Which do I use: placeholder or toggle?
For any area without a full meter reading, ask one question: is energy actually supplied there?
The area | Supplied? | What to use | Result |
No supply / genuinely zero (e.g. structural vacancy) | No | Placeholder meter sized to the area, consumption 0 | Counts as Covered. Holds your coverage % |
One or a few unmetered gaps that do consume | Yes | Placeholder meter, consumption blank (null) | Maximum Floor Area increases, the gap stays uncovered, coverage % drops honestly |
Many unmetered units across a whole area type (e.g. residential) | Yes | Maximum Coverage toggle, Covers full area ON | Same result as null, without a placeholder per unit |
Rule of thumb: a 0 reading means no consumption; null or the toggle means real consumption you couldn't meter, with the toggle as the shortcut when it's many units. Never remove meters to clear the block.
The rest of this article explains the toggle in depth.
What the toggle is for
The maximum coverage toggle exists for one situation: a resource supplies the full floor area, but you cannot collect a meter reading for every part of it.
The clearest case is a residential building. Electricity reaches every unit, so consumption genuinely spans the whole building. But you may only hold meter data for the common areas and a handful of units, not every tenant meter. GRESB still expects the Maximum Floor Area to reach GFA. Without the toggle you are either blocked at upload, or forced to create a placeholder meter for every unmetered unit.
The toggle does it in one switch. Turn Covers full area ON for electricity, and the Maximum Floor Area becomes the full floor area for that area type. No placeholder per unit. Your coverage then honestly reflects how much you metered, for example 3,500 of 10,000 m², a 35% coverage.
When not to use the toggle
The toggle is the wrong tool when part of the area has no supply at all, for example a structural vacancy with genuinely zero consumption. That area should be a placeholder meter with consumption recorded as 0, so it counts as covered. The toggle would only increase the Maximum Floor Area and leave that area uncovered, dropping coverage for space that should count.
The toggle is also not for a single specific gap you want to define precisely. It increases the Maximum Floor Area to the full area type, all or nothing, so it cannot express a partial maximum. For that, use a placeholder meter.
For the full set of situations and how to reflect each one, see the section “Maximum Floor Area must cover GFA” in Completing a GRESB submission using Scaler. This article covers the toggle only.
How the toggle changes your numbers
- Maximum Floor Area. With the toggle ON, this is the full floor area for that area type, regardless of how many meters exist. With it OFF, it is the sum of the meters' covered areas.
- Floor Area Covered. The toggle does not change this. It is the area of meters that hold a consumption value.
Turning the toggle ON usually lowers the reported coverage percentage, because your metered area is now measured against the full floor area instead of against itself. That is the accurate result: it shows how much of the full area you actually hold data for.
Where these figures feed
The setting drives three GRESB metrics: GRESB potential active area, GRESB data coverage area, and the resulting GRESB data coverage. Those metrics are reused across Scaler's outputs, so the effect appears wherever they show up, including the GRESB Asset Spreadsheet, the GRI Annual report, and data exports prefixed gresb_data_coverage. Set it once and it flows through every output that uses the metric.
Note that Scaler data coverage, the meter-level completeness figure in the Data Collection Portal, is separate and already uses total floor area as its denominator. The toggle does not change it. The toggle fixes the GRESB side only.
Before you start
- Portfolio Admin access to set portfolio-level defaults.
- Portfolio Editor access for asset-level overrides.
- A sense of your collection pattern per resource: do you collect data across the full area, or only part of it?
Step 1: Open Maximum Coverage settings
Go to Data Collection Portal → Portfolio → Settings → Maximum Coverage.
Step 2: Enable Configure coverage defaults
Turn on Configure coverage defaults at the top of the section. A notice confirms that existing placeholder meters are not affected. Placeholder meters created before the start year you set in Step 3 stay active for historical reporting.
Step 3: Set a start year
Select a year from the Start year dropdown. The setting takes effect from that year onward. Placeholder meters remain the source of truth for all prior years.
Recommended: 2025 for most portfolios. GRESB requires a two-year lookback, so 2024 and earlier must stay covered by existing placeholder meters.
Step 4: Configure the toggles per area type and energy type
The grid shows every combination of area type and energy category. Set Covers full area to ON where the source covers the full floor area for that combination.
Toggles are set per energy type (electricity, gas, DHC) and per area type. You can turn electricity ON for Whole Building while leaving gas OFF, for example, because gas may only serve part of the building.
Resource | Default | When to use |
Electricity | ON | Most portfolios collect electricity across the full building |
DHC | OFF | Usually only partial coverage |
Fuels / Gas | OFF | Usually only partial coverage |
Water | OFF | Usually only partial coverage |
Waste | OFF | Usually only partial coverage |
Step 5: Override at asset level where needed
Most assets inherit the portfolio default. For assets that deviate:
- Go to Data Collection Portal → Asset List → [Asset name] → Meters & Consumption.
- Find the Maximum floor area coverage per energy type row at the top of the relevant area-type section.
- Set Covers full area to ON or OFF per energy type for that asset.
An asset override affects only that asset. All others continue to follow the portfolio default.
Migrating from placeholder meters
If your portfolio currently uses placeholder meters for the partial-collection case, transition at your own pace:
- Enable Configure coverage defaults and set your start year (Steps 2 and 3).
- Configure portfolio defaults (Step 4) and override assets where needed (Step 5).
- Run a test report and confirm coverage looks correct.
- Once satisfied, remove those placeholder meters from the start year onward.
Placeholder meters are not removed automatically. Keep them for all years before your start year, where they remain the source of truth. Keep any placeholder you use to mark a no-supply area with consumption 0, the toggle does not replace those.
Frequently asked questions
What happens to existing placeholder meters?
They are not affected. From the start year onward, placeholders used for the partial-collection case are no longer needed. Remove them at your own pace after verifying your reports. Keep placeholders that mark a no-supply area with consumption 0.
Do I need to configure every asset?
No. Set portfolio defaults once and override only where an asset deviates.
Does this apply to water and waste?
Yes. Maximum coverage settings apply to energy (electricity, DHC, fuels), water, and waste.
Why is my GRESB coverage below 100% after I turn the toggle on?
That is expected and correct. The toggle sets Maximum Floor Area to the full area, so your metered area is now measured against the whole building. Coverage shows how much of the full area you actually hold data for.
When should I use a placeholder instead of the toggle?
When the area has no supply at all (use a placeholder with consumption 0 so it counts as covered), or when you need to pin the maximum to a specific partial value. See Completing a GRESB submission using Scaler.