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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)
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What is Abacus? | |
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Abacus is a wireless energy information service. The service allows commercial and industrial customers to monitor energy usage and costs via the Internet, and generate customized reports in an easy, economical way. | |
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Who can use Abacus? | |
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Abacus is useful primarily for commercial and industrial customers who have significant utility costs at an individual site or across multiple facilities. The service allows remote monitoring at anytime from anywhere in the world. | |
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What will the Abacus system do for me? | |
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Abacus allows owners, operators, engineers, and financial personnel to better understand and manage utility consumption and costs. The Abacus information and reports make it easy to identify peak usage, to allocate costs to a specific department or process, and to make informed energy purchasing decisions. | |
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Is Abacus just for electricity monitoring? | |
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No Abacus is available to monitor electricity, natural gas, water, and compressed air utilities. | |
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Do I have to be an AmerenUE , AmerenCIPS or AmerenCILCO customer? | |
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No. Abacus is available everywhere, and can be installed in any facility. In many cases, Abacus uses radio frequency and cellular technology to gather your facility information, making installation quick and economical. In non-coverage areas, a telephone line may be required. | |
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How can I learn more about Abacus? | |
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To have information sent or to request
that an Abacus representative contact you, please call Or you can e-mail Abacus at: |
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How much does Abacus cost? | |
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The costs are very minimal if a meter is already in place. Pricing is available through the Products and Services on the ameren.com web site. The pricing structure is based on many factors such as the number of meters, the facility location, the facility layout and geographic location among other things. After gathering specific information about your facility and operations, an Abacus Account Representative can provide a detailed proposal. | |
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How current is my data? | |
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The meter usage data is sent to the Abacus central server every night (after midnight). The data is then processed and made available by 7:00 a.m. (CST). | |
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What equipment do I need to use Abacus? | |
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The equipment required for Abacus is a meter(s) with a cellular or phone interface and a PC with Internet access. Some additional equipment may be needed depending upon your facilities. | |
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How can Abacus help me allocate costs? | |
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Abacus can help allocate costs by letting you assign meter groups and make strategic use of submetering to identify costs associated with energy for particular locations, square footage, or processes. You can generate reports that help you decide how to manage and control energy usage and consumption. This information can help you negotiate better energy contracts and monitor profitability. | |
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How do I access Abacus? | |
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Abacus can be accessed from any PC with Internet access and with a valid user account. Abacus can be accessed anytime from the office or at home. | |
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Are the Abacus meters checked for accuracy? | |
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The meters used by Abacus are the same high accuracy utility meters used by Ameren, a major investor-owned utility and a Fortune 500 company. Prior to installation each meter is tested and adjusted to within +/- 0.5%. After the installation, the meter is checked to insure it is working properly. | |
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Can the Abacus calculated cost be compared to my current bill? | |
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Abacus was not designed as a utility billing system; it is an energy information management system. However Abacus does provide an option to calculate energy usage cost. You input the value of $/kw and/or $/kwh. Abacus then determines the cost based on your input and the actual energy usage collected by the meter. In addition, we have introduced a new Rates Module that calculates the costs based on the current AmerenUE rates. This is only applicable if you are an Ameren/UE customer. However, we will be adding other rate structures in the future. |
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What happens if a meter fails to transmit information? | |
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Meters normally transmit their data every two minutes. If, however, the meter or the repeater hardware loses power, or the wireless communication path is blocked, the meter cannot transmit the usage data and the data will be lost. Careful design of the installation can help minimize power source problems and optimize the antenna location for the best possible communication path. If data communications are disturbed, the meter continues to try to send data for up to 15 minutes. If the communication link is still not successful, Abacus will estimate the missing data point(s). | |
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How long will my data be available on the system? | |
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Abacus retains your data for a 25-month period. As new data is received, it will replace data older than 25 months, so a constant 25-months of prior data is available for each meter. | |
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Is the system ever down? | |
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Scheduled Abacus maintenance and upgrades will occur on Sundays between 6:00 and 8:00 a.m. Central Standard Time. On occasion, this window may be increased to 12:00 to 9:00 a.m. to accommodate large system upgrades. On-line notification of these events may be utilized. | |
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How will I receive software upgrades? | |
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Because Abacus is available through the Internet, software upgrades and fixes are available on-line, immediately. There's no time to wait for software diskettes to arrive. Also, there's also no time required to install upgrade updates. | |
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After becoming a customer, how do I learn to use Abacus? | |
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We take pride in the fact that our product is very simple to use. However, customers are provided, at no additional charge, an online user manual and an access to call a toll free phone number 24 hours a day - 1-877-3Abacus | |
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Can I purchase the meters from you and tie them into my existing EMS (Energy Management System)? | |
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The pricing structure has been designed for customer purchase of the monitoring meters. Parent Ameren Corporation has installed the nation's largest wireless metering system, and is a full-service physical metering company. These meters will communicate with the Abacus central database. | |
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After signing the service agreement, when can I expect to receive the service? | |
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After the Abacus service agreement has been signed, the process generally takes between 30 and 60 days. | |
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