access to the device in their eGuard group. Also note that eGuard is only intended for use by customers managing large numbers of eGauge devices. End users should refer to this article, which contains instructions on how to contact eGauge support directly.

In order to change a password through eGuard:

Login at https://egauge.net using the green "Log In" button at the top of the page

Once logged in, the button at the top of the page will change to a dropdown menu containing your username.  From this dropdown menu, select "My Portfolio".  A list of devices will appear.  Locate the device on which you wish to change the password.  For larger lists of devices, it may be necessary to use the eGuard filter functionality to find a specific meter, located in the upper right-hand corner of the page.

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eGuard Device Table

 

Once you have located your device, click the blue notepad icon under the "Name" column, to the left of the device name.  Do not click the device name itself.  This will open the Device Page for that eGauge.

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eGauge Device Page Icons

 

Near the top left of the Device Page, there should be a dark blue "Reset Password" button.  If you do not see this button, your username does not have the appropriate permission level to change device passwords.  

Reset Password Button

 

On clicking the "Reset Password" button, a dialog box will appear.  From the dropdown menu, select the username you wish to perform a password reset on.

Click "Submit".  The dialog box will disappear, and a new line will appear at the top of the Device Page containing a temporary password.  This password should be changed as soon as possible.

Sample password reset message

Sample Successful Password Reset Message

 

Enable Remote Administration

You may need to enable remote administration by clicking the "Enable Remote Administration" button under the Reset Password section. This enables remote administration to the first user configured in Settings -> Access Control.

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Mass CSV Export

eGuard provides a convenient method to produce CSV (comma separated value, e.g., spreadsheet) data from multiple devices using the eGuard portal. Please note that a minimum eGuard permission level of 'Manager' is required for this functionality. 

In the eGuard portal, use the check boxes to select the devices you wish to export data for. The check boxes are located in the column left of the "Since midnight" power/energy statistic column:

Next, click the export button to the right of the wattage/kWh selection buttons:

Finally, enter the following information for the data export:

Email: The email entered here will have a download link sent when the export is complete.

From: The date and time the data should begin at.

To: The date and time the data should end at.

Interval: Choose a granularity interval for the exported data. Can be in Seconds, Minutes, Hours, or Days.

Export Type: Choose the style of export. Available options and examples:

Time Zone: Choose the timezone for the data export to be in.
Export type: CSV (individual CSV file per device) or Excel (individual file per device, or worksheet per device in single Excel file).

After choosing "Export", please allow up to about an hour for the export to complete. An email with a download link will be sent to the email chosen in the export options.

An email will be sent that looks similar to the following:

Copying a Device Configuration Through eGuard

The eGuard portfolio manager can be used to copy the configuration from one device to another device. This is a safe and relatively quick alternative to copying a device configuration over manually. Note that both devices must be online, connected to the proxy server, and using the same firmware version and database version. The user initiating the copying process must have administrator access to both devices (or the groups those devices are in).

All data will be erased on the destination device (the device getting the configuration copied to it).

In order to use this functionality:

1. Log in at eGauge.net

2. Navigate to your list of devices (select "eGuard" from the drop-down at the top of the page, then select "Portfolio")

3. Locate the device you wish to copy a configuration to

4. Click the Device Page icon to the left of the device name (see image)

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5. Under "Remote Configuration Control" click the "Fetch Available Devices" button

6. Select the device you wish to copy the configuration from

7. Click "Copy Register Configuration"

Signing up for an eGuard account and requesting access

Create eGauge.net account

Signing up for eGuard requires creation of an eGauge.net account. In order to sign up for this account, navigate to https://www.egauge.net/account/register/. Fill in your account details and click "Register". Check your email inbox for a confirmation email and follow the steps listed there to activate your account. In order to log in with existing credentials, navigate to eGauge.net and click the black "eGuard Login" button from the upper right-hand side of the page. Your portfolio can be accessed through the top menu eGuard -> Portfolio, or directly at egauge.net/eguard.

 

Request access to device group

You will need to have eGauge support link your account to your eGuard group, if that has not been done yet please contact support@egauge.net with your email or username, and your group or company name to have access to.

If you are requesting access to a group or sub-group with an existing eGuard administrator, you can request access from the username of the administrator:

  1. Log into eGuard as previous described.
  2. Go to the eGuard -> Portfolio page or egauge.net/eguard
  3. Click the "Permissions" tab:

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  4. Under "Request Access" enter the username of the administrator you want to request access from:

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Once access to the group is granted, the requester will see them listed on their eGuard device list. The turnaround time for approval is based on the actions of the person granting access.

 

Adding devices to group

If you administrate an existing eGuard group, in most cases you can register your device and have it added to your group. If the device is already registered or in another user's group, you will need to contact support to find if it is possible to add to your group.

New orders should automatically add new devices to your administrated group before shipment. If this does not occur, please contact eGauge Sales with your order number and eGuard information.