Description of Data Post Office

Data Post Office will serve as a general data receiver, which means that anyone providing data to Min Bolig (My Home), Se Elforbrug (View Electricity Consumption) or other equivalent systems, via the Web service of the Danish Electricity Saving Trust to data recipients, will supply data to this location.

In order to be able send data to the Data Post Office, senders must use a Web service in which the data string itself, some provider information and a reference number must be stated (see Description of data format).

The reference number should be unique, which means that companies generating such a number should compile it from the following constituent parts: a country code, CVR (VAT) registration number and HouseControl ID, e.g. DNK-21318671-1234567890. The HouseControl ID should preferably not be a GUID, such as e.g. e99e6e2a-0a10-4797-83d4-ad3cdcc26d53, because this can be very difficult to key in. A HouseControl ID in this format should therefore be replaced by a code consisting entirely of numbers, while still being unique. In respect of, for example, a reference number from viaSENS, the HouseControl ID and data logger ID will typically be identical inasmuch as these do not operate with a HouseControl ID.

A reference number is one which must be displayed and provided directly to the user via a label on, for example, the viaSens box from Seluxit, or on the homepage on which the user requests to have data sent to the Data Post Office. In respect of the latter, this will mean that the data provider must present the reference number directly and clearly on the screen, along with information that this is the number to be utilised by users on the homepage where the data will ultimately reside.

On the homepage where the data will be used there must be a heading explaining to the user that, if they have ordered data from a data provider, they must supply a reference number here and click on ‘download’. Thereafter, all the meter sessions with this reference number will be associated with this particular user and homepage. Each night, all data with this reference number will be automatically downloaded from the Data Post Office.

For additional and easier access to the data, all data sent/downloaded from the Data Post Office will be automatically created as permanent data associated with the given data logger ID. This means the elimination of the work which previously sat in an ‘in box’, from where it was set up manually as a permanent meter session, and which thereafter could be linked to, for example, a meter location in Se Elforbrug (View Electricity Consumption).

General system diagram

Description of Web service
The Web services that should be used to send data to the Data Post Office are shown here:

The first returns the address to the location to which the data must be sent (making the system scalable) http://www.webservice.sparel.dk/getdatapostofficeip_webservice_V1/getdatapostofficeip_webservice.asmx

This contains the following functions:
Function getuploadip(string) As String (parameter string should only be ””)

Return string from function is therefore the address which links to the Web service which saves the data.

ReturnString =
http://www.webservice.sparel.dk/datapostoffice_webservice_V1/datapostoffice_webservice.asmx

with the following functions:

Function senddata(ByVal data_str As String,
ByVal ThreeDigitProducerCountryCode As String,
ByVal ProducerRegistrationNumber_CVR As String,
ByVal HouseControlID As String,
ByVal UniqueReferenceNumber As String,
ByVal DataSenderCountryCode As String) As String

Parameter
Description of parameter
data_str contains meter data that must be stated in the format described (see section with description of data format) Note that there is a time interval of 15 minutes before data can subsequently be used on Se Elforbrug
ThreeDigitProducerCountryCode Unambiguous country code (see complete list with ISO 3166 country codes) for producers
ProducerRegistrationNumber _CVR
Producers’ CVR (VAT) number

HouseControlID
Unique ID (as numbers) which describes the Master sending the data or, in situations where a logger can send data independently, the logger ID
UniqueReferenceNumber Composite identification consisting of the 3 parameters above separated by hyphens
DataSenderCountryCode

Country code which describes where the data comes from

Return string can contain the following:

Return value Description
"DataReceivedOk" Data received
"InformationMissing" Not all parameter information was given
"Error" An error has occurred

In order to be able to rapidly identify the sender and verify that the information is in order, it is necessary that the above parameters are present in relation to the Web service function.

If one wishes to test an XML document before uploading, it can be done as per the following:

Function testdataformat(ByVal data_str As String,
ByVal ThreeDigitProducerCountryCode As String,
ByVal ProducerRegistrationNumber_CVR As String,
ByVal HouseControlID As String,
ByVal UniqueReferenceNumber As String,
ByVal DataSenderCountryCode As String) As String

With the same data as in senddata. If the XML document is valid, return will be ’OK’. If there is an error, a text will be returned describing the first fault detected.

ISO 3166 country codes
See country codes in PDF.

Description of data format
Note that there is a time interval of 15 minutes before data can subsequently be used on Se Elforbrug (View Electricity Consumption).

See description of data format in pdf.

Siden er opdateret 10.10.2011

Description of Data Post Office