# Gas Budgeting

Gas Budgeting is the process of setting and managing budgets of gas consumption in a building or workplace. This involves determining the amount of gas expected to be used over a specific period, and then tracking actual gas consumption against this budget. Gas budgeting can help organizations manage their energy costs more effectively, identify areas for potential energy savings, and reduce their overall carbon footprint.

**Gas Budgeting Add-on**

The Gas Budgeting add-on simplifies the monitoring of gas consumption, letting you to create customised, out-of-the-box canvases/dashboards.

**Gas Categories**

Gas Categories refers to different types of gas sources or consumption. For example, Cooking and Boilers. There can be different meters that track different circuits to measure this usage.

However, in environments where such detailed metering is not available, overall gas consumption can be captured using a single category.

This process involves three main steps:

1. [Installing the Gas Budgeting Add-on](#installing-the-gas-budgeting-add-on)
2. [Configuring the Gas Budgeting Add-on](#configuring-the-gas-budgeting-add-on)
3. [Creating a Canvas](#creating-a-canvas)

### Installing the Gas Budgeting Add-on

Installing the Gas Budgeting add-on is the first step to monitor gas consumption. To install the Gas Budgeting Add-on:

1. On the Lucy app **homepage**, click the **Add-ons** tab.
2. Click **Install a new Add-on.**
3. Pick the Gas Budgeting add-on from the list of add-ons.
4. Click **Install**. The add-on will be installed and will appear on the Add-ons page.
5. If you have previously installed the add-on, you can skip this step.

### Configuring the Gas Budgeting Add-on

Upon successful add-on installation, you will be directed to the configuration page. This step involves configuring gas categories, setting budgets and connecting your meters.

To configure the Gas Budgeting add-on:

1. On the app **homepage**, click the **Add-ons** tab.
2. Click the **Gas Budgeting** add-on. Configuration wizard will open.
3. Add a new Gas Category.
   1. Click **Setup Budgets and Categories** tab.
   2. Click the **+** button.
   3. **Category Name:** Give a name for the category, *e.g., Overall Consumption.*
   4. Click **Save**. A new category will be created and listed under Setup Budgets and Categories tab.
   5. Create multiple categories if needed.
4. Set budgets for each category.
   1. Under **Setup Budgets and Categories** tab, click on a category.
   2. Type in the budget values for each month of the year.
   3. Click **Save**.
5. Connect meters. There are three ways to feed actual gas consumption data to the system.
   1. **Get Smart Meters:** Connect smart meters to automatically send gas consumption data in.
   2. **Buy on Spacewox:** Buy smart meters from Spaceworx marketplace.
   3. **Manually Upload Gas data:** Upload gas consumption data manually.
6. Go to **Connect Meters** tab.
7. We will pick **Manually Upload Gas Data** option.
8. Select the **Date** for the month you want to add data.
9. Type in the actual consumption for each category you have created.
10. Click **Save**.
11. Repeat steps 7 to 10 to add more data.

### Creating a Canvas

The final step is to create a canvas with required gas related widgets to track gas consumption.

To create a canvas:

1. On the Lucy app **homepage,** go to the **Gallery** tab.
2. Click the **+** button to start creating a new Canvas.
3. Click **Next.**
4. Customise the background of the canvas if needed.
   1. To select a colour theme for your Canvas from the pre-selected colour themes, click on the required box. Selected colour theme will be shown under the Header Colour section.
   2. If you need to select a custom colour theme, click on the colour code in the Header Colour section to open the colour picker to select a colour of your own.
   3. Under Background Image, click the Search icon to select a background wallpaper for your Canvas.
   4. To select an image from the available collection, first, type the required keyword in the Search Images box to search for the image and then select it.
   5. To select your own image as the background of the Canvas, click Upload your image and upload your own image.
   6. Enable the Blur the background option to blur the applied background of your Canvas if necessary.
   7. Provide a suitable unique Name for the canvas, *e.g., Gas Consumption.*
5. Grant users access to the Canvas.
   1. Select a User Group *(e.g., System Administrators)* if you wish to grant access to specific groups.
   2. Skip the User Group selection if you intend to allow access for everyone.
   3. Click Next. A new Canvas will be created.
6. Click **Go to your Canvas now** button to launch it in a new window.
7. Add gas related widgets on to your canvas.
   1. Click **+** button. Widget Browser will open.
   2. Use the Search box to search and filter required widgets by typing widget’s name/partial name, *e.g., Gas.*
   3. Pick the **Current Monthly Gas Usage** widget, the **Gas Consumption (Category-wise)** widget, and the **Yearly Gas Consumption** widget.
   4. Click **Add Widgets.** The selected widgets will be added to the canvas.
8. Filter and display data in Current Monthly Gas Usage widget. This widget displays current month’s gas consumption.
   1. Select the Current Monthly Gas Usage widget.
   2. Click the **Filter** icon.
   3. Pick required **Location**.
   4. Select the **Gas Type,** which is the gas consumption category.
   5. The data will be automatically populated and displayed
9. Filter and display data in Gas Consumption (Category-wise) widget. This widget displays category-wise gas usage.
   1. Select the Gas Consumption (Category-wise) widget.
   2. Click the **Filter** icon.
   3. Pick the required **Year**, **Month** and the **Location** to display the gas consumption data.
   4. Select the gas Consumption Category*, e.g., Overall Consumption.* This widget will be useful if you have multiple categories.
10. Filter and display data in Yearly Gas Consumption widget. This widget shows the gas consumption details budgeted versus the actual entire year.
    1. Select the Yearly Gas Consumption widget.
    2. Click the **Filter** icon.
    3. Pick the required **Year, Location** and **Gas Type.**
    4. The data will be automatically populated and displayed.

The video below explains the process of monitoring gas consumption in your building or workplace and setting budgets.

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