Patent ID: 8396740

Claim:
A method for monitoring and displaying relative utility consumption for different properties in a real estate portfolio implemented in software operating a data processing system, the method comprising the steps of: providing the data processing system and the software, the data processing system having memory in which data for utility consumption of the different properties in the real estate portfolio is stored, and the software is operable in data processing system for performing all of the following steps; receiving selection of a display area, temporal period, and display zones for display of utility consumption for the zones within the display area, wherein the zones are selected to represent one or more of the different properties; determining values of total utility consumption and consumption intensities for the different properties in the real estate portfolio, wherein first and second values are calculated for each zone, with the first values corresponding to total aggregate utility consumption of each of the zones and the second values corresponding to consumption intensity for each of the zones; ranking the first values for each zone from high to low and associating each of the first values with a size of a geometric form corresponding to each of the zones, wherein a highest of the first values has a largest size, the smallest of the first values has the smallest size, and the remaining of the first values are associated with sizes, from high to low, corresponding to an associated total utility consumption ranking; ranking the second values for each zone from high to low and associating each of the second values with a corresponding color for the respective geometric form for each of the zones, wherein a highest of the second values has a first color representing a highest consumption intensity, the smallest of the second values has a second color representing the lowest consumption intensity, and the remaining of the second values are associated with mixtures of the first color and the second color, and color shades there-between, corresponding to an associated consumption intensity ranking; and displaying on a map of the display area the respective geometric form for each of the zones, wherein each of the geometric forms having the associated size determined from the ranking of corresponding first values for each of the zones and the color associated with respective ones of the second values for each of the zones, and wherein the geometric forms corresponding to each of the zones are shown disposed at respective spatial locations on the map.