Calculation Methodology
Helios converts your cloud infrastructure data into actionable cost, energy, and carbon metrics using transparent, auditable calculations.
Real billing data with reference pricing fallback
Power consumption × runtime with PUE adjustment
Energy × regional grid carbon intensity
Core Principles
Deterministic
Same inputs always produce same outputs
Transparent
Every assumption is visible and editable
Auditable
Full calculation trace for compliance
Confidence-Scored
Uncertainty is always quantified
How It Works
Step 1
Data Ingestion
Upload CSV, connect cloud APIs
Step 2
Normalization
Map to standard schema
Step 3
Calculation
Apply formulas with assumptions
Step 4
Results
Cost, energy, carbon metrics
Energy Calculation
Formula
Energy (kWh) = (Runtime × Power × PUE) / 1000
Runtime Hours
Actual workload duration from billing data, job logs, or query timestamps.
Power Draw (Watts)
Determined by priority:
PUE by Provider
1.135
AWS
1.10
GCP
1.18
Azure
1.58
Industry Avg
Carbon Calculation
Formula
Carbon (kgCO₂e) = Energy × Grid Intensity / 1000
Regional Carbon Intensity
Grid intensity varies by region based on energy mix. Lower values indicate cleaner grids.
Cost Calculation
Priority Order
Exact Billing
AWS CUR, GCP Billing Export, Azure Cost Management — highest confidence
Reference Pricing
On-demand pricing from reference database: Hourly Rate × Runtime Hours
Estimation
Based on CPU/GPU count and memory — lowest confidence
Confidence Scoring
Every calculation includes a confidence score (0-100%) based on data quality. Scores start at 50% and adjust based on available data.
0-39%
Unverified
40-59%
Low
60-79%
Medium
80-100%
High
Increases Confidence
- +15-20%Exact billing data
- +10-15%Customer measurements
- +8%Known region
- +5%Recognized instance
Decreases Confidence
- -10-20%Estimated power
- -10-15%Unknown region
- -10-15%Missing fields
- -15%Validation errors
Data Sources
Grid Carbon Intensity
- EPA eGRID 2022 (US)
- Ember 2023 (Europe, APAC)
- IEA 2023 (Global)
PUE Values
- AWS Sustainability Report 2023
- Google Environmental Report 2023
- Microsoft Sustainability Report 2023
Instance Specifications
- Cloud provider documentation
- Hardware manufacturer specs
- Third-party benchmarks
Pricing Data
- AWS, GCP, Azure pricing APIs
- Updated monthly
- On-demand rates
Limitations
Historical snapshots
Analysis reflects data at time of upload. Real-time changes are not captured.
Time-of-day variations
Grid carbon intensity varies throughout the day. We use annual averages.
Scope 3 emissions
Hardware manufacturing and supply chain emissions are not included.
Cooling efficiency
PUE is an average; actual efficiency may vary by workload and season.