PVOUT and performance ratio (PR)

The PVOUT charts present the simulated energy output of your PV energy system across the whole time series. They are available in the project's Analysis section under PV statistics, on the PVOUT specific and PR and PVOUT total pages.

PVOUT specific is normalised to the installed capacity. It describes the potential of your site and technology and serves as a reference for comparisons. PVOUT total is the absolute output of the whole system, reflecting the actual modules and inverters used in the project.

For the other chart groups and an introduction to the Analysis section, see How to read the charts. For the lifetime production estimates, see PV long-term degradation, and for the stage-by-stage loss breakdown, see PV system losses. For inverter statistics chart and explanation, see Inverter statistics.

Important: These pages are available for PV energy systems only. They are not provided for GTI energy systems. The values shown are theoretical PVOUT — they do not take degradation losses into account.

Notes:

• The averages and summaries in the charts are always calculated using the data from complete years only. For example, if you look at a yearly summary chart in December, the calculated data will not include the data from January of the same year.

• Use the unavailability toggle in the top right corner to include or exclude internal and external unavailability and snow loss values in the charts and tables. They are included by default. You can configure both losses in the Energy system designer.

PVOUT specific and performance ratio

This chart combines two parameters. The bars represent the monthly average specific PVOUT calculated from all years in the time series, and the whiskers show the minimum and maximum monthly values reached throughout the time series.

The performance ratio (PR) line is plotted against the secondary axis on the right. It expresses how much of the irradiation reaching the modules the system delivers as usable electricity in the given month.

How to use it

This chart lets you compare seasonal production and spot the months in which the system operates least efficiently. Production and efficiency do not necessarily peak together: in the warmest months, output is at its highest while the performance ratio typically drops because of higher module temperatures.

The distance between the minimum and maximum values shows how much a given month can deviate from year to year, which is useful when judging how reliable the monthly production estimate is.

Yearly Time Series

This chart plots the yearly PVOUT for every complete year in the time series, together with the average over the whole series and the standard deviation band around it.

The average serves as a central reference point, and the standard deviation band shows the average deviation from it, providing insight into the consistency of production over the time series.

How to use it

This chart shows the interannual variability of energy production: how far a single year can deviate from the long-term average, and whether the site delivers stable yields or alternates between strong and weak years.

Use it to identify exceptionally high or low production years worth investigating, and to judge the risk margin to apply when preparing yield and financial estimates.

Monthly statistics table

Below the charts, the Monthly statistics table lists the exact values behind them: the long-term average for each month, the yearly share of each month in percent, and the minimum and maximum monthly values. The last column summarises the whole year.

How to use it

Use the table when you need precise numbers rather than a visual comparison — for example, to check how much each month contributes to the annual yield, or to transfer the values into your own production and financial models.

PVOUT at shorter time steps

The charts described above are shown on the Yearly–monthly tab. Depending on the granularity of the simulation (the selected dataset), the Daily, Hourly, and 15-minute tabs present PVOUT values at shorter time steps.

These charts follow the same logic as for the other parameters. Read the details in Daily charts, Hourly charts, and 15-minute values charts.

Tips:

• Hover over any chart to view the values for a particular month or year.

• If you want the charts and tables to account for unavailability and snow losses, activate the toggle in the top right corner.