Introduction to the Energy system designer

Accessing the energy system designer

The energy system designer is an integrated part of the Evaluate application, and you can access it directly from any of your project details pages:

1. Open a project of your choice.

2. Navigate to the Project menu/Energy system page.

3. To open the energy system designer, click the “Create” button and select GTI or PV energy system. Alternatively, you can open it by editing the existing PV energy system or duplicating one. The respective energy system designer will open.

GTI energy system designer creates energy systems using optimal parameters for the location. You can set its mounting method, azimuth, and tilt.

PV energy system designer is much more detailed and serves to create complex energy systems with more than 150 editable parameters, custom-sized segments, defined restricted areas or shading objects, PV module spacing, inverter positioning, losses settings, and more…

Important: If you choose to edit an existing PV energy system that has already been simulated, you will be notified and offered an option to duplicate it instead to avoid amending an already simulated one. You can still edit the simulated energy system, but the simulation will have to be re-initiated after applying any changes made during the editing to reflect in the system analysis.

Energy system designer interface

The energy system designer interface is segregated into the following sections:

1. Main navigation menu - use it to show and work on different components of the system (PV energy system designer only).

2. Top menu - access import/export features, terrain wireframe, system validation tool, or bill of materials.

3. 3D interactive map - visualizes the system in the environment in real-time, providing interactive tools for your design process.

4. Settings/properties section - a configuration panel to configure available properties for the selected component from the navigation menu.

5. Save button - use it to save your current progress at any time. This also performs automatic system validation.

The core functionalities

GTI energy system designer

GTI energy system designer offers an intuitive interface where you can select the mounting type and its parameters, and adjust optimal azimuth and tilt. The rest of the parameters are added to the simulation by the system. This system is used to generate Global horizontal irradiance data for the location.

PV energy system designer

The PV energy system designer offers a wide range of tools and functionalities to prepare your energy system.

From preparing the site, defining the mounting type of your tables, and adding shading objects to picking real inverter modules, PV arrays, and rack construction, you can achieve a high-accuracy simulation of your potential future energy production.

The main navigation menu is conveniently sectioned for easy navigation:

1. Site properties: Here you can change the segment type, edit default horizon shading and albedo data, choose the terrain approximation, and access your constraints and imports.

2. Segments: This section provides a list of all segments created in your design. You can rename them or change their sizes here.

3. Energy system: This category provides basic energy system information such as total DC installed capacity, how many transformers and inverter setups are in the design, and the system’s total coverage area. You can also review the cabling connections and set up various loss types (auxiliary, degradation, environmental, and unavailability).

4. System design: This section contains transformer and inverter setups and provides access to detailed array and inverter configurations.

PV energy system designer also contains a validation tool to ensure compatibility among all components of the energy system, identifying potential issues early to prevent inefficiencies and system failures. This comprehensive feature confirms the usability of the installation and verifies that all configurations are compatible and valid, empowering designers to proceed with confidence that their designs will perform effectively in real-world conditions.

System requirements

For optimal performance, we do not recommend running the energy system designer on lower operating system versions than:

• Windows 10 Pro (32-bit or 64-bit),

• macOS Sequoia,

• Ubuntu 24.04.1 LTS.

Other considerations

Limitations of the Energy System Designer

The Energy system designer has the following limitations:

• Maximum System Size: The ESD can currently simulate systems up to 500 MWp. Attempting to simulate systems larger than this limit will not be possible.

• Hardware Constraints: The ability to display and simulate large systems depends on the user's computer specifications. More powerful hardware may be required for optimal performance with larger systems.

• Component Limits: While not enforced within the application, the following guidelines are recommended for optimal performance:

  • Maximum number of tables: 100,000

  • Maximum number of inverters: 5,000

Note: These limits are significantly higher than typical usage scenarios and are provided to ensure stable performance across various hardware configurations. The application does not actively restrict users from exceeding these recommendations.