Why Is My Widget Total Higher Than the Site Total When I Select Several Groups?

If a dashboard widget shows several device groups and its total is higher than your whole site, this article explains why and how to get the total you expect.

Written by Shir Goldstein

Updated at October 26th, 2026

+ More

Table of Contents

The Short Answer How Widgets Add Up Several Groups Example How to Get a Total Without Double Counting Related Articles

The Short Answer

When a widget shows data for several groups, its total is the sum of each group's own total.

If a device belongs to more than one of the selected groups, its consumption and cost are counted once for every group it is in. This is expected behavior, not a data error.

How Widgets Add Up Several Groups

What is a device group? A device group is a set of devices that you define for a site, for example all HVAC units or everything on one floor. A device can belong to more than one group.

What happens in the widget? In the widget settings, you choose which data the widget shows: Site total, Devices, Groups, or Categories. When you choose Groups and pick more than one group under Select groups, the widget:

Calculates the total for each selected group on its own.
Adds those group totals together.

PowerRadar does not remove devices that appear in more than one selected group. If your groups overlap, the shared devices are added more than once. This applies to both energy (kWh) and cost.

Notes:

Each group on its own is accurate. A single group's total in the widget matches the same group in Time View.

Only overlapping groups are affected. If none of the selected groups share devices, the widget total is the true combined total.

Example

A site uses 150 kWh in a week. It has two groups:

Whole Building - every device on the site. Total: 150 kWh.
Main Panel - one device, the main panel, which is also part of Whole Building. Total: 85 kWh.

A widget with both groups selected shows 235 kWh (150 + 85).

That is higher than the site total, because the main panel's 85 kWh is counted once in Whole Building and again in Main Panel.

How to Get a Total Without Double Counting

Pick the option that matches the question you want the widget to answer.

To see the whole site: Choose Site total as the data source.
To see a set of devices as one total: Create one group that contains all the devices you need, and select only that group.
To compare groups side by side: Keep several groups selected, but read each group's own value rather than the combined total. Groups that do not overlap can be safely added together.
To pick specific devices: Choose Devices and select the devices directly. Each selected device is counted once.

Note: To check that a device is not in two of your selected groups, open the site's device group settings and review each group's members.

unnamed untitled faq dashboards widgets groups device groups total sum double counting