Description

General features

Grid-connected systems

Management of the project

 For a given project (a defined site and meteo), you can construct several variations for your system (“calculation versions”).

 

System design board

The system design is based on a quick and simple procedure:

1. Specify the desired power or available area
2. Choose the PV module from the internal database
3. Choose the inverter from the internal database

… and PVsyst will propose an array/system configuration, that allows you to conduct a preliminary simulation.

System sizing: Visual tool

A specific tool gathers all constraints for the sizing of the system:

1. For the number of modules in a series: the upper diagram shows the I/V curve of the PV array, together with the MPPT range, voltage, power, and current limits of the inverter.

1. For the inverter sizing: the second graph displays the annual distribution of the array power, with the array and inverter nominal power
2. The optimal sizing of the inverter is based on the acceptable overload loss throughout the year. It usually leads to over-size the power ratio (array nominal power by respect to the inverter nom. AC power), by a factor of 1.25.

After a good system sizing, you can define different losses like far and near shadings using a full 3D editor for the definition of the environmental and near shading conditions.

Specialized tools are also provided for the evaluation of the wiring losses (and other losses like the module quality), the mismatch between modules, soiling, thermal behavior according to the mechanical mounting, system unavailability, etc.

Simulation and results report

The simulation calculates the distribution of energies throughout the year.

Main results:

1.   The total energy production [MWh/y] is essential for the evaluation of the PV system’s profitability.

2.   The Performance Ratio (PR [%]) describes the quality of the system itself.

3.   The specific energy [kWh/kWp] is an indicator of production based on the available irradiation (location and orientation).

1. Shows the main energies and gains/losses involved in the simulation,
2. Powerful tool for a quick analysis of the system’s behavior, and potential improvements in the design.

Required computer configuration

Operating System:	All Windows client versions currently supported by Microsoft: Vista/ 7/8/10 32/64 bit Other OS like MAC OS X (see here) and LINUX are supported through the use of a virtual machine running Windows (for example VirtualBox).
OS not supported:	All Windows server versions
Other requirements:	At least 1 GB of RAM At least 1 GB of free hard drive space Minimal screen resolution of 800 x 600 pixels (SVGA) .NET 4.5 framework (installed by Windows Update).