Purpose of this article
This article explains how to configure portfolio and asset-level maximum floor area coverage defaults, so you can report full floor area coverage in GRESB and other outputs without creating placeholder meters.
Prefer to watch? 8-minute walkthrough of the full feature, including a live example and when to use the toggle.
Chapters
- 0:00 — What the feature does and why it exists
- 1:01 — Enabling the toggle at fund/portfolio level
- 1:38 — Placeholder meters, start year, area types
- 3:10 — Worked example: Louvre asset with toggle on vs off
- 5:07 — How it appears in the GRESB report
- 6:54 — Scenarios A, B, and C summary
Maximum floor area coverage settings let you define whether each energy category covers the full floor area for a given area type. When enabled, Scaler uses the total floor area for that area type as the maximum coverage value in reporting — regardless of how many meters you have. This eliminates the need to create placeholder meters for GRESB and other reporting outputs.
You may hear placeholder meters referred to informally as "ghost meters" in conversations with your account team. These are the same thing.
Settings work in two layers: portfolio-level defaults that apply across all assets, and optional per-asset overrides for assets that deviate from the norm.
This feature applies to energy data (electricity, DHC, and fuels). Water and waste are not currently supported.
How coverage settings work
The diagram below shows three scenarios for the same building — 10,000 m² total floor area, with three meters covering 3,500 m². The right approach depends on how much of the floor area actually has consumption.
Walked through in the video from 6:54.
Scenario B is the key distinction. When consumption exists beyond your meters but does not cover the entire floor area, the toggle is not appropriate — it would overstate coverage by claiming the full 10,000 m². Instead, create a placeholder meter sized to the gap between your metered area and your actual consumption area.
The toggle replaces placeholder meters only when consumption covers the entire floor area for that area type. If consumption is partial, placeholder meters are still the right approach for the uncovered portion.
Before you start
- You need Portfolio Admin access to configure portfolio-level defaults.
- For asset-level overrides, Portfolio Editor access is sufficient.
- Have a sense of your data collection setup: for each energy type, do you typically collect data for the full floor area, or only part of it?
Step 1: Go to Maximum Coverage settings
Navigate to Data Collection Portal → Portfolio → Settings → Maximum Coverage.
Step 2: Enable Configure coverage defaults
Toggle on Configure coverage defaults at the top of the section.
When enabled, a notice appears confirming that existing placeholder meters are not affected. Placeholder meters created before the start year you set in Step 3 remain active for historical reporting.
Step 3: Set a start year
Select a year from the Start year dropdown.
The toggles have no effect until a start year is set. The maximum coverage logic applies from that year onwards — placeholder meters remain the source of truth for all prior years.
2025 for most portfolios.
- Portfolios with existing placeholder meters: set start year to 2025. Placeholder meters cover 2024 and prior — GRESB requires a 2-year lookback, so those years must remain covered by existing meters. Existing placeholder meters are not removed; they become redundant from 2025 onwards.
- New portfolios without placeholder meters: also set start year to 2025, to avoid affecting historical coverage calculations for 2024 and prior.
Step 4: Configure the coverage toggles
The coverage grid shows every combination of area type and energy category. For each cell, set Covers full area to ON if your portfolio typically collects data for the full floor area for that combination.
Default settings (applied automatically when you enable the feature):
Energy type | Default | When to use |
Electricity | ON | Most portfolios collect electricity data across the full building |
DHC | OFF | Usually only partial coverage |
Fuels / Gas | OFF | Usually only partial coverage |
Adjust these defaults to match your portfolio's typical data collection pattern. You can override individual assets in Step 5 for assets that deviate from the norm.
These defaults apply to all assets in the portfolio. Only go into individual assets if some deviate — for most portfolios this is a small minority.
Click Save when done.
Step 5: Override at asset level (where needed)
Most assets inherit the portfolio default and need no further action. For assets with different coverage patterns:
- Go to Data Collection Portal → Asset List → [Asset name] → Meters & Consumption.
- Locate the area type section (e.g. Common area meters, Tenant area meters).
- Find the
Maximum floor area coverage per energy typerow at the top of that section.
- Set
Covers full areatoONorOFFper energy type for this asset.
An asset override only affects that specific asset. All other assets continue to follow the portfolio default.
What the toggle does
How Covers full area ON and OFF affect reporting
Covers full area: ON — maximum floor area = the floor area value for that Area type, regardless of how many meters exist.
Example: Whole Building electricity with Gross Floor Area (GFA) = 10,000 m². Meters only cover 3,500 m². With Covers full area set to ON, maximum coverage reported = 10,000 m².
Use when: consumption exists across the full floor area but complete meter data hasn’t been collected yet.
Covers full area: OFF — maximum floor area = the sum of all meter coverage areas for that category (previous default behavior).
Example: 3 Whole Building electricity meters covering 2,000 + 1,000 + 500 m² → maximum coverage = 3,500 m².
Use when: meters represent the true maximum potential coverage for the building.
Area type reference
Each area type references a specific floor area field in the asset's Reporting Data.
Area type | Floor area field |
Whole Building | Gross Floor Area (GFA) |
Common Areas | GFA - Common Areas |
Tenant Areas | GFA - Tenant Areas |
Shared Services | Gross Floor Area (GFA) |
How this relates to Scaler data coverage
Scaler data coverage and the maximum coverage toggle serve different purposes, but both reference the same floor area values.
Scaler data coverage uses total floor area per area type as its denominator and tracks how much consumption data has been collected relative to the full building. This calculation already works correctly and is not affected by this toggle.
The maximum coverage toggle fixes the GRESB and reporting side. Without it (or placeholder meters), reporting variables used only the sum of meter-covered areas as potential active area — meaning GRESB area coverage could appear artificially low when not all floor area was metered. With Covers full area set to ON, potential active area equals the full floor area for that area type, which is what GRESB expects when consumption exists across the full building.
Migrating from placeholder meters
If your portfolio currently uses placeholder meters, you can transition progressively:
- Enable
Configure coverage defaultsand set your start year (Steps 2–3 above).
- Configure portfolio-level defaults (Step 4).
- Review and override individual assets where needed (Step 5).
- Run a test report and confirm data coverage looks correct.
Before
Afte
- Once satisfied, begin removing placeholder meters for the start year onwards at your own pace.
Placeholder meters are not automatically removed when you enable this feature. Keep them in place for all years before your start year — they remain the source of truth for historical reporting. Only remove them after verifying your reports.
Frequently asked questions
What happens to existing placeholder meters?
They are not affected or removed. Once Configure coverage defaults is enabled and a start year is set, placeholder meters are no longer needed for years from that start year onwards. Remove them at your own pace after verifying your reports.
Do I need to configure every asset individually?
No. Set portfolio-level defaults once, and only override at the asset level where needed. For most portfolios, the defaults cover the vast majority of assets.
Does this apply to all reports, or just GRESB?
All reporting outputs — GRESB, regulatory frameworks, and custom reports in Scaler.
Does this apply to water and waste?
Not currently. Maximum coverage settings apply to energy only (electricity, DHC, and fuels). Water and waste are not yet supported.
What if I'm unsure whether my coverage is full or partial?
Default to OFF — it is the conservative option. When in doubt, leaving Covers full area set to OFF means Scaler reports actual meter coverage rather than assumed full coverage.
Additional resources
- GRESB data coverage methodology — How Scaler calculates GRESB-aligned data and floor area coverage metrics
- How to achieve 100% data coverage — Step-by-step guide to resolving gaps and reaching full data coverage
- Setting up physical meters — How to create and configure physical meters for energy, water, and waste
- Meter setup scenarios & examples — Visual reference for common and non-standard metering configurations