SEI Podcast Episode: The Importance of Understanding Solar Energy Production Calculators Solar Energy International(SEI) Podcast Series

In the world of data and systems management there is a common phrase, “garbage in / garbage out”. Basically what that is saying is if the data being put into a system is inaccurate or garbage, that is exactly what you are going to get as an output - garbage.

As the solar industry grows and project developers, EPCs, and financiers want to see accurate energy production models during the feasibility study stage of any potential solar project, it is crucial for solar professionals to understand the software tools and calculators used during the energy production estimation stage of any project.

When people first get into the solar industry the first software platform that many of us dive into is NREL's PVWatts® Calculator. NREL's PVWatts® Calculator estimates the energy production and cost of energy of grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) energy systems throughout the world. It allows homeowners, small building owners, installers and manufacturers to easily develop estimates of the performance of potential PV installations. It is a great tool to get your feet wet on basic PV system performance estimates, but when you get into projects where detailed reports and accurate accounting of all the factors that go into system performance, you are going to want to graduate up to software platforms like PVsyst.

Environmental and PV equipment component factors that are even slightly off can result in production estimates that are far enough off that the funding entities for large scale solar projects aren’t going to be happy if the system isn’t performing especially if there are performance guarantees. The buck is going to stop with you as the project designer to take the heat and that is not a position you want to be in.

Understanding how to use these software tools at a very detailed level is a crucial part of your professional development as a solar professional. To help people new to the industry and new to using software tools like PVSyst, Solar Energy International (SEI) developed a short course targeted towards beginning users. The title of the course is CE524: PVSYST FOR PV SYSTEM PRODUCTION MODELING and was developed to show you in detail how to get started creating accurate production estimates for any size PV system, from residential to large-scale. In this online course students will learn how to find and import the correct meteorological data, create system variants for any size system, and accurately define the orientation, shading scene, and detailed system losses. By the end of this course you will be confidently simulating production and printing reports to share.

So if you want to keep project developers and financiers happy and want to keep growing your career in the solar industry, it will be critical to get it right when the final report and design plans are presented. First step to getting it right though is to get training and to learn how to see the data at a much deeper level and to identify outputs and system loss calculations that may not be accurate. Keep the garbage from going in and you will have a high level of confidence that your designs will be cranking out clean and reliable energy for decades to come.