Semantic Model Takes a Long Time To Refresh

Thankyou, pborah, MasonMA, for your response.

Hi TARUGOKING,

We appreciate your question on the Microsoft Fabric Community Forum.

From what I understand, the main reason for the 15-minute refresh time is the processing delay on the Power BI Service side, not the data source or how complex the data transformation is. This is because the SQL query runs in less than 1 second, Power Query steps are few, and the data volume is low (about 4,000 rows).

Please try the following steps to reduce the refresh time:

1. Turn off the Auto Date/Time feature. This feature can create hidden date tables for datetime fields, which can increase the model size and refresh time.
2. Check if Query Folding is working. Even if your transformations are simple, Power BI may not send all calculations to SQL. In Power Query Editor, right-click each step and choose “View Native Query.” If this option is not available, it means Power BI is processing data locally, which takes more time.
3. Refresh delay can happen if your dataset and Power BI workspace are in different regions.
4. Since your SQL job finishes at 7:59 AM, start the Power BI refresh at 8:05 AM to avoid heavy load on the backend during peak time.
5. You are currently using two datasets. Combining them into one can reduce metadata load and speed up refresh.

Also, please check these useful links:
Troubleshoot refresh scenarios - Power BI | Microsoft Learn
Optimization guide for Power BI - Power BI | Microsoft Learn

If you have any more questions, feel free to contact the Microsoft Fabric community.

Thank you.