WEBVTT 00:00:00.840 --> 00:00:04.000 Hi everyone, this is Mal Abbott from PV Lighthouse. 00:00:04.200 --> 00:00:07.672 In this video I'm going to be talking about some of the ... 00:00:07.672 --> 00:00:10.039 new features in SunSolve version 7. 00:00:10.240 --> 00:00:12.733 In particular, we are going to be taking a ... 00:00:12.733 --> 00:00:16.033 look at defining strings of modules as well as solving ... 00:00:16.033 --> 00:00:17.719 the AC output of the system. 00:00:18.600 --> 00:00:22.960 As an example, I've defined a fixed tilt system. 00:00:23.120 --> 00:00:26.398 It is 28 panels in total, two high, 00:00:26.398 --> 00:00:27.919 with 14 across. 00:00:28.600 --> 00:00:30.871 In previous versions of SunSolve, 00:00:30.871 --> 00:00:34.082 we would calculate the electrical output of each ... 00:00:34.082 --> 00:00:36.432 panel, and the total output was just ... 00:00:36.432 --> 00:00:37.998 the sum of those panels. 00:00:38.520 --> 00:00:40.880 They weren't connected together electrically. 00:00:41.440 --> 00:00:44.760 In Sunsolve version 7, you can still solve like this. 00:00:45.720 --> 00:00:49.020 In the Options tab you'll notice that there's a solve ... 00:00:49.020 --> 00:00:51.120 type, and the first option you can ... 00:00:51.120 --> 00:00:52.920 choose there is 'Module DC'. 00:00:53.240 --> 00:00:55.695 So this is how it's been done in the past, 00:00:55.695 --> 00:00:58.522 and if you're doing PVsyst bifacial factors, 00:00:58.522 --> 00:01:00.158 this is all you need to use. 00:01:00.760 --> 00:01:03.960 If you're interested in calculating string output, 00:01:03.960 --> 00:01:07.960 you'll notice that there's now a second option here, 'String DC'. 00:01:08.320 --> 00:01:12.200 And when I select that, a field tab appears. 00:01:12.640 --> 00:01:17.760 On the field tab, we are able to define one or more strings. 00:01:19.760 --> 00:01:23.933 The strings at the moment have a fairly simple interface ... 00:01:23.933 --> 00:01:27.839 for defining how the panels are connected together. 00:01:28.720 --> 00:01:32.875 In this option 'All panels', a string will be constructed ... 00:01:32.875 --> 00:01:36.078 with 28 panels, and it will select those from ... 00:01:36.078 --> 00:01:39.541 the system by starting at the first panel [0,0], 00:01:39.541 --> 00:01:42.398 and then just selecting along the line. 00:01:43.240 --> 00:01:45.167 Once it reaches the end of the first height, 00:01:45.167 --> 00:01:46.559 it will go to the second height. 00:01:46.680 --> 00:01:48.860 And so in this case where we had 28 panels, 00:01:48.860 --> 00:01:51.040 we would connect all 28 panels together. 00:01:51.520 --> 00:01:55.538 It's not necessary for the unit system to have the exact right ... 00:01:55.538 --> 00:01:56.719 number of panels. 00:01:57.160 --> 00:01:59.910 If we wanted to have 30 panels (in the string), 00:01:59.910 --> 00:02:02.877 what it would do is it would add all the 28 panels in ... 00:02:02.877 --> 00:02:04.976 series, and then it would go back to ... 00:02:04.976 --> 00:02:07.798 the start and add those first two panels again. 00:02:08.200 --> 00:02:12.320 So you can have different combinations in the string. 00:02:13.160 --> 00:02:17.000 It's also possible to define a string where the panels are ... 00:02:17.000 --> 00:02:19.080 all taken from the same height. 00:02:19.240 --> 00:02:22.960 So in this case we're using height index 0. 00:02:23.360 --> 00:02:27.600 We could then also add another string with height index 1. 00:02:27.720 --> 00:02:30.432 In this case, one of the strings will be ... 00:02:30.432 --> 00:02:33.399 defined as having just all the top panels. 00:02:33.920 --> 00:02:36.320 There's 28 of them, so it'll do it twice. 00:02:36.480 --> 00:02:38.580 And the other string is the bottom panels, 00:02:38.580 --> 00:02:40.440 connecting them all together twice. 00:02:41.680 --> 00:02:44.080 So that's the String DC option. 00:02:44.240 --> 00:02:46.666 And once you solve that, you'll be able to download ... 00:02:46.666 --> 00:02:47.879 the output of the string. 00:02:48.440 --> 00:02:51.485 If you then want to connect those strings into an inverter ... 00:02:51.485 --> 00:02:53.959 There's a third option which is the 'Array AC'. 00:02:54.600 --> 00:02:56.307 Now, when I come back to the field ... 00:02:56.307 --> 00:02:57.887 tab, not only do we have the two ... 00:02:57.887 --> 00:03:01.238 string definitions, but we also have a definition of the array. 00:03:02.320 --> 00:03:05.818 And this is a little bit like PVsyst in that we just need ... 00:03:05.818 --> 00:03:09.238 to define how many of the actual panels are we going to ... 00:03:09.238 --> 00:03:10.559 put into this array. 00:03:11.000 --> 00:03:14.200 We can choose that on a string level. 00:03:14.320 --> 00:03:17.982 So here I've got 130 of this first definition and 130 of the ... 00:03:17.982 --> 00:03:19.279 second definition. 00:03:19.800 --> 00:03:24.665 That's giving me a DC AC ratio of 1.33 and a total ... 00:03:24.665 --> 00:03:27.159 number of panels, 7280. 00:03:28.240 --> 00:03:31.669 Those are then connected in parallel into whatever inverter ... 00:03:31.669 --> 00:03:32.879 we've selected here. 00:03:33.320 --> 00:03:35.764 Now, the inverters are a very similar ... 00:03:35.764 --> 00:03:38.759 model to what you see in programs like PVsyst. 00:03:38.920 --> 00:03:43.317 There's a efficiency versus output and that's solved ... 00:03:43.317 --> 00:03:45.759 using linear interpolation. 00:03:45.920 --> 00:03:50.562 There's various input limits that are applied and we can ... 00:03:50.562 --> 00:03:55.599 even look at temperature limits to the maximum output power. 00:03:57.040 --> 00:04:00.240 Inverters are loaded into your library in the same way you ... 00:04:00.240 --> 00:04:01.640 load panels and weather. 00:04:01.720 --> 00:04:03.360 It's over here on the side. 00:04:03.520 --> 00:04:06.120 You can click to import an inverter. 00:04:06.200 --> 00:04:09.440 And at the moment, the option we have is to load an OND file. 00:04:09.480 --> 00:04:11.840 So you need to get an OND file for your inverter. 00:04:11.960 --> 00:04:14.240 You can click here and follow that wizard through. 00:04:14.400 --> 00:04:16.767 Once you've loaded it into your cloud, 00:04:16.767 --> 00:04:18.912 you can select it for an array here, 00:04:18.912 --> 00:04:21.279 or you can manage your library in here. 00:04:24.960 --> 00:04:29.808 So once we've connected this all together and we run the ... 00:04:29.808 --> 00:04:32.969 simulation, what will happen is the ... 00:04:32.969 --> 00:04:38.238 electrical solver will solve the output in a number of ways. 00:04:38.400 --> 00:04:41.000 So it will solve each individual cell. 00:04:41.480 --> 00:04:43.707 Then it will wire those together into modules and ... 00:04:43.707 --> 00:04:45.119 solve the modules on their own. 00:04:45.240 --> 00:04:48.520 And this gives us the cell to cell mismatch loss. 00:04:48.920 --> 00:04:50.180 Then, based on the string ... 00:04:50.180 --> 00:04:52.100 definitions, it connects the modules ... 00:04:52.100 --> 00:04:54.680 together and calculates the output of each string. 00:04:55.800 --> 00:04:58.360 This gives us the module to module mismatch. 00:04:58.840 --> 00:05:02.564 On the output tab, we now have a waterfall chart ... 00:05:02.564 --> 00:05:06.479 which approximates the losses as you go through. 00:05:06.600 --> 00:05:08.968 And you'll notice on here that we have the module to ... 00:05:08.968 --> 00:05:10.039 module mismatch loss. 00:05:10.840 --> 00:05:13.440 It's separate to the cell to cell mismatch loss. 00:05:13.640 --> 00:05:16.620 The there's also an ohmic wiring loss, 00:05:16.620 --> 00:05:19.879 and this is based on the field definition. 00:05:19.960 --> 00:05:22.206 Again, there's an ohmic resistance ... 00:05:22.206 --> 00:05:25.800 that you can set that's a very similar model to what's used ... 00:05:25.800 --> 00:05:26.998 in other programs. 00:05:27.080 --> 00:05:30.640 It's effectively the resistance seen by the inverter inputs. 00:05:30.680 --> 00:05:34.579 And so the loss is calculated as the current flowing ... 00:05:34.579 --> 00:05:38.841 through that resistor we have a correction to that after ... 00:05:38.841 --> 00:05:42.377 applying the operating point of the inverter, 00:05:42.377 --> 00:05:45.823 because when you're in a clipping situation, 00:05:45.823 --> 00:05:48.634 the voltage increases on the string, 00:05:48.634 --> 00:05:52.805 that causes the current to decrease and that causes the ... 00:05:52.805 --> 00:05:54.437 ohmic loss to change. 00:05:54.480 --> 00:05:57.120 And so we account for that with this second step here. 00:05:58.880 --> 00:06:04.589 There's also a summary tab with a set of results that ... 00:06:04.589 --> 00:06:08.439 describe the output of the system. 00:06:09.200 --> 00:06:12.383 If you prefer to see those in terms of how PVsyst names ... 00:06:12.383 --> 00:06:14.119 them, you can just select the ... 00:06:14.119 --> 00:06:17.592 different nomenclature here and you can see all the major ... 00:06:17.592 --> 00:06:20.558 outputs that summarize the system performance. 00:06:21.400 --> 00:06:24.760 Final thing to look at is the time series download. 00:06:25.400 --> 00:06:28.331 And in version seven, that's been upgraded to give ... 00:06:28.331 --> 00:06:31.959 you much greater control over what you want to have in the file. 00:06:32.120 --> 00:06:35.758 So you're able to select whatever fields you would like ... 00:06:35.758 --> 00:06:39.159 to see there, and those will then appear in the file. 00:06:39.320 --> 00:06:42.309 You'll notice that that includes for the strings, 00:06:42.309 --> 00:06:45.369 the actual operating points like the maximum power ... 00:06:45.369 --> 00:06:48.998 voltage and current, the open circuit voltages and current. 00:06:49.360 --> 00:06:54.274 The array also has all of the different operating points and ... 00:06:54.274 --> 00:06:58.795 the different losses that can occur due to the inverter ... 00:06:58.795 --> 00:07:02.038 asserting its control over the system. 00:07:04.000 --> 00:07:07.550 If you're just wanting to do the PVsyst factor calculation, 00:07:07.550 --> 00:07:10.674 you can set those here by clicking on this and then you ... 00:07:10.674 --> 00:07:13.585 request the download, or you can choose what it is ... 00:07:13.585 --> 00:07:15.360 that you want to have in there. 00:07:15.520 --> 00:07:17.972 You can set the date range for the download, 00:07:17.972 --> 00:07:19.879 and then you can request the data. 00:07:20.000 --> 00:07:22.996 You'll notice in version 7 that this is perhaps a little bit ... 00:07:22.996 --> 00:07:25.319 slower than it has been in previous versions. 00:07:25.800 --> 00:07:29.040 The reason for that is to enable larger simulations. 00:07:29.120 --> 00:07:33.911 We've actually broken up the output on the server side into ... 00:07:33.911 --> 00:07:35.279 per day results. 00:07:35.480 --> 00:07:37.925 And so now when we're bringing that together for the ... 00:07:37.925 --> 00:07:39.858 time series, it takes a bit of time to look ... 00:07:39.858 --> 00:07:41.279 up all those different files. 00:07:41.400 --> 00:07:44.367 So you can expect that to just take a little bit longer when ... 00:07:44.367 --> 00:07:45.479 you're downloading. 00:07:46.280 --> 00:07:50.365 So that's a summary of the output that you can now get ... 00:07:50.365 --> 00:07:51.600 from version 7. 00:07:51.680 --> 00:07:54.720 You're no longer limited to the DC output of the modules. 00:07:54.800 --> 00:07:59.600 You can also combine those into strings and then into an array. 00:07:59.760 --> 00:08:02.000 This is a first version of that. 00:08:02.080 --> 00:08:05.802 If there are other definitions of the string that you need, 00:08:05.802 --> 00:08:09.068 please let us know and we can start adding those into ... 00:08:09.068 --> 00:08:10.359 the user interface. 00:08:11.200 --> 00:08:11.840 Thank you very much.