6th World Conference on

Applied Sciences, Engineering & Technology,

26-27 August 2017, UMPO, Indonesia

Simulation Tools for Technical Sizing and Analysis of Solar PV Systems

NALLAPANENI MANOJ KUMAR
Faculty of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Pahang, 26600 Pekan, Pahang,
Malaysia.
Email: nallapanenichow@gmail.com

Abstract: Technical, economical, and environmental policies on global level led to the promotion of green
energy technologies especially use of solar power in the present electricity sector. Due to which the scope for
modelling and analysis of solar PV systems prior to practical installations became an essential part for the
installers and service providers. In the view of such modelling and analysis, the necessity for the use of
simulation tools for technical sizing of solar PV system is studied. This paper gives the study on the few
selected simulation tools used for technical sizing and analysis of the Solar PV systems. The selected simulation
tools includes PV Watts, PVGIS, PV-Online, PV*SOL, PVsyst, System Advisor Model (SAM). Each software
tools is discussed focusing on its basic info, simulation procedure, and data requirements. Also listed the
benefits of using the proposed tools along with the comparisons.

Keywords: Solar PV systems, Simulation tools, PV Watts, PVGIS, PV-Online, PV*SOL, PVsyst, System Advisor
Model (SAM).

Introduction:
Photovoltaic system is considered to be one of the
emerging and fast growing technology among all
other renewable energy sources [1]. These have
gained an importance in the present day power
markets in all nations who are striving for the
promotion of clean energy systems. However, the
usage of the solar energy is quite less when compared
to other fossil fuels in most of the nation’s [2], except
in few European nations. This is due to the lack of
technology, lack of funds, skilled man power, and
unsupportive energy policies etc. But still the progress
in renewable energy project implementations can be
improved by adopting awareness programs revealing
the technical, economic, and environmental benefits
of using them in long runs. Hence, simulation studies,
site reports with a data relevant to practical conditions
would give more impression. Each stage of the solar
photovoltaic system is simulated in various tools to
understand how the technical performance would be.
Hence this paper is an approach to attempt on
studying few selected software tools used for
technical sizing of solar PV systems.
Literature Review:
Studies related to simulation tools for renewable
energy systems by various authors were reported here.
Dave Turcotte et al. (2001), reported the need for the
simulation in PV system modelling and analysis,
concentrating in three stages: Prefeasibility stage,
Sizing Stage, Simulation Stage [3]. D. Connolly et al.
(2010), reviewed and report the 37 simulation tools
used for the modeling and “analyzing the single
building system to national energy system” [4].
Sunanda Sinha et al. (2014), reported a study on 19
software tool: HOMER, Hybrid2, RETScreen,
iHOGA, INSEL, TRNSYS, iGRHYSO, HYBRIDS,
RAPSIM, SOMES, SOLSTOR, HySim, HybSim,
IPSYS, HySys, Dymola/Modelica, ARES, SOLSIM,
and HYBRID DESIGNER used for modeling and
analyzing the hybrid renewable energy system [5].
Dinesh Kumar Sharma et al. (2014), also reported few
software tools used in specific to the solar PV system
modelling [6]. A. Prashant Kumar (2016), had carried
a work on modelling hybrid energy system discussing
four different software tools (HOMER, RETScreen,
PVsyst, iHOGA) and their advantages and
disadvantages [7]. Yashwant Sawle et al. (2016), had
report the role of software tools in modelling the PV-
Wind hybrid renewable energy system. These were
the simulation tools reported by this author: HYBRID
2, PVSYST, INSEL, SOLSIM, WATSUN-PV, PV-
DESIGNPRO, RAPSIM, PHOTO, SOMES,
HOMER, RAPSYS, RETScreen, ARES, and PVF-
chart [8]. Based on the literature a gap is found and
that taken as an objective to this paper. Among all the
reviewed papers, very less papers talks about these
selected tools for PV. In this paper, only few
softwares were selected based on the technical stage
of the photovoltaic systems. The reported software
tools in the present paper includes: PV Watts, PVGIS,
PV-Online, PV*SOL, PVsyst, SAM-System Advisor
Model (SAM).
Description and Components of Solar PV System:
Solar Photovoltaic System converts the light energy
coming from sun into useful electricity. PV system
creates voltage difference for the electrons that are
excited and moving towards the external circuit by the
help of photon energy. PV systems uses the
semiconductor technology. Electrical installation of
the photovoltaic systems, classification is done based
on the utility as follows: Standalone Mode, and Grid
Connected Mode. The PV system components are as
follows [1, 2, 9, 10]:

WCSET 2017052 Copyright © 2017 BASHA RESEARCH CENTRE. All rights reserved
 NALLAPANENI MANOJ KUMAR
 PV Cells/PV Modules/PV Array/PV Generators
 DC-DC Converters
 DC-AC Converters
 Electrical Load (During the Standalone Mode)
 Power Transformers (Grid Connected Mode)
 Net Metering (Grid Connected Mode)
 Utility Grid (Grid Connected Mode)
Tools for Techno-Economic Modelling and
Analysis of Solar PV System:
Seven tools were selected and their details related PV
system modelling and analysis is briefly explained
below. Few simulation tools like PV Watts, PVGIS,
PV-Online gives basic analysis related to technical
and economic performance whereas the tools like
PV*SOL, PVsyst, RETScreen, and SAM will provide
the complete technical analysis.
PV Watts:
PV Watts is online calculator developed by National
Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). This has
special feature of showing the graphical interface of
the location and also allow the user to plot areas for
the PV plant. Simulation procedure here is as follows
[9, 11, 12]:
 Enter the location or the site where the PV plant
is proposed. (Any location can be assessed) and
Select the available solar radiation databases for
the selected site or location. (Data is obtained
from the nearest satellite and data is in the form
of TMY2 or TMY 3 file.)
 Enter the PV plant sizing details: PV
Technology used (standard crystalline, premium
crystalline, and thin film), type of installation
(open rack, roof mount, tracking), tilt angle (user
can vary from 0° to 90°), azimuth angle (Can
vary from (0° to 360°), PV system DC size (1
kWp to 50000 kWp), electrical parameters (DC-
AC size ratio as 1.1, Inverter efficiency as per
the user needs, cost of unit electricity.
 Simulate the sized PV system and analyze the
results (Annual energy yield, Monthly energy
yields, Solar radiation, Capacity Factors, Annual
energy cost, monthly energy cost)
PVGIS:
PVGIS is also one of the web based simulation tool
used for sizing the photovoltaic systems. This was
developed by the European commission. In PVGIS
user has many options like analyzing the performance
of grid connected PV system, off-grid solar PV
system, solar radiation data analysis on monthly,
hourly and daily. Simulation procedure in PVGIS is
as follows [13]:
 Enter the location or the site latitude and
longitude where the PV plant is proposed
(Europe, Africa, and Asia Regions).
 Calculate the horizon for the selected site (Based
on the location, it can be calculated).
Proceedings of the 6th World Conference on Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology
26-27 August 2017, UMPO, Indonesia, ISBN 13: 978-81-930222-3-8, pp 218-222
 Select the available solar radiation databases for
the selected site or location (User can choose the
radiation data base if he/she has more than one
database).
 Enter the PV plant sizing details:
PV Technology used (Crystalline, CIS, CdTe,
and other), type of installation (fixed, and
building integrated) tilt angle (0° to 90°),
azimuth angle (0° to 360°), PV system DC size
(1 kWp-20000 KW), electrical parameters
(System losses, DC-AC size is 1.1, Inverter
efficiency), and cost of unit electricity.
 User has the option to optimize the tilt and
azimuth angle.
 Simulate the sized PV system and analyze the
results (Annual energy yield, Monthly energy
yields, Solar radiation, Capacity Factors, Annual
energy cost, monthly energy cost, system losses)
PV-Online:
PV-Online is also a web based online tool used for
analyzing the performance of roof integrated grid
connected PV plant. This was developed by Valentine
Softwares. Simulation procedure for PV-Online can
be seen below [14-16].
 Climate: Enter the country name in the climate
option category, then it shows few cities for
which solar radiation data based is existed solar
radiation available location (Most of the
countries were listed expect few and some
Islands but all locations in the selected country
may not be possible in this version. If required
advanced version of this tool i.e. PV*SOL can
be used).
 Module: In this step, user can define the DC size
of the PV plant based on the available data
options (0.1 kWp to 10 kWp). User can also
define the PV system size based on the area of
the modules (1 Sq. m to 1000 Sq. m). Three
different PV module technologies were available
in the database (Si-mono, Si-poly, and Si-
amorph). A facility of studying the tilt angle
influence also possible in this tool, but only
these angles (0°, 15°, 30°, 45°, 60°, 75°, and
90°) can be used. One more option related to
orientation of the PV module is also possible in
this tool, orientation can be either of these i.e.
Northeast, East, Southeast, South, Southwest,
Northwest, North.
 Electric circuit parameters: Net-meter, inverter,
and cost of electricity price paid for solar exports
to the electric grid.
 Run the simulation to get the results.
 Analyzing the simulated results (Power of the
PV-Field at STC, Performance Ratio, Energy to
public grid, Feed-in Payment, Annual payment
from power supply company)
 Simulation Tools for Technical Sizing and Analysis of Solar PV Systems
PV*SOL:
PV*SOL is another online tool for PV system
modelling and analysis. This version is much more
advanced than the basic PV-Online tools. The
simulation procedure is as follows [17]:
 This tool ask the user to input few details
regarding the location of the PV system
installation, Load profile, and annual energy
consumptions.
 PV module data has to be given (this includes
number of module, rating, orientation of the
module, tilt angle of the module)
 Inverter details has to be given (User has the
flexibility to select an Inverter from the available
database.
 This is a hidden process, that PV*Sol’s
automatic configuration manager will then
optimizes the system by arranging the number of
module and the inverter.
 This step would the simulation execution.
 After the simulation of the system, the results are
presented. This includes: Annual PV energy,
Performance ratio, Own power consumption,
and solar fraction.
PVsyst:
PVsyst is the most advanced tool used for modelling
and analysis of solar PV systems for various
applications (Grid connected, standalone, water
pumping). This tools allows the user to optimize most
of the parameters required for solar PV plant, also
enables the user to use shadow effects also. A huge
database is inbuilt with the tool related to PV system
components which are presently available in the
markets. An option regarding load profile data entry
also possible, detailed economic analysis can also be
carried out. PVsyst Simulation procedure is as follows
[18-19]:
 Initially a project has to be created in the project
design menu.
 During the creation of project the geographical
location and the meteorological data of the
particular location of the planned site is to be
specified.
 Second step, “an appropriate data related to the
plant design is specified.
Proceedings of the 6th World Conference on Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology
26-27 August 2017, UMPO, Indonesia, ISBN 13: 978-81-930222-3-8, pp 218-222
This includes the orientation of the PV modules,
available area to install PV plant or the power
required as per the load, type of PV modules and
type of inverter to be used form the PVsyst
database” [19].
 After entering the necessary data, simulation is
executed by the addition of the successive
variants.
SAM-System Advisor Model:
System Advisor Model (SAM) is referred to be
performance and financial model for energy projects.
This tools helps the researchers, policy makers,
project engineers, project managers, and technology
developers working in the field of energy to take wise
decisions [20]: SAM tool accounts a detailed analysis
of the PV system when compared to all other
softwares that discussed in this paper. Simulation
procedure is as follows:
 First step is to enter the Location and Resource
at that particular site.
 Second step is entering the detailed PV module
parameter.
 Third step is choosing the apt Inverter from the
database.
 Fourth step is design the PV system
 Fifth and Sixth steps enable us the user to
account the shading losses or system losses.
 From seventh step onwards, financial related
information like capital costs, degradation, time
of delivery, incentives, depreciation etc. were
considered.
 Last step is to simulate the designed PV system.
After the simulation, the results can be analyzed
based on the user’s requirement.
Comparison of Simulation Tools:
The above discussed simulation were compared based
on many factors like cost, ease of access, simulation
procedure, results and analysis, graphical interface
etc. Among the 6 tools discussed, only PVsyst and
SAM are not comes under the category of Online
tools, Bu the remaining four tools (PV Watts, PVGIS,
PV-Online, and PV*SOL) comes under Online tool
category. The detailed analysis of the PV systems is
only possible in SAM and PVsyst. The difference and
comparison related to 6 tools are shown in Table. 1.
 NALLAPANENI MANOJ KUMAR

Table 1: Comparison of selected simulation tools in this study

PV*SOL
Description PV Watts PVGIS PV-Online PVsyst SAM
Online

Online Simulation Tool YES YES YES YES NO NO

Internet Requirement YES YES YES YES YES* YES*

Geographical Location
YES YES YES YES NO NO
Map for the selected site
Can it be used for all Selected cities
Europe, Selected Selected
over the world, or certain Anywhere in particular Anywhere
Africa, Asia Locations Locations
locations country

Free/Purchased Software Free Free Free Free Paid Free

Technical Sizing YES YES YES YES YES YES

Financial Modelling NO NO NO NO YES YES

GHG Emission Analysis NO NO NO NO YES YES

Benefits of Using Simulation Tools Solar PV Conclusion:

Systems:
These simulation tools, will help in different ways for
the analyzing the solar PV projects.
 Prefeasibility of the plant can be understood
before it is executed for practical installation.
 Technical sizing of various components can be
done with the help of these tools.
 Performance of the system for long term
changes in the system parameters can be
estimated.
 Energy potential estimations can be analyzed.
 Influence of various parameters (tilt angle,
orientation, PV technology on the Performance
ratios, annual energies, and monthly energies,
solar radiation potential at a particular sites can
be studied.
 Financial benefits of the system can also be
identified easily using the software tools
considering various loss factors.
 Few tools also helps in estimating the GHG
emission potentials also.
Hence, the use of such simulations in
educational institutes, research labs, industries,
consultancies would help in analyzing the
feasibilities of PV plants, thus helping in
understanding the financial gains. With these
Decisions one can decide, weather he can undertake
the PV power plant at a particular location or not.
A study is carried out here considering six simulation
tools used for technical sizing of solar PV plants. All
the six tools were briefly explained with the
requirements, simulation procedures, and their
comparisons. Benefits of using such tools are also
elaborated.
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Proceedings of the 6th World Conference on Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology
26-27 August 2017, UMPO, Indonesia, ISBN 13: 978-81-930222-3-8, pp 218-222
 Simulation Tools for Technical Sizing and Analysis of Solar PV Systems
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