PVComplete announced the release of a new version of its eponymous solar CAD software. The latest PVComplete software features integrated energy production modeling of solar PV modules using NREL’s System Advisor Model (SAM). Now, with the click of a button, solar project designers can get annual and hourly solar energy production estimates for their project designs from right within the AutoCAD environment.
“The ability to get real-time feedback on energy production is hugely valuable says Daniel Sherwood, President and co-founder of PVComplete. “I’ll use it, for example, to compare the effects of energy production on an array that is aligned with the building roof vs. an array that is facing due south. Or, I can face my array towards the west, and check the hourly 8760 data from SAM to determine how that might affect a customer’s TOU rate. Integration went smoothly with the help of the engineers at NREL, they have been very supportive and they do such great work.”
The National Renewal Energy Lab (NREL) created the first public version of SAM in 2007, making it possible for solar energy professionals to analyze photovoltaic systems. NREL has improved upon the model each year adding new technologies and financing options. Since the first public release of SAM, over 35,000 people — manufacturers, project developers, academic researchers, and policymakers — have downloaded the software. Project developers use SAM to evaluate different system configurations, so they can maximize earnings from electricity sales. But until now, SAM has been limited to a desktop application. PVComplete has moved that functionality into the cloud.
tenKsolar’s VP of Marketing, Tim Johnson adds “SAM has been an invaluable tool for modeling the energy output in tenKsolar’s PV system. SAM has proved to be reliable over the years and we have received concurrence from several independent engineers of the accuracy of SAM’s production estimates. We are looking forward to running SAM simulations easily using PVComplete.”
