What a consumption is
A consumption record defines how much an activity used over a period of time. For example: "Denver Office - Electricity used 12,400 kWh from 2025-03-01 to 2025-03-31."
Each consumption has:
Field | Required | Description |
Activity | Yes | The activity it belongs to |
Start date and end date | Yes | The period the usage covers (YYYY-MM-DD) |
Actual | Yes | Whether the value is measured, such as from a utility bill (actual), or estimated |
Measurements | Yes | One or more, each made up of a magnitude (the number), a unit and a resource |
Note | No | Free-text note |
Resources
The resource describes what is being measured. Each resource needs a specific kind of unit.
Resource | What it measures | Unit type | Example units |
electricity_purchased | Electricity bought | Energy | kWh, MWh |
heat_content | Fuel or heat on an energy basis | Energy | therm, MMBtu, GJ |
net_caloric_value | Fuel energy on a net calorific basis | Energy | GJ, MJ |
mass_fuel_combusted | Fuel burned, by weight | Mass | kg, t, lb |
volume_fuel_combusted | Fuel burned, by volume | Volume | l, gallon, m3, Mcf |
distance_traveled | Distance | Length | km, mile |
mass_gas_emitted | Gas released, by weight | Mass | kg, lb |
volume_gas_emitted | Gas released, by volume | Volume | m3, scf |
mass_refrigerant_leaked | Refrigerant lost, by weight | Mass | kg, lb |
volume_refrigerant_leaked | Refrigerant lost, by volume | Volume | l |
purchaser_price | Money spent | Currency | USD, EUR, GBP |
worker_time | Time worked | Time | hour |
transportation_output | Freight moved | Mass × distance | t_km, ton_mile |
mass_material_used | Material used, by weight | Mass | kg, t |
volume_material_used | Material used, by volume | Volume | l, m3 |
unit_material_used | Material used, by count | Count | count |
run_time | Equipment running time | Time | hour |
room_nights | Hotel stays | Count | count |
shipments | Number of shipments | Count | count |
floor_area | Floor area of a building or space | Area | sq_ft, m2 |
Natural gas is usually recorded as volume_fuel_combusted (for example in Mcf or m3) or as heat_content (for example in therms).
Units
Measure checks that a unit matches the resource's unit type, so any valid unit of the right type works. For example, electricity_purchased accepts kWh, MWh or GJ, because all three are energy units.
Measure doesn't match units against a fixed list. It reads each unit and works out what kind of quantity it measures, so it accepts a very wide range of units: metric and imperial units, standard prefixes (Wh, kWh, MWh, GWh), full names and abbreviations (gallon or gal), plurals, and combined units such as kg/l. The example units in the table above are common choices, not the only ones. If you're unsure whether a unit will be accepted, use a standard abbreviation or contact your Green Project team.
Measure also understands these common industry units, where the prefix doesn't follow its usual SI meaning or the unit name has been simplified (for example, the M in Mcf means thousand, not mega): MMBtu, dekatherm (Dth), ton of refrigeration, scf, Ccf, Mcf, MMcf, t_km, kg_km and ton_mile.
For purchaser_price, use a three-letter currency code such as USD, EUR or GBP. Measure handles currency conversion for you. For count-based resources, use the unit count.
Recording more than one measurement
A single consumption can hold more than one measurement. For example, a vehicle's monthly record can include both gallons of fuel used and miles driven.
Date ranges
Always use the format YYYY-MM-DD.
Periods for one activity should not overlap. Two records covering the same days will double count usage. Overlap can be acceptable in some setups, but only when each record holds a truly distinct value, for example two separate meters or invoices tracked under one activity.
Gaps between periods mean missing data for those days. Measure may estimate missing electricity and natural gas for facilities that have the right traits set.
Actual vs. estimated
Mark a consumption as actual (1) when it comes from a measured source such as a meter or invoice, and as estimated (0) when it is calculated or modeled. This helps you and your auditors understand data quality.