Besides the continuing price drop of PV modules, a rising global awareness to reduce CO2 emissions has led many countries to integrate subsidies for PV systems into their National Energy and Climate Plans. Rooftop photovoltaic systems are the most promising technology for a fast decarbonisation of electrical power generation as well as to charge electric cars and power heat pumps.
The software PV-Simulation 3D PLUS by ETU calculates the energy yield and profitability of a rooftop PV system based on the location, the employed PV modules and inverters. An extensive database of common modules and inverters is included. However new devices can be added also manually using technical data sheets. To increase self-consumption of the generated electricity, a battery storage can be added to the simulation. Especially if the feed-in tariff is lower than the local price for electricity, it is more profitable to use the PV energy than to sell it.
For the design of the PV system there are three options: a digital photo of the roof (in combination with the additional software Photo Survey), the tabular input of the module fields with their respective orientations or the integrated CAD. The advantage of the input via CAD besides a three-dimensional preview is the availability of the total number of hours of sunlight for placing the modules most efficiently avoiding shaded roof areas. All design modes support multiple module fields of different orientation on pitched and flat roofs including the so-called east-west configuration.
The simulation results are provided in an hourly resolution throughout the year using global climate data. This allows to match the customer’s hourly demand profile for electric energy to the PV system and offer the most competitive tailored solution. A profitability analysis including the payback time in years is available both during the design and with a fully configured PV System. The customizable project report provides all necessary data to professionally forecast the PV system for the customer.
If you would like to know more about our Software PV-Simulation 3D PLUS or install the free trial version, please click here.