To create a project, you must first select a location by entering its latitude and longitude or searching for an address or postcode. Click on the search icon to proceed.
There are six different roof types to choose from in the list. If you are unable to find an exact match, please select the closest option available. After selecting a roof type, you must enter and save information for each side of the roof separately. If you are unsure about the number of panels that can be installed on each side, we have an algorithm that can calculate it for you based on the dimensions of each side. If there is an area on the roof that cannot be used, such as a chimney, please indicate this by checking the "Have an unusable area on this side" box and entering the coordinates and dimensions of the area.
Please select the building orientation by entering the degree in the box or by adjusting the indicator on the graph. It is important to note that the building orientation should be based on the side numbers displayed on the graph.
Desirable Reliability (%): If you plan to design a standalone system or a system connected to a weak utility grid, you will need to specify the desirable reliability percentage. For instance, if you enter 99, it means that 1% of the total electrical load can go unmet, which is equivalent to a 1% blackout being acceptable. A higher percentage indicates a greater level of reliability and less blackout, but it also requires more PV panels and batteries to meet this requirement, resulting in higher costs. Please note that in some cases, the desirable reliability cannot be achieved with the maximum number of panels that can be installed on the roof. If this occurs, you will receive an error message asking you to reduce the desirable reliability setting.
Purchase Price of Excess Energy:If the utility provider purchases excess energy generated by the solar system, please enter the price per kWh. If the utility provider does not purchase excess energy, please enter 0.
- Multistep Tariff: This is a type of electricity tariff in which the price varies depending on monthly power consumption. In the table below, the electricity tariff for monthly consumption less than 100 kWh is 0.5$ per kWh, while for consumption exceeding 100 kWh, the tariff is 0.8$ per kWh. You cannot edit the first column (Monthly consumption from (kWh)), but the other two columns must be filled out based on your project's information. You can enter up to three steps ranging from 0 to 10,000 kWh.
| Monthly consumption from (kWh) | Monthly consumption to (kWh) | Electricity tariff (per kWh) |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 100 | 0.5 |
| 100 | 10000 | 0.8 |
Peak/off-peak tariff (Economy 7): This is a type of electricity tariff with varying prices per kWh for peak and off-peak times. You can enter up to three different prices for different time intervals without any overlap . The end time must be later than the start time, and the electricity tariff for the remaining time must also be entered.
In the table below, the electricity tariff for the interval between 10:00 AM and 3:00 PM (inclusive of 10:00 AM and 3:00 PM) is 0.3$ per kWh, while for the remaining times, it is 0.5$ per kWh
| Start time (From 0 to 23) | End time (From 0 to 23) | Electricity tariff (per kWh) |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | 15 | 0.3 |
| 0.8 | 0.5 | |
of the utility grid:
a) Reliable grid:
Weak grid: in this case, you must provide the following information:
• Number of outages per month on average
• Average duration of each outage in hours
A random series is generated based on this information, indicating when power outages occur during the year. Running the simulation multiple times may yield slightly different results due to the randomness in the grid's status.
Additionally, if the utility provider restricts the electricity demand during peak hours, you must fill out the following table. You can enter up to three different power limitations for different time intervals without any overlap.
In the table below, the maximum power consumption between 6:00 PM and 10:00 PM can be 2,300 Wh, while there is no limitation for the rest of the times.
| Start time (From 0 to 23) | End time (From 0 to 23) | Maximum power consumption (W) |
|---|---|---|
| 18 | 22 | 2300 |
Control method:
If you select weak grid as the type of utility grid, you will have the option to choose between two control methods: Maximum self-consumption or Back-up mode. However, standalones and reliable grids are controlled only by the Maximum self-consumption method.
The Maximum self-consumption method works by using PV power to first supply electrical loads and then storing excess PV energy in batteries. If there is still excess energy, it can be delivered to the grid (if possible). When there is insufficient PV power or during the night when no PV power is generated, the batteries discharge to supply power to the loads. If more energy is required, it can be imported from the utility grid in grid-connected projects.
The Back-up mode , on the other hand, keeps the batteries fully charged using PV power or imported energy from the grid. Excess PV energy supplies the electrical loads or can be delivered to the utility grid. In case of blackouts or power limitation during peak hours, the batteries discharge to supply power to the loads.
Energimise requires one year of hourly data on both the PV power output and power consumption (electrical load) to determine the optimal number of PV panels and batteries.
PV power output: Energimise automatically sources information from Photovoltaic Geographical Information System (PVGIS), one of the most reliable providers of solar radiation and PV power output data.
Power consumption: There are three options for entering this data:
• If you have one year of hourly data (8760 samples), you can upload it as an Excel file. Please ensure that the data meets the requirements before uploading the file.
• If you only have monthly energy consumption data, you can select a daily pattern and enter the monthly energy consumption for each of the 12 months.
• The last option is to select a daily and monthly pattern from the provided lists and enter the annual power consumption (in kWh).
There are two options for the solar energy systems as:
PV & Battery: Information of the PV panel, battery, battery charge controller and inverter must be provided.
PV only: Information of the PV panel and inverter are required.
Requested information:
1. PV panel
- Brands : a brand can be selected from the list or entered if you can’t find it on the list
- Model : a model can be selected from the list or entered if you can’t find it on the list
- Length : length of the panel in CM
- Width : Width of the panel in CM
- Power : Nominal power of the panel in W
- Lifetime: lifetime of the panel in year. It also considers the lifetime of the project.
- First year nominal power : a percentage of the nominal power which manufacturer guarantees this power output will be delivered in the nominal condition in the first year.
- Degradation rate (%): : the reduction in solar panel output over time that must be entered as an annual percentage.
- Price of each panel
- Power loss (%): : It must include all the power loss such as cabling, heating, shading, etc.
2. Battery
- Brand : Please enter the brand of the selected battery for the project
- Model No : Please enter model No of the selected battery for the project.
- Maximum capacity : It’s the maximum (or nominal) capacity of each battery unit in Wh.
- Max power charge/discharge : Maximum power that can be delivered to/from battery in W.
- Depth of discharge (%): : Depth of discharge (DoD) can be set based on manufacturers’ recommendation. It must enter in percentage
- Cycle Life: The cycle life of batteries is the number of charge and discharge cycles that a battery can complete before losing performance.
- Warranty or lifetime : Warranty or lifetime in year. Between the cycle life and the lifetime, whichever comes first is considered.
- Round trip efficiency (%): :It is the percentage of electricity put into storage that is later retrieved. The higher the round-trip efficiency, the less energy is lost in the storage process. It must enter in percentage.
- Price of each unit
3. Battery charge controller
- Price per kW :the total cost of the battery charge controller is calculated based on the size of batteries and the price per kW of the battery charge controller.
- Lifetime : Lifetime of the battery charge controller in year
4. Inverter
- Price per kW :: the total cost of the inverter is calculated based on the size of PV panels and the price per kW of the inverter.
- Lifetime : Lifetime of the inverter in year
5. Miscellaneous
- Interest rate (%): : It is used to calculate the present value of future costs e.g., replacement costs of components.
- Annual O & M cost rate (% of the PV panels' cost): : it is the operation and maintenance cost which should be entered as a percentage of the PV panels' total cost. For instance, if the total cost of PV panels for the project is $1000 and the annual O&M cost rate is 7%, the annual O&M cost will be $70.
In this page, you can review all the provided information and edit them if you would like to.
Results of two different scenarios are provided in this page:
Scenario 1 This scenario calculates optimal numbers of PV panels and batteries based on the total lifetime cost which includes initial costs, present values of replacement and O&M cost and electricity bills. An advanced random optimization algorithm is utilized to obtain reliable and accurate results.
Scenario 2 This scenario is specifically for grid-connected projects and offers an alternative design with lower initial costs. However, the total cost of this scenario may be up to 10% higher than that of scenario 1.