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Sites

Sites represent physical locations (like a home or commercial building) in the Texture Platform. They serve as a central model to which Customers, Devices, and external data (e.g., utility bills, meter intervals) all connect.

Texture automatically creates or updates a Site when a Device or utility account is onboarded, then enriches it with location-based data (utility territory, ISO, marginal carbon emissions, weather, etc.). All Site data can be viewed in the Dashboard and accessed programmatically via our API.

Why Sites?​

  • Core Model: Everything else (Devices, Customers, usage data) links back to a Site.
  • Aggregated Metrics: View total energy consumption, production, storage, and emissions for each Site.
  • Geolocation & Signals: Automatically assigned utility territory, ISO, and real-time carbon emissions data.
  • Enrichment & Automation: Integrations (e.g., Arcadia, UtilityAPI, or Shovels) add billing, meter intervals, or permit data to the Site.
  • Dashboard & API: Easily visualize or pull all Site info programmatically for deeper analysis or automation.

What Happens When a Site is Created?​

When a user (or system) provides location details (e.g., an address) during Device or utility onboarding:

  1. Geocoding
    • Texture converts the address into latitude/longitude coordinates.
  2. Site Creation/Upsert
    • A new Site record is created—or an existing Site is updated if it matches the same address footprint.
  3. Customer Linking
    • If the address is linked to an existing Customer, we associate the new Site with that Customer. Otherwise, Texture creates a new Customer record.
  4. Territory Assignment
    • Texture determines the utility territory, ISO, and (if applicable) the wholesale market for that Site's coordinates.
  5. Signal Collection
    • Jobs run to pull in local weather, marginal carbon emissions (via WattTime), or other signals to enrich the Site's data.
  6. Device/Utility Data Sync
    • Any Devices or utility billing/interval data associated with that location auto-link to the newly created Site.

Site Overview in the Dashboard​

Each Site in the Sites section of the Dashboard offers multiple tabs:

  1. Overview

    • Map & Address: Displaying the location.
    • Devices: A quick list of the Devices installed at that Site.
    • Energy Charts: Aggregated daily, weekly, or monthly data (e.g., total kWh used/stored/produced).
    • Marginal Carbon Emissions: If available, the real-time or historical carbon intensity at that location.

  2. Activity

    • A feed of relevant events (e.g., "Device Updated," "Utility Bill Imported"), including raw payload details for auditing.

  3. Bills

    • Usage: Summaries of historical energy usage from utility statements (if integrated via an App like UtilityAPI).
    • Charges: If provided by the utility, itemized cost breakdowns.
    • Meter Intervals: Interval data (e.g., 15-minute or hourly usage) for a granular view of consumption.

Managing Sites via API​

Texture's REST API exposes endpoints to list, fetch, and update Site data. Key calls include:

  • List all Sites

    GET /sites

    Returns all Sites in your Workspace, with optional filters and pagination.

  • Get a specific Site

    GET /sites/{id}

    Retrieves detailed info about a Site, including its location, Devices, and aggregated usage data.

You can also associate or unassociate a Site with a Customer or Device by specifying the relevant IDs in your requests.

For full API details and request/response formats, visit our interactive REST API docs.

Data & Analytics​

Sites offer a holistic view of energy data:

  • Consumption: Total energy consumed from the grid or other sources.
  • Production: Energy generated onsite (e.g., from a solar inverter).
  • Storage: Total energy stored onsite (e.g., in whole home batteries).
  • Emissions: Real-time marginal carbon intensity and total emissions data (via WattTime or other partners).
  • Billing: Utility bills, charges, and meter intervals, if your organization has enabled relevant Apps (e.g., UtilityAPI, Arcadia).

This aggregated approach helps you see how all Devices and cCstomers at a location impact overall energy usage and costs.

Tips & Best Practices​

  • Reference IDs
    • Use a custom referenceId or site name if you need consistent mapping to your own system.
  • One Site, Many Devices
    • If multiple users in the same building have separate meters or devices, you can create sub-Sites or keep them under one main Site—depending on your business logic.
  • Enrichment
    • Make sure you have location-based integrations (like weather or emissions) set up to get the most out of Sites.
  • Linking
    • Sites automatically link to Customers, but you can override or manually adjust these associations via the API.

Need Help or Have Questions?​

If you run into any issues or have specific requests around Sites, please reach out through our Customer Portal. We're here to help expand functionality and ensure your energy data is as rich and actionable as possible.

Next Steps​

  • Browse the API for full details on Site endpoints.
  • Enable Apps that provide utility billing or meter data to enrich your Sites further.
  • Explore the Site's Dashboard tabs (Overview, Activity, Bills) to track usage, events, and costs.
  • Combine with Devices and Customers for a complete energy management solution.

A Site is more than just an address—it's a living, enriched data model that powers all your energy insights in Texture.