Solar Assessment Tool – The Best Way To Get Started

A solar assessment tool is designed to guide builders in examining whether a home, especially new homes, have adequate physical exposure to support any future Solar Power Installation. This tool assesses the location’s solar resource potential through a series of characteristics of the house at the time of construction.

New homes that have a suitable installation environment are normally considered perfect candidates to be furnished by the constructors with the system and structural components, which are required to fund a solar energy system. For more information, see solargraf.com for the features of each specification.

How Solar Assessment Tool Works

The user is required to put the data into the tool, which contains information about the selected home and the system site. The solar site inspection tool uses this data to analyze the potential of the insolation, and also compares it to the best resource potential of renewable energy.

A site with the best renewable power resource capacity will generally have a 180° orientation, with a roof angle approximately equivalent to the latitude of the site. A proposed site locale that attains a minimum of seventy-five per cent of the best solar resource capacity is undeniably considered a perfect candidate to be made solar power ready. However, the tool may not foresee future system outcomes.

What’s Next

After entering the basic information of the site into the tool and then pushing the calculate button, the individual gets a site assessment suggesting whether the home is suitable for solar resources. Houses that look like a suitable site for renewable power are the right candidates to be marked ready for installation.

For houses that don’t have solar resource potential, contractors are encouraged to recommend another array site location. The results of site assessment are affected by information for array orientation, array shading ratio, and array tilt curve.

Individuals can improve the quality and dependability of a photovoltaic system through a package that monitors performance. This is usually done on the web; it’s a monitoring system that offers timely access to important information or data about the performance of a solar array. It is these performance monitors that immediately bring out vital performance data. The information may include:

• The actual time production figures and time performance.
• Historical and current weather data.
• Environmental offsets.
• Records of historical performance.
• Sun radiation and
• Assurance that the system is working well.

Information monitoring or tracking outlines on micro-inverter transmit operating information through a remote node. Data like temperature, power, identification, on and diagnostics codes are subsequently collected from all micro-inverters and panels. This network interaction also prevents theft by detecting a unique identifier for each micro-inverter.

Types Of Solar Assessment Tool

PVWatts Calculator

This is a free calculator for renewable energy, created by the NREL national renewable power laboratory, which is part of the United State Department of Energy. The work of PVWatts is to calculate the power production and rate of energy grid photovoltaics all over the world. It enables homeowners, manufacturers, and installers to effortlessly develop assessments of the operation of potential installations.

NOVA Sun Map

This demonstrates to business owners and homeowners the rate at which insolation can be produced on their rooftops. This is an incredible solar assessment tool because it provides the size of a potential solar system and electricity savings which are based on the electric rate of eleven cents/kilowatt hour. A professional is always recommended to perform satellite or site assessments.

System Advisor Model

This is a more developed tool than PVWatts, enabling calculation beyond PV solar, and is generally used by business professionals. SAM is a financial and performance model created to foster decision-making for individuals involved in the renewable power business; like policy analysts, project engineers and managers, researchers, and Tech developers.

Sun Number

This provides a numerical record that represents how the rooftop of a building is suitable for the installation of renewable power, using a scale of 1-100— 100 is the most suitable rooftop for installation. Scores can be analysed by inputting an accurate address in an area where performance has been analysed.

The score created by Sun Number is calculated from ethereal imagery, processed with PA(proprietary algorithms) to correctly assess individual rooftops; based on some factors, each rooftop will be assessed uniquely to give an accurate calculation. Some of the factors involve surrounding buildings, roof shape, regional variability, atmospheric conditions, and surrounding vegetation.

Energy Sage

It allows businesses, non-profit organizations, or homeowners to calculate their power savings from renewable power and links them to installers who can give rates specifics to the individual address. Individuals can compare electric rates to see which shop suits their needs.

Conclusion

The points discussed in this article will come in handy if you are considering switching to renewable energy. Given its strengths, renewable energy appeals to most homeowners these days. However, proper knowledge of its functionality is required before making a decision. Do consult further if you’re still in need of more insight. You can learn about  Tips for Generating More Solar Leads here.