Best Solar Power Design Software 2024
A solar panel is one of the components of a photovoltaic system. They are constructed from a succession of solar cells stacked on a panel. They are rectangular in shape and are used in conjunction to create power. Photovoltaics, or solar panels, gather solar energy and turn it into electricity, which may subsequently be used to power homes or businesses. These panels can be used to complement building energy or supply electricity in isolated places.
Solar power is widely used in businesses and utilities, as well as residential and commercial applications, with the use of solar power design software to enhance efficiency and utility.
How Does A Solar Power System Function?
Solar photovoltaic modules are composed of several tiny photovoltaic cells that convert sunlight into electricity. These cells are constructed of semi-conductive materials, most often silicon, that can conduct electricity while preserving the electrical imbalance required to generate an electric field. When photons from the sun collide with a semiconductor in a solar PV cell, their energy is absorbed, releasing a huge number of electrons that float freely within the cell. The solar cell is made up of positively and negatively charged semiconductors layered together to form an electric field. The electric field pushes electrons in one direction, toward the conductive metal plates that surround the cell. The strength of this flow, referred to as an energy current, affects how much power each cell can produce. When unbound electrons strike metal plates, current is directed into wires, letting electrons flow as they would in any other source of energy.
When a solar panel creates an electric current, the energy is transferred to an inverter through a network of cables. While solar panels provide direct current (DC) electricity, the vast majority of power customers' systems require alternating current (AC) energy to function. The inverter's job is to convert direct current (DC) into alternating current (AC) for usage in everyday situations. Once the energy has been converted into a usable form, it is transferred from the inverter to the electrical panel (also known as the breaker box) and distributed as needed throughout the structure (AC power). Solar energy is now commonly used to power lights, appliances, and other electrical devices.
The utility meter delivers any unused power to the utility grid via the breaker box. The utility meter tracks the flow of power from the grid to your home and back. When your solar energy system generates more power than you need on-site, this meter reverses, and you get reimbursed for the extra electricity created using the net metering approach. When you need more electricity than your solar array offers, you use this meter to get it from the grid, allowing it to function correctly. Unless you've gone entirely off-grid with a storage system, you'll need to use some grid electricity, particularly at night when your solar array isn't producing any. The bulk of this grid energy, however, will be offset by additional solar energy generated throughout the day and at periods when demand is lower.
What Is A Solar Panel Made Of?
A solar cell is the most fundamental component of any solar panel. A solar photovoltaic module is composed of many solar cells. These cells are a component of the technology that converts sunlight into energy. Crystalline silicon solar cells are used in the vast majority of solar panels. These cells are made up of layers of silicon, phosphorus, and boron (but there are multiple distinct types of photovoltaic cells) (although there are several different types of photovoltaic cells). After being produced, these cells are placed down in a grid arrangement. Because cells come in various sizes, the number of cells needed is mostly determined by the size of the panel being generated.
The glass enclosure of the panels assures the longevity and protection of the silicon PV cells. Solar panels feature an insulating layer and a back sheet beneath the glass exterior to minimize heat loss and humidity inside the panel. Rising temperatures reduce efficiency, resulting in poor solar panel performance, hence this insulation is critical. An anti-reflective coating is applied to solar panels to increase solar absorption and expose the cells to sunlight.
The two most popular cell shapes for silicon solar cells are monocrystalline and polycrystalline. Polycrystalline cells consist of silicon fragments, whereas monocrystalline cells consist of a single silicon crystal. Because monocrystalline formats allow for more electron mobility, they provide more efficient solar technology than polycrystalline formats, but at a higher cost.
What Factors Should Be Considered While Designing A Solar Power System?
The orientation of the building about the South: Ideally, as seen from above, a building's usable roof space will have a predominant axis that runs either North-South or East-West. This scenario provides the greatest leeway in determining the sort of mount to be employed.
The roof's slope: Many industrial buildings have relatively flat roofs with just enough slope to allow for water drainage. A flat roof is an excellent choice for a ballasted (weighted) installation solution, in which the solar PV system is simply mounted to the roof using concrete blocks. On steeper roofs, mechanical anchors that connect to the structural system underneath will be required to hold the system in place.
The optimum size of the overall system: There are several elements to consider while determining the optimal size for each project. Energy and site studies, as well as an awareness of the customer's aims and wants, decide these project levers. Some system owners, for example, may want to offset as much of their monthly power cost as possible, but others may be OK with far less. Furthermore, many big buildings do not need a solar system to take up the full accessible roof surface to considerably cut the business's energy usage from its utility provider. A tiny building, on the other hand, may have activities that utilize a lot of electricity and will only accomplish a minor offset at most, due to the size and available area on its roof.
What Are Some Of The Top Solar Power Design Software?
Let’s now look at the top 5 solar power design software used by solar PV installers:-
ARKA 360
ARKA 360 is a SaaS and AI cloud-based software for solar design and sales growth. It specializes in developing software for solar installers and government bodies to create preliminary sales quotations and optimize system designs. ARKA 360 was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in New Delhi.
Features:
AI-Assisted Faster Design Creation: Create designs that are simple, accurate, and quick. View your design in 3D or 2D. Discover numerous iterations and choose the best solution depending on your customer's specifications.
Smarter Energy Profiling & Modeling: Generate detailed electrical diagrams for utility-scale or domestic projects in minutes. Choose from a choice of mounting templates and panel tilt values. Draw in barriers of any shape using the polygon tool and more.
Accurate Simulations and Shading Analysis: Easily predict your monthly, quarterly, and annual power production and losses. Simulate shading patterns for any day of the year and generate reliable heat maps.
Sales Proposals and Commercial Reports: Attract clients with thorough yet exhaustive proposals. Focus on the key growth metrics and provide multiple financial solutions concisely. View your Total Savings, Payback Period, and Internal Return Rate, in one single view.
CAD Layout and SLDs: Fabricate single-line diagrams and export them as DXF files for easy construction plans.
Website: https://arka360.com/
Aurora Solar
Aurora Solar develops cloud-based software that enables solar PV engineering design, provides workflow management functionality, and facilitates sales and customer acquisition for solar installers and financiers. Christopher Hopper and Samuel Adeyemo founded Aurora Solar in 2013. It has its headquarters in San Francisco, California.
Features:
Simple and Efficient Design Interface: Users can perform detailed shading analysis and shade measurement directly in the application, drag and drop components to create system designs, and generate single-line diagrams automatically. All designs are automatically checked for electrical constraints, industry best practices, and NEC rule compliance.
Easy and Automated Financial Report: It enables users to quickly determine a project's viability and easily model many of the most common financing structures. Financial models consider the project's energy profile and calculate accurate and dynamic visualizations of financial information such as cash flows, payback periods, LCOE, and bill savings.
Compelling Sales Proposals: Using the project and design data already created in Aurora, sales proposals automatically pull in the custom project and client data, 3D visuals, and financial analysis into any number of clean and professional templates, guaranteeing a consistent, yet customized experience for all clients.
Website: https://www.aurorasolar.com/
HelioScope
HelioScope is a popular platform in the solar industry for designing and selling high-performance solar arrays. Designers and engineers will find it simple to use and understand. It has a plethora of features that are essential for anyone interested in solar energy. It's no surprise that many users have used this software to design solar PV systems.
Features:
HelioScope has a number of useful features as an online solar design tool. This includes the following items, which are listed below,
- Solar Panels Layout
- Shading Analysis
- Single Line Diagram Export
- 45,000 Component Library
- Quick Design Revision
- Google Maps Integration
- PAN File Support
- Unlimited Designs
- API
- Computer-Aided Drawing (CAD) Tools
- Solar Energy Production Estimates
- System Energy Loss Chart
- 3D Design
- Voltage Drop Calculation
- One-Click Sharing
- SketchUp Shading Integration
- Wiring Selection
- NSRDB/NREL Meteo Integration
- Up to 5 MW Systems
Website: https://www.helioscope.com/
PVsyst
PVsyst is a PC software package for studying, sizing, and analysing data from complete PV systems. It covers grid-connected, stand-alone, pumping, and DC-grid (public transportation) PV systems, as well as extensive meteo and PV system component databases and general solar energy tools. This software is designed for architects, engineers, and researchers. It is also extremely beneficial for educational training. PVsyst focuses on comprehensive and precise PV system analysis using a comprehensive set of tools.
Features:
PVSyst software has the following features:
- System designing
- System sizing
- Creating a shading scene
- It generates simulations and outcomes.
- Model storage systems
- Some additional features include importing data and components and getting weather data from meteonorm.
- Simulate the aging effect of solar modules, etc.
Website: https://www.pvsyst.com/
Open Solar
OpenSolar is the world's first free, end-to-end solar design and sales application, providing solar professionals with a highly sophisticated, yet simple-to-use software tool that meets all of their needs, from marketing and lead management to solar system design, sales, installation, and service.
Features:
3D Design, Leading Accuracy: The fastest, simplest and most accurate 3D design tool available, making your proposals reliable and bankable from the office and in the field.
Integrated Finance Partners: Effortless selection and integration of your chosen finance providers with in-app real-time approvals, making selling easier than ever.
Proposals that Sell: Fully customizable, interactive proposals online or as a PDF. 24% sale conversion drawn from experience selling 10,000's of systems, face-to-face and over the phone.
Free of Charge: All of this is available for free to all users indefinitely.
Open API: Connect your existing CRM and business tools to our industry-leading platform. Work in the manner in which you prefer.
Website: https://www.opensolar.com/