Change over time

Smoothed line chart

Shows an interpolated or statistically smoothed path through or near measurements.

What it answers

What broad pattern does the smoothed path suggest?

The question

What is the general shape of energy use through a working day?

Smoothed curve. Low overnight at about 40, rising from 06 to a peak of about 120 around 14, falling in the evening.

Illustrative data. It belongs to no company.

Reducing visual noise or presenting an appropriate interpolated curve.

When smoothing could conceal abrupt changes or imply unsupported values.

Read the fitted curve and compare it with underlying observations where shown.

Interpolation and statistical smoothing are different operations.

Layout: Long table
Fields: Time: date/datetime or ordered number; Value: number
One row is: One observation at a time or ordered position. What is the grain?
Rules: Parse dates consistently and sort ascending. Resolve duplicate timestamps by a declared rule. Missing values are not automatically zero.
Optional: Optional Series. Use regular spacing for methods requiring it.
Preparation: Choose interpolation or a statistical smoother explicitly. Retain measured points and avoid unsupported extrapolation.
Units: Time uses a stated date/time unit and sampling period; the value axis uses the measure's unit. Rates need their own explicit denominator.

A long table: one row per observation, few columns. New data adds rows.

Data X=1,2,3; Y=10,15,11. A smooth curve suggests a mid-range peak. The three observed points remain visible.