PVSyst - Project Design-1

Project design Page 1 of 174
Project design
This part aims to perform a thorough PV-system design and performance analysis using detailed hourly simulations.
These are organised in the framework of a Project, which essentially holds the geographical situation and meteorological hourly data. Optimisations and parameter analysis can be
performed through different simulation runs, called variants.
Procedure:
NB: You have a step-by-step tutorial to create your first project.
After choosing "Project Design" and the system type in the main window, the procedure is the following:
- First define the Project through the "Project/Variant" button. You can also retrieve an existing project through the "File" menu.
- For one Project (including basically Geographic Location and Meteo, with eventual Albedo data), you can construct different system variants (as many as you need).
- For each variant, define the plane orientation.
- Define the System properties.
- The program verifies the consistency of all parameters, and produces "Warnings" in Orange (acceptable for simulation) or Red (preventing simulation) LED's.
- When ready (all parameters properly defined, that is only Green or Orange LED's), press the "Simulation" button. Red buttons or warnings indicate bad definitions which prevent
the simulation.
- When the simulation is completed, you will enter the "Results" dialog to consult the main results on the "Report" document.
- After simulation, each variant may be saved for further comparisons (please use "Save as" to avoid overwriting your previous variants). You are advised to define a significant
description for each variant, in order to easily retrieve them in the list and to obtain a suited title in your final report.
For a given project, you are advised to first construct a rough variant keeping all parameters to their proposed default values.
In a second step, you can define the required refinements:
- In the "System" definition panel, you can modify the "Detailed losses" (soiling, IAM, module temperature parameters, wiring resistance, module quality, mismatch, unavailability,
etc).
- eventually define a Horizon profile (far shadings),
- Near shadings, that is partial shadings of near objects, which require a rather complex CAO 3D construction of the PV-field environment.
- Module Layout for a description of the PV modules in the system, for the detailed calculation of the electrical shading losses.
The following diagram shows an outline of the project's organization and simulation process.
Project definition
When creating a project, you have to go through several steps :
Step 1: Definition of the file name and definition of the project name . This identifies the project in the file list in your data library. Click on the icon with a green plus to proceed.
file:///C:/Users/jec/AppData/Local/Temp/~hhFDC7.htm 6/27/2024
Step 2: Definition of the project site (follow the link).
Step 3: Selection of a meteo file, in PVsyst format *. MET (follow the link).
Step 4: Definition of the project settings (follow the link).
Step 5: Following this, you will define your PV system in several "Variants" or "Calculation versions" (follow the link). All calculation variants attached to the project will have the same
project name with extensions .VC0, .VC1, etc
The project parameters are stored in a file with the extension .PRJ. Please note that further modifications in the file name, the project name, the project site or the project settings will
generate a message 'please save your project'. This does not occur if you change the meteo file: you may then compare simulation results - for instance starting from different years of
meteo data - without being triggered by the software.
Project site
(Back to Project definition)
Latitude and longitude are used to calculate the sun position each hour of the calendar year, and those coordinates are stored into a .SIT file. The project site gives the coordinates of the
plant. The .SIT file of the project site also includes a fallback monthly meteo set which is used for fast and rough calculations in the design part of the program (Orientation, System). A
maximum search area for meteo files (see Available meteo files and project settings) is also associated with the project site.
There are 2 ways to define the project site :
First Method :
PVSyst show-up a message that invites you to load the geographical site. You can do it through the 'load site' icon marked by an asterisk.
This opens the geographical site interface, with a preselection on the lastly edited site (here Hobart). From this dialog, it is also possible to define a new geographical site, with a fallback
monthly meteo set (either Meteonorm or NASA).
Once transferred into the project area, PVSyst will search all the meteo files available in the defined area and automatically select the lastly edited meteo file. Any import of new meteo
files from this part of the software will enrich the list (in purple). When no meteo files are available, a fast way to start a project is to directly click on the save button (marked with an
asterisk): PVSyst would then generate a synthetic file from the Meteonorm Dll and build a project ready to use.
Example of ready-to-use project with meteo file automatically built during saving operation.
Second Method :
If you have downloaded meteo files on your hard disk from a service provider, you can transform them directly into .MET files from the project interface through the 'Meteo database'
button.
For this example, we choose to import a meteo file for Hobart from the NASA-SSE Database, but it would work for any service.
Back to the project area, PVSyst will select the newly created meteo file and build a project site from it. The project is then ready to be saved.
Finally, whatever method is chosen, the dialog will be similar as the one below, ready for variant definition.
Available meteo files

The detailed simulation process requires the following meteorological hourly data:
- Horizontal Global Irradiance,
- Ambient Temperature,
- Horizontal Diffuse Irradiance (optional, may be constructed by a model),
- Wind velocity (optional, for module temperature calculation).
These data are stored in meteo files ( *.MET files) and you can see them in the Meteo tables and graphs section. You can get meteo data from any location using the Meteonorm database
in the "Geographical site" dialog, import data from a great number of Meteo data sources, or create files from your own measured data. Read also our note on Monthly & Hourly meteo
files.
The list of meteo files is filled with all files found in the area around the current selected site.
More meteo files can be displayed if you increase the maximum search area to an upper limit (this can be done in the project settings).
Project settings
The dialog "Project - Settings" defines some additional parameters related to the project :
- Definition of the Albedo.
- Reference temperatures for the design of the PV array.
- Some options and values defined in the Hidden parameters, but specific to the project itself. These are:
Array max. voltage: It is a maximum admissible array voltage (Voc at minimum temperature), specîfied with the PV modules. The IEC standard requires 1000 V, the UL
standard for use in the US is limited to 600 V.
muVoc value: The Voc (Tmin) is normally calculated by the one-diode model. This option allows to use a derate factor muVoc specified by the manufacturer.
Limit overload loss for design: the inverter sizing is based on an acceptable loss during the year, fixed at max. 3% by default. This parameter allows to increase this limit in order to
define highly oversized PV array with respect to the inverter.
Limits in the 3D construction:

Max orientation between shading planes: used for the discrimination between a single orientation or an heterogeneous field.
Heterogeneous fields: maximum angle difference for shadings: prevents the shading calculations when overcome, as the accuracy may significantly decrease due to the fact that the
shading factor is computed for both arrays at the same time and applied equally to both incident irradiances.
Helios3D: Maximum plane orientation differences: following the terrain in the Helios3D constructions leads to different orientations according to the base slope of tables. This puts a limit to
these distributions for defining 2 heterogeneous fields.
Maximum System / Shadings area ratio: puts a limit to the checks for compatibility between the area of modules as defined in the System part, and the areas defined in the 3D part. This
limit may be increased when modules are highly spaced.
This dialog also defines the maximum search area for meteo files, in the vicinity of the project site. The default value is 10km, but it can be changed up to 9999km.
Variants - System definitions

The system definitions ("variants" or "calculation versions") are primarily aimed at defining all the PV_system components necessary to fulfil the user's wishes.
In a second step, this part gives the possibility to modify the PV-array specific loss parameters (thermal, wiring resistance, module quality, mismatch, IAM, unavailability, etc) (button
"Array losses"). All these parameters are initialised at typical default values so that the first calculation gives a likely "average" results.
In stand-alone and pumping systems, the user's needs definition are absolutely necessary. They closely condition the system design.
For grid systems, these can be defined afterwards in order to obtain the user self-consumed energy part and the energy reinjected into the grid.
In DC-grid systems, especially for public transport, the instantaneous need could be lower than the produced energy at some instants, so that there will be some unused energy.
Parameter definitions are of course different according to system types:
- Grid-connected systems,
- Stand-alone systems,
- Pumping systems,
- DC-grid connected systems.
Project is composed of several variants. They can be managed from the variants management dialog box that can be opened by clicking on the menu Variants -> Manage variants or on
the button Manage:
Variants management
(Back to Variants - System definitions)
In the variants management dialog, it is possible to copy, edit, reorder and remove variants of the project:
Copy
Copy the selected variant to a new one.

The extension of the copy will be the next highest (eg. VCC->VCD).
Edition
Edit the selected variant comment.

It is also possible to rename file extensions to be consecutive and start from VC0 by checking the associated checkbox.
Reordering
Move up the selected variant.
Move down the selected variant.

It is also possible to drag and drop the selected variant to change their order.
Reordering swaps the variants extension, eg. if you swap VC1 with VC5, then the name of the VC1 file receives the name of the VC5 file and vice versa.
Deletion
Delete the selected variant.

Note: if you delete variants by mistake, you can recover it from the "UserRecycleBin" folder of your workspace.
Plane orientation
PVsyst supports simulations with many plane orientation modes:
- Fixed tilted plane: you just have to define the Plane tilt and azimuth.
- Multi-orientations: you can define PV planes for up to 8 different orientations. You have to associate a different electrical sub-array to each orientation. You also have the possibility
of sharing strings of one inverter on two different orientations (see Mixed Orientations).
- Seasonal tilt adjustment: the plane tilt may be adjusted with two values, for winter and summer chosen months.
- Unlimited sheds: to be used when the sheds are very long with respect to their width. If the sheds are too short as one cannot neglect the edge effects, you should define sheds in
the "Near shadings" CAO option instead.
- Unlimited sun-shields: same remarks as for sheds. The optimization of electrical yield of sun-shield systems is very difficult and only suited for south façades.
- Tracking, tilted axis: the axis tilt and azimuth should be defined (the axis azimuth will usually be around 0, i.e., near the south in northern hemisphere). The rotation angle is called
Phi (value 0 when plane azimuth = axis azimuth), with the same sign conventions as for plane azimuth. Mechanical limits on the Phi stroke are required.
- Tracking, horizontal N-S axis: this is the usual configuration of horizontal axis tracking systems. You should use the "Tilted axis" option (above), with axis tilt = 0°.
- Tracking, vertical axis: the collector is kept at a fixed tilt, but rotating according to the sun azimuth. This configuration may be used with "dish" arrangements, when a big rotating
support holds several rows of modules; this particular case is made possible as the rotating axis of one row may be displaced with respect to the collector.
- Tracking, horizontal E-W axis: the orientation axis is defined as the normal to the horizontal axis. This configuration is here for completeness, but is indeed not suited for PV systems.
Stroke limits should be defined (here Phi = plane tilt), from lower limit (minimum -90° = vertical north) to upper limit (maximum 90° = vertical south).
- Tracking sun-shields: is a particular case of the Tracking, horizontal E-W axis. It may yield solutions causing difficult optimization between sun protection and PV production. For full
efficiency, this should involve a Backtracking control strategy.
- Tracking, two axes: the limit mechanical angles of the tracking device (in tilt and azimuth) should be defined and are taken into account during the simulation.
- Tracking, two axis with frame: the collectors are fixed and rotating within a frame, itself rotating. This is therefore a variant of the 2-axis tracking. Two configurations are available: a
frame with North-South axis (and collectors with tracking tilt) or a frame with East-West axis (and collectors tracking according to the sun azimuth).
Remarks and Limitations

The tracking strategy in computed using the solar geometry (so-called "astronomical" algorithms), in order to minimize the incidence angle in terms of the sun's position.
With horizontal or tilted axis trackers, you can also use a strategy that optimizes the irradiance on the tracker. See Tracking strategies.
For sheds, please carefully see the special combination of "Orientation" option and "Near shadings" treatment
Also, be aware that with tracking planes, the mutual shadings of several neighbour tracking units can become very important at extreme angles (see the shed optimization tool with very
tilted collector plane!). The collector's spacing should usually be very large, so that the horizontal space used is rather low (lower GCR).
The Backtracking control strategy that adjusts the orientation to avoid mutual shadings at any time, may help optimize the electrical shading effects. However, even if there is no mutual
shadings for the beam component, the mutual shading on the diffuse and albedo components should be evaluated. This requires the construction of the 3D shading.
Multi Orientations
Up to version 6.12, the "Heterogeneous" option allowed to define arrays in 2 different orientations with some restrictions, especially when dealing with shadings.
From version 6.13 onwards, the "Orientation" dialog offers the opportunity to define up to 8 different orientations.
Definition of sub-arrays
When defining multi-orientation, you should define one or several "electrical" sub-arrays associated with each orientation (button "System").
The definition of sub-arrays includes the possibility to give a name, and associate an orientation when multi-orientation is specified.
You can also define 2 different orientations for a given sub-array (see below "Mixed orientation sub-arrays").
Definition of near shadings

When defining near shadings, you have to also define sensitive areas to receive the PV modules of each orientation, as defined in the sub-arrays.
During the elaboration of the 3D scene, you can create your fields without any constraints.
However when quitting the 3D editor, PVsyst will check the coherence between your 3D definitions, the "Orientation" definitions and the electrical "Sub-array" specifications:
- the 3D field orientations should match the "Orientation" definitions (if it is not the case you will be prompted for either adjusting the "Orientation" definitions, or modifying your 3D
scene),
- you should have at least one 3D subfield for each orientation,
- the 3D fields areas should offer sufficient area for being compatible with the PV modules to be installed, as defined in the electrical "Sub-arrays".
System overview tool
These inter-compatibilities may be difficult to establish when you have several orientations. Therefore, there is now a new tool available from several dialogs (button "System overview")
that provides the main characteristics already established for the system. This tool shows 4 lists of parameters:
- Orientation parameters.
- Compatibility between System and Shadings, especially concerning orientations and areas for each orientation.
- System parameters: list of the sub-arrays, their orientation, number of modules, inverters, etc.
- Shading scene parameters: the list of all 3D subfields, with their area and orientation.
Each list is accompanied with possible error or warning messages.
NB: There is no limitations anymore on the orientations: a "shading factor table" is established for each orientation, and the 3D shading calculations are performed independently for each
orientation.
Mixed orientations sub-arrays
It is commonly admitted that on a given MPPT input, all the collectors should be perfectly identical and have the same orientation.
However when defining the orientation of a sub-array, you have the possibility to define "Mixed #1 and #2". This means that you can define a sub-array with some strings in the first
orientation and some other ones in the second orientation, even when these strings belong to the same MPPT input.
The simulation will establish the I/V curve for the strings of each orientation, and add them (in current) in order to get the full MPPT behavior, taking a possible mismatch into account.
This mismatch is usually not very important with strings in different orientation. However, you cannot specify modules of a given string in different orientations: in this case, the mismatch
may be very high, and this is not allowed in PVsyst (this is not a good practice).
N.B.: You can only mix orientations #1 and #2, but you can define several sub-arrays with these mixed orientations. You can do adjustments of the configuration using the button "Orient
distrib." (see Power Sharing)
Tool for Mixed orientation analysis

In "Tools", button "Electrical behaviour of PV arrays", you have a tool to understand the composition of different I/V curves on a MPPT input.
This tool shows the characteristic of two sub-arrays, connected in parallel that can be different in orientation and collector's kind or number.
When connecting together the outputs of 2 different sub-arrays, the resultant characteristic will depend on incident irradiances on each of the sub-fields. It is therefore necessary to
introduce a model for the irradiance, in such a way as to be able to evaluate simultaneous irradiances under realistic conditions along the day. The tool uses a clear day profile, but with
the possibility of modulating the global amplitude and the rate of diffuse irradiation. The temperature of the modules is calculated according to the respective irradiances. The user may use
the scroll bar to modify the time-of day in order to evaluate the dynamic behavior during the day when the orientations are different.
The graph shows the respective I/V characteristics of each sub-field and their resultant (current sum) when connected in parallel. The comment gives the nominal MPP value of each array,
as well as their common value and the relative loss when connected in parallel. You can observe that when the array voltages are comparable the power loss is usually low, even for very
different currents (different orientations along the day, or different parallel strings). In this case, the performances of each array are simply added together.
But for different voltages (different number of modules in series), the resultant characteristic shows two distinct maxima with a serious loss of power. This could also induce the MPP
tracking device into error, as it may "choose" the secondary maximum.
When the arrays are expected to operate under different voltages (heterogeneous arrays, but also by partial shading effects), it is also very important to connect blocking diodes in each
string. The dotted line shows the resulting behavior if these diodes are omitted: the production of the higher array may flow into the lower one, inducing a feeding power into the
"overvoltage" region.
Unlimited sheds
The orientation "unlimited sheds" is an extension of the "fixed tilted plane" orientation that adds geometrical parameters defining the tables arrangement (in regularly arranged rows). This
allows the application of a simplified 2D model of mutual shadings based on these parameters. This approach is generally faster than defining a 3D shading scene and can therefore be
used for example in more preliminary studies.
Mutual shadings
With this orientation setting, the mutual shading of the rows of tables (or sun-shields) is estimated using a simple geometrical computation, which gives the mutual shading fraction as a
function of the Transverse Incidence Angle or "Profile angle". This mutual shading may then be taken into account during the simulation process. These calculations are applicable on all
irradiance components, for example on the beam or on the diffuse.
 The main assumption is that of rows with an "infinite" length (that is, the calculation doesn't take the edge effects into account).
 One of the main results is the loss of irradiance, i.e., the shading factor is the shaded area fraction of the full array (depends only on the pitch and tilt angle). The result also slightly
depends on the number of rows, as the first one is not shaded. This is what we call the "linear" shading.
 It is also possible to estimate the electrical effect of these shadings. For instance, the current of a string of cells is limited to the current of the weakest cell, i.e., the shaded one. This may
impact other unshaded sub-modules, leading to a range of possible mismatch effects. In general we suppose that the production of a partition (a portion of each row) becomes zero (in
terms of the beam component) if the bottom row of cells is fully shaded, and proportional to the shaded fraction of the cells otherwise. This is what we call "partition model" in the near
shadings. The same recommendations in terms of partitioning hold.
To use this option, the software requires entering the number of partitions in the transverse dimension (width) of the table row, as well as the width of one cell. The shading factor effect
is then shown as a function of the profile angle.
Please note that with thin film modules with "long" cells of around 10 mm width, the cells should be placed in the transverse dimension of the shed, so that only a little part of each cell is
shaded at a time. When the thin film modules are arranged in this way, the electrical effect of shadings is greatly reduced.
Notes
The three parts of the shed tool: Geometrical design, Shading graph and Yearly yield graph, are meant for a better understanding when optimizing a row-based layout.
Please carefully see the limitations when using sheds with near shading scenes.
PVsyst uses the simplified 2D model within several special tools for viewing and optimizing the shed mounting (and also sun-shields). This is implemented in several places in the
software:
 In the "Orientation" dialog via the option "unlimited sheds". Similar choices are offered for NS-axis trackers or sun-shields.
 In "Tools" / "Tables and Graphs of Solar parameters", you can define the geometry, optimize it with the mouse and view the mutual shading effects of your choice on a Height/azimuth
diagram.
 In "Tools" / "Monthly Meteo Computations": you can moreover have a quick weather calculation for your site, and immediately estimate the irradiation losses over the year.
Optimizing sheds
Shadings on Beam and Diffuse

First of all, when optimising sheds, one should keep in mind that the shading losses are of two kinds:
- The shadings which we usually visualize, are applied on the beam component. They apply especially on some periods of the day or the year, and often when the sun is not very "high" on
the plane surface, therefore affecting hours of rather low production (there can be an exception with mutual shading of sheds, reinforced by the "electrical" effect of cell partial shadings).
- The shading on the diffuse component, which applies permanently with the same value when assuming an isotropic diffuse distribution. This shading factor is related to the part of sky
which is "seen" by the collectors. Remember that in central Europe climates, the Diffuse fraction is of the order of 50% of the total incident irradiation !
In the shed disposition, the diffuse effect is particularly important, since the visible part of the sky hemisphere is limited to the front by the previous shed (affecting rather high incidence
angles) and to the rear side by the plane itself. Due to its permanent effect, this is often the main part of the losses.
This situation is even much more sensitive with sun-shields.
General features and optimisation of sheds
With shed disposition, we should be aware that:
- The area occupation strongly depens on the collector tilt. For acceptable shadings, the "Limit shading" profile angle should be kept below about 18° to 20°. With 30° collector tilt, this
implies that you can only install a collector area limited to 45% of the total available area.
- The mutual shading effect is also strongly dependent on the shed orientation: when not south, the morning or evening performances are much more affected.
The software offers two complementary tools for a better understanding of these situations:
- The beam shading graph, which shows the periods which are affected by the shadings. One can notice that with south orientation, the effects are rather limited to summer morning and
evening. But as soon as you change the azimuth, the shading losses increase rapidly, and arise especially in regions where the incidence angles are high.
- The yearly yield graph shows the relative gain (with respect of the horizontal layout), as a function of the module tilt. This factor is based on the yearly global useful irradiation (beam and
diffuse) falling onto the collectors. The curves show the pure transposition yield (as if there were only one plane) and the curve with mutual shadings, either "linear" and for electrical
losses.
This graph can be drawn with two options:
- Either keeping the Incidence limit angle constant. In this case, we see that the collection/ground ratio is very sensitive to the plane tilt.
- Or keeping the Shed spacing (i.e., a chosen collection/ground ratio) constant.
In both cases, we see that the optimal tilt of sheds is lower than for a single plane. This is still more evident with non-south azimuths.
From these tools we can observe that:

With shed installations, choosing a rather low tilt is often a very good solution, which leads to acceptable losses of some few percent with respect to the optimum, with the following
advantages:
- The installable power is much greater on a given ground area.
- The array orientation does no more affect on the performances: you can install the sheds according to the building geometry, special "south-facing" arrangements are no more useful.
- Module supports become more simple, cheaper and lighter, with less wind sensitivity.
- Architectural impact can be much more acceptable.
Nevertheless, the minimum tilt should be kept at some few degrees (2-3°) for module cleaning by the rain. Moreover, frameless laminates should be used in order to avoid dirt and mosses
accumulations on the bottom side.
Sun-shields shadings
In the "Orientation" option and for near shadings, sun-shields are treated in a similar way as sheds (see Shed Mutual Shadings discussion).
Nevertheless, the user should be aware of two phenomena:
- With sun-shields, the accepted part of the diffuse irradiation is very limited: on one hand, there is at most only one half because of the rear wall, and on the other hand the upper sun-
shield also cuts an important fraction of the remaining diffuse component. In regions with a high diffuse fraction (above 45° latitude, it is usually more than 50%), this gives a very
significant loss.
- Please be very careful with orientations not exactly facing the south (or north in southern hemisphere). You can use the special tool "Shading graph" to visualize this dramatic effects.
But even with south orientation, the mutual shadings in the morning and evening are not avoidable.
The sun-shield is not suited for low latitudes, where the sun's height is high during the day.
To our mind, the sun-shields arrangement is not a good situation for a good PV yield. The mutual shadings are really very high, and quite unavoidable.
The only acceptable layout is the upper row: if it is at the top of the building, it is indeed a "perfect" PV collector disposition, even without the building's wall shading.
Orientation optimization
This is a tool aiming to show the best suited orientation for a PV system, or what you loose when not optimally oriented.
The Transposition Factor is the ratio of the incident irradiation on the plane, to the horizontal irradiation. I.e. what you gain (or loose) when tilting the collector plane.
There are 2 tools in PVsyst for doing this:
Detailed optimizing tool

In "Tools" > "Transposition factor", you have a complete and accurate calculation using full Hourly meteo data over one year.
This computes 475 annual FT calculations table for a grid of tilts and azimuth plane orientations. Then, the tool shows the optimal orientation, and curves of "iso-transposition" orientations
for different transposition factors.
Each curve is also labeled with the amount you loose with respect to the optimal orientation.
Now please observe that the optimization of the orientation depends on the planned use for the PV energy.
- For grid-connected systems, the energy is usually sold at a constant price all over the year. The relevant optimum is then to maximize the yearly energy.
- For stand-alone systems, the relevant solar yield for sizing the system may be, for example, the winter months for a house or industrial system; or some specific months for leisure
appliances.
- For pumping systems, it may depend on the final use of the water pumped: household (all over the year) or irrigation (some specific seasons or months).
Therefore this tool gives the possibility of choosing the optimizing period: Year, Winter, Summer, or chosen months.
Moreover, the optimization may depend on specific far-shading conditions (mountains): you can define a horizon line, and this will usually result in an azimuth displacement.
Now you can observe that the summer optimization has usually a flat optimum: you have high freedom for adjusting the plane orientation without loosing much, especially when the tilt is
low. This means also that the optimum can be displaced towards east or west, with very low differences in absolute values. With hourly measured data, the optimal azimuth may be
displaced because specific meteo behaviors like frequent fogs in the morning, storms in the evening, etc.
As a contrary, specific optimizations, for example in winter, are much more marked (sharp distributions around maximum): the iso-transposition curves are closer to each other, you have
less freedom for a good orientation,.
Quick optimizing tool in the "Orientation" part

When choosing the (fixed) plane orientation, an information panel indicates the corresponding Transposition Factor, the difference (loss) with respect to the optimum orientation, and the
available irradiation on this tilted plane.
Clicking the "Show optimization" button, you can see a graph of the Transposition Factor as a function of the plane tilt and azimuth. These graphs also indicate your actual choice by a
violet dot on the curves, showing at once where you are positioned with respect to the optimum.
NB:
This tool makes use of the Monthly Meteo calculations, which perform quick transpositions from the Monthly Meteo values. The whole calculation for the curves is performed for
several situations, in both directions from the point you have chosen (tilts at fixed azimuth, and azimuths at fixed tilt). This tool therefore only gives a quick estimation, which may be
different from the real values in the detailed simulation.
Tracking strategies
Astronomic strategy
The usual tracking strategy defines the tracker's angle in order to minimize the incidence angle for a given sun's position.
This requires a detailed calculation of the sun's position at each time, an accurate positioning of the tracker's mechanics (tilt and orientation), and specific algorithms for each kind of
trackers.
Irradiance optimization strategy

This new strategy determines the orientation according to the best irradiance received by the trackers. This may be different than the previous strategy as the transpositon of the diffuse
component is proportional to (1 + cos(i) / 2), where i = tilt angle. Therefore the higher tilt, the less transposed irradiance.
As a consequence, for a fully covered weather, the optimal tracker's position will be horizontal (Phi = 0).
In practice, this strategy may be applied in a very simple way, by putting 2 irradiance sensors on the tracker, separated by a black wall perpendicular to the tracker: the best orientation is
obtained when the irradiances on each sensor are equal. The irradiance difference signal may be directly used for feeding the tracking motors.
In the present time, this strategy is only available for one-axis (including unlimited) trackers in PVsyst.
Backtracking strategy
The backtracking strategy aims to avoid mutual shadings between trackers in the morning and the evening.
This is fully explained in the Near shadings part, Backtracking strategy.
Wind Stow strategy

The wind stow strategy aims us a technique to protect solar panels from damage during high wind events. Wind can cause significant damage to solar panels by creating life forces and
twisting moments, resulting in panel breakage, bending or detachment from their mounts.
The wind stow strategy involves placing the solar panels n a stowed position before the arrival of a high wind event. This means tilting the panels at an angle that minimizes their wind
profile, so that they are less susceptible to wind-induced forces. The ideal angle of the panels will depend on the specific mounting system used.
For the moment, this strategy is only available when meteo files with hourly wind speed data are used, and for tilted axis trackers and horizontal axis N-S trackers.
When the option is activated, the default wind speed threshold that activates the stowing strategy is 12m/s and thse stow position is 0°. User's can also define these values as desired.
Bifacial Systems
The Bifacial tool is available in the "System" part. It is only available (visible) when you choose a bifacial module.
Bifaciality Factor
Nowadays more and more Si-crystalline modules are able to use light from the rear side to produce electricity.
In PVsyst, such "Bifacial modules" will be characterized by their "Bifaciality Factor", i.e., the ratio of the nominal efficiency at the rear side, with respect to the nominal efficiency of the front
side. Remember that the nominal efficiency is simply the nominal Power (under STC) expressed in [kWp], divided by the area of the PV module [m²].
PVsyst considers that the behavior of the rear production is similar to the behavior of the front, i.e. obeys to the One-diode model with the same parameters. See here for details.
Irradiance on the ground

In most cases (except vertical plane systems), the useable irradiance at the rear side is mainly the re-emission of some part of the incident light on the ground.
Therefore we should first evaluate the incident light on the ground. However, this irradiance is not uniform and we have to evaluate it for each point of the ground.
- The beam component reaches the ground only between the PV modules. Therefore at a given time, a given ground point will receive (or not) the beam component. This depends of
course on the sun's position, so that the beam irradiance distribution has to be computed at each time step of the simulation.
- The diffuse component may be evaluated - for a given ground point - by integrating the diffuse rays received from all directions of the space which are not "hidden" by collectors. For this
calculation, we have to use the same hypothesis as for other diffuse models, i.e., that the diffuse is isotropic. We can then evaluate - for each ground point - the received diffuse by an
integral, analogous to the integral for the transposition model, over all parts of the sky "seen" by this point. Therefore, the diffuse acceptance is a distribution function over the ground
points, independent of the sun's position. It only depends on the geometry of the system, and may be computed only once for a fixed tilt system and a given ground point. For tracking
systems, the geometry changes with every tracker movement, and the diffuse light distribution has to be re-calculated at every simulation step.
- Shed transparent fraction: The shed may not be entirely opaque to the sun light. There may be spacings between the cells and between the modules, that are not obstructed by
components or mounting structures. This will lead to additional light reaching the ground. We will not involve a complex model for this usually small contribution. We will just assume an
additional contribution to the light received by each ground point that will be proportional to the Global horizontal irradiance and the specified transparency factor.
NB: In the "unlimited sheds" model, the rows are supposed to be continuous. As a first approximation, this transparency factor may also be used to take spacings between tables into
account, if they are not too wide.
Irradiance on the rear side - View Factor

Now we have to evaluate the irradiance on the rear side of the PV modules. This will be characterized by the amount of irradiance re-emitted by the ground, which we name "Albedo".
The light remitted from a given ground point is the received irradiance, multiplied by the albedo factor of the ground. You can find some examples of usual Albedo factors here. However
this parameter is very important in the bi-facial situation, and should be estimated with care for each particular system. It may change when the ground is wet, with snow, or with time
(ageing of the surface), and even eventually with the sun's height. PVsyst doesn't take such changes into consideration in the present time, except that you can define seasonal values for
the albedo.
NB: Please don not confuse the albedo of the project with this albedo for bifacial. The albedo of the project characterizes the ground in front of the installation, far from the system. It is
used in the Transposition Model and affects the GlobInc value. The albedo for bifacial is a property of the ground just below your PV installation.
A very important hypothesis of PVsyst is that the light re-emitted by a point of the ground has an isotropic distribution. This means that the light is re-emitted with the same intensity
whatever the direction of the space (half-sphere above this point). There is no peculiar reflection. This is a lambertian distribution, i.e., each ray is multiplied by the cosine of the incidence
angle.
We name "View Factor" (or "Form factor") the fraction of this light effectively reaching the PV module. This is again the result of an integral over all PV modules directions "seen" by this
point. The light re-emitted to the sky is obviously lost. The View Factor is also a property of each ground point, only depending on the geometry. The distribution of view factors for any
point is calculated only once.
In fact we have to evaluate 2 kinds of "View factors": one concerning the rear side of the collectors, and another one representing the irradiance reaching the front side. This last
contribution will be added to the usual incident irradiance. This View factor integrals involve an IAM correction for each ray, which is of particular importance for the front side.
Besides these contributions, we also have to take the diffuse part directly seen by the rear side (again result of an integral), as well as the beam eventually falling on it (in the morning and
evening in summer).
All the irradiance calculations for the rear side take into account the IAM losses and are always calculated using the simple Fresnel model for glass without anti-reflective coating.
Finally, we can have some mechanical structures behind the module (including the junction box). Therefore we also have to define a shading factor for the rear side.
NB: all these calculations are done in terms of irradiance. The involved energies should be re normalized by the concerned areas. i.e.:
- the total energy on the ground is the irradiance multiplied by the total ground area concerned by the installation.
- the total energy on the rear side is the irradiance multiplied by the collector's area.
Therefore, the energy ratio computed by the view factor integral should be multiplied by the area ratio:
Irradiance (Rear) = Irradiance (Ground) * View factor * Ground Area / Collectors area.
This renormalization was not done correctly in the versions 6.60 ... 6.63 of PVsyst, and should not be used for bifacial evaluations.
The version 6.64 is correct, but does not take some marginal contributions into account, like the Beam on the rear side or the reflexions of the near ground on the front side.
Reflected Irradiance on the front side

From the diagram above, we see that there is a contribution of the albedo reflexion, reaching also the front side of the collector.
We can evaluate this contribution in the same way as for the rear side, by defining a View factor for the front side. This contribution is very low for low tilts, and is emitted by ground
regions below the shed, which are weakly illuminated. But it may become significant when the tilt increases (especially for the vertical bi-facial case).
This contribution is evaluated during the simulation of bifacial systems, and is appearing on the loss diagram as "Ground reflexion on front side" (variable named ReflFrt).
NB: This contribution is present with any PV system, not only bi-facial. However, in the usual simulations it is neglected, as we don't have the modeling framework (definition of ground
albedo, ground points, shading of other tables, etc) for this evaluation. To our knowledge, no other software is taking this contribution explicitly into account.
Tracking systems
For tracking systems, we can use the same model and hypothesis. The pre-calculations of the ground points integrals (diffuse, view factors) should be performed for different tracker's
positions. For one-axis trackers, we perform this calculation for 7 Phi orientations of the trackers. Then, the simulation will interpolate between these values (using cubic splines) at each
hour, as function of the exact position of the trackers.
Conversion into electrical power

The irradiance on the rear side will give rise to an increase of the global PV module output power. During the simulation, PVsyst simply adds the rear irradiance (weighted by the bifaciality
factor) to the front incident irradiance before computing the one-diode model.
Now, the irradiance is not uniform on the rear side of the modules. Remember the cell with the lower current determines the current in the whole string. Therefore, we also have to take a
Mismatch loss factor into account. Currently, there is no model for the estimation of this mismatch loss factor, it is set to 10% by default and can be changed by the user. This mismatch
loss is only applied to the rear side part.
Summary of the Hypothesis

The main hypothesis for the Bifacial model in PVsyst are:
- The diffuse irradiance is isotropic.
- The re-emission of each ground point is isotropic, with a specified albedo factor.
- The additional irradiance on the rear side is added to the front irradiance for the application of the one-diode model.
Application models
PVsyst will propose different models for the calculation of bi-facial systems:
- Simple "unlimited sheds" with a 2-dimensional calculation. This provides also a set of pedagogic tools for a deeper understanding of the different contributions mentioned above.
- Simple "unlimited trackers" (horizontal axis) with a 2-dimensional calculation involving a full pre-calculation for several positions of the trackers.
- Model based on your 3-dimensional shading scene. This will be developed in a next version.
- General treatment of tracking systems with the 3D scene. This will be developed in an ultimate version...
Bifacial systems procedure

Please also read the Bi-facial model principles. To define a bi-facial PV system:
1. - System definition
Currently, only Bi-facial models for unlimited sheds or unlimited trackers are available. This means that the edges of the system are not taken into account, and the contributing ground is
from the first shed bottom, and the last shed + pitch. Threrefore the model is not applicable to experiments on a single (or double) array for example.
You should define a system compatible with these hypothesis:
- either in the "Orientation" dialog, you should choose "Unlimited sheds" or "Horizontal axis Unlimited trackers". These involve a generic analytic calculation of the mutual shadings. In this
case, you should not define a 3D shadings scene, as the shading effects would be accounted twice.
- or in the 3D shading scene, you have to define "PV Tables as Sheds" or "Tracking PV planes". These objects define arrays. If you define several such objects, they should be identical
(same orientation, pitch or table/trackers widths). In this case, you have to define "Fixed orientation" or "Tracking horizontal axis" in the "Orientation" part, and the bi-facial model will
establish a dummy "Unlimited Sheds or Trackers" corresponding to these parameters.
2. - PV module choice
In the "System" part, you have to choose a PV module specified as Bi-facial to define a bifaciality factor.
When choosing such a PV module, the button "Bifacial system" will appear just above the PV module definition. This opens the following dialog, with the general parameters related to a
Bi-facial system.
3. - Main bi-facial parameters
First, you choose the model according to the system you have defined.
Model Pages (unlimited sheds or trackers 2d)
This opens the corresponding page, where the basic system parameters (sheds or trackers width, pitch, height above ground, etc) are pre-defined according your system.
See 2-dimensional unlimited sheds or 2-dimensional unlimited trackers.
In this page, you can play with these parameters to analyze the effect of different configurations. However, when exiting this page, the parameters will be reset to their "default" value, i.e.,
according to your system definitions.
Height above ground: the only parameter without correspondence in the system's definitions is the height above ground that you have to define here.
This is the height of the bottom of the sheds or of the axis in the tracker case.
General Simulation Parameters page
Among the parameters on the general parameters page, several ones are fixed by other calculations:
Beam ground factor is the fraction of the Beam on horizontal plane reaching the ground between the sheds. This evolves according to the sun position of course, and depends on the
meteo data. This is not really a parameter, but an indicator.
Diffuse ground factor is the fraction of the Diffuse on horizontal plane, as seen by each point of the ground (integral over all directions). This depends on the system geometry, the
average of all contribution ground points is given here. In tracking systems, this depends on the tracker's position.
Module transmission factor: The module transmission factor describes how much light can pass through a row of modules, and reach the ground beneath (i.e., contributing to the ground
irradiance). It should include spacings between cells (if transparent) and spacing between modules (if transparent). You can also use this parameter as an
approximation if you have some spacing between tables, provided that this is not too large. This parameter is usually null except for spacing between tables.
Ground albedo is the albedo property of the ground below your system, contributing to the bi-facial reflection. This has obviously nothing to do with the albedo defined in the
Project, which characterizes the (far) terrain in front of your installation. This parameter may be defined in monthly values to take the eventual snow into account.
Reemission form factor represents the fraction of the irradiance from ground reaching the back side of your system. This is calculated as an integral for each point on the ground, and you
have here the result of the average from the model. This only depends on the geometry. For tracking systems, it depends on the tracker's position. This is an
indicator calculated from the model.
Structure shading factor is the shading factor of any obstacle between the ground and your sensitive rear side. As a first approximation, this may be the ratio of the mechanics area to the
sensitive area. If close to the rear side, this should take the electrical mismatch into account: as the current in a string is the current in the worst cell, if this
mechanics covers x% of one cell, the shading effect will be x% for the concerned string. This loss may be reduced by a factor of 2 if the mechanics is covering
half a cell (i.e., the shade is distributed on 2 cells).
NB: If you have a tracker with a torque tube:
- If you have only one module in the width of the tracker, the torque tube will necessarily throw shades on the module. In this case , the shading factor will be the
diameter of the tube, divided by the cell's size, and half this value if the tube is shading 2 cells.
- With trackers of 2 modules, where the tube is between the modules (usual case), the shading factor will be null.
Mismatch loss factor: in a bi-facial system, all parts of the module will be irradiated differently. Remember that the current in a string is limited by the current of the weakest sub-module.
The uniformity of the rear irradiance will increase with the height above the ground.
If you have several strings in your system you should put all the modules of a given string on a same row. This way, only the non-uniformity across one module
width will be significant (provided that there are no non-uniformities in the length of the row).
Sorry, PVsyst does not have any model nor well-established value to propose here for now. The default of 10% is just a rough estimation and is not based on a
calculation.
Module Bifaciality factor is the ratio of the rear side yield under STC, with respect to the front side STC performance. This is a specification of the PV module.
Bifacial systems results

The detailed results of the bifacial model are available on the Loss diagram.
Here is an example, with a description of all output variables involved:
In the Report editor, you can also export the values into Excel (menu "Export > Loss diagram values), which gives some explanations about how to calculate some values:
Detailed variables description:

GlobGnd Global incident on the ground.
This is the total irradiance reaching the ground area below the installation (beam and diffuse).
This irradiance [W/m2] is referred to the reflecting reference area (in 2D models: proportional to the pitch).
ReflLss Ground reflection loss (albedo)
This is the loss of irradiance due to the reflection (1 - Albedo), referred to the ground reference area.
BkVFlss View factor for rear side
Each point of the ground is supposed to receive an irradiance (luminous power) specific to its position on the ground, and the sun's position.
After reflection, this point will re-emit the same power in all directions (isotropic hypothesis, i.e., Lambertian distribution), according to the albedo factor.
Now a part of this power will be intercepted by the rear side of the collectors, the rest is lost (sky). The view factor is the fraction of this interception for each given point.
The total power received by the rear side is the sum of all ground points contributions. This power will result in an irradiance [W/m²], which is now normalised to the m² of
collector area.
Therefore when expressed as irradiance (not Power), this view factor should be multiplied by the Ground area and divided by the Collector area (i.e., 1/GCR).
DifSBak Sky diffuse on the rear side
This is the contribution of the diffuse irradiance, coming directly from the sky.
BeamBak Beam effective on the rear side
This is the contribution of the eventual beam coming directly from the sun:
- with sheds, possible in the morning and evening when the sun passes behind the East or West.
- with vertical East-West rows, when the sun is opposite to the front side,
- with tracking systems, never.
BackShd Shading loss on rear side
Due to the mechanical structures (corresponding to the specified "Structure shading factor").
GlobBak Global irradiance on rear side
Is the sum of all these contributions.
This value is mentioned in [kWh/m²], and as a percentage of the GlobEff value.
EArrNom Array Nominal energy at STC efficiency
The reference energy of the array is defined as the sum of:
- the GlobEff value, multiplied by the PV modules area and the STC efficiency,
- the GlobBak value, multiplied by the PV modules area, the STC efficiency and the bifaciality factor.
There are 2 other contributions linked to the bifacial model:

MismBak Mismatch for back irradiance
This is the result of the Mismatch parameter specified by the user (see Bifacial Procedure).
At this stage of the Array losses, on the results diagram this is referred as percntage of the full system energy.
As an example, if you have specified a loss of 10% (of the bi-facial contribution), and you have a bi-facial contribution of 15% of GlobEff, this will be 10% of GlobBakEn /
(GlobBakEn + GlobEff).
NB: Here, the GlobBakEn is GlobBak * Bifaciality factor.
ReflFrt Ground reflexion on front side
This represent a contribution of the irradiance reflected by the close ground (between rows), and reaching the front side of the collectors (weighted by the IAM loss, very
significant here).
This contribution is indeed present in any PV system (bifacial or not). However nobody takes it into account, as its calculation involves the full Bi-facial model, with an accurate
definition of the ground, its albedo and the geometry, and the full calculation of the ground points view factors.
This contribution is very low with sheds and trackers systems, but becomes crucial with vertical East-West bifacial systems.
Bifacial system: 2-dimensional unlimited sheds

For the basic principles of the bi-facial simulation, please click here.
Important Hypothesis
This simplified 2D model is only applicable to regular big systems in sheds. It neglects the edge effects, either at the extremities of the rows, and behind the last shed.
Therefore, it is not applicable, especially to experimental systems with few modules.
This basic model application treats - for the bifacial modeling - your installation as a generic "Unlimited sheds" configuration, i.e., with a single orientation, identical pitch between sheds,
and without considering the shed's extremities. Note that it also does not differentiate between PV-sensitive areas and non-sensitive frames. Therefore you can use it:
 either directly with a simple system defined with the "Unlimited sheds" option in the orientation option,
 or with a 3D scene, provided that it is sufficiently big and regular for being approximated by the "Unlimited sheds" hypothesis.
PVsyst will create an artificial "Unlimited sheds" system associated with your real PV system, just for the calculation of the bi-facial features during the simulation.
This "added" system should be similar to your basic 3D system defined in the calculation version. Therefore, this simplified model is not suited for complex systems that involve
different orientations, different sub-fields, different pitches, etc.
Prior to the simulation, except the height above the ground, all parameters of this unlimited sheds object will be adjusted according to your real 3D system. The parameters defined in
the bi-facial dialog are just here for a pedagogic analysis of the bifacial model in any conditions: they are not used in the simulation.
2-dimensional calculation
The "unlimited sheds" hypothesis allows a simple analytic calculation of the shed's behavior, namely the mutual shading from shed to shed, considering one only direction.
This also simplifies the bi-facial calculations: we can consider just the ground points distribution along the azimuth line, and we can analyze their behavior in terms of the shed's
configuration.
Therefore, this dialog is also a powerful tool for the understanding of the bifacial systems issues, and its configuration optimization.
For this calculation, we have to specify the sheds parameters (Plane Tilt/Azimuth, Pitch, shed width, height above the ground), as well as the Ground albedo.
You can play with these values as you like, and get evaluations of many parameters in diverse conditions. However at simulation time, the parameters as close as possible from the basic
systems will be used.
The dialog shows:
- The basic parameters of the sheds disposition,
- An evaluation of the ground irradiance for some specified dates (clear day),
- An evaluation of the daily irradiance values for each month (clear day conditions),
- A drawing - with animation - of the sheds and ground irradiance behaviors (beam, diffuse acceptance, ground re-emission, etc),
- Some distributions of parameters, see below.
Beam acceptance on ground: this highly varies according to the season. Here for November at latitude 43° North (instead of June just above):
Beam on Ground, and reflected : only a part of the illuminated ground re-emits to the collectors.
Diffuse acceptance: depends on the position of the ground point below the sheds.
Bifacial system: 2-dimensional unlimited trackers

For the basic principles of the bi-facial simulation, please click here.
Important Hypothesis
This simplified 2D model is only applicable to regular big tracking systems with horizontal axis. It neglects the edge effects, either at the extremities of the trackers, and on east and
west of the extremity trackers.
Therefore, it is not applicable, especially to experimental systems with few modules
This basic model application treats - for the bifacial modelling - your installation as a generic "Unlimited Trackers" configuration, i.e., with a single axis orientation, identical pitch between
trackers, and without considering the tracker's extremities. Note that it also does not differentiate between PV-sensitive areas and non-sensitive frames. Therefore you can use it:
 either directly with a simple system defined with the "Horizontal axis, Unlimited trackers" option in the orientation option,
 or with a 3D scene, provided that it is sufficiently big and regular for being approximated by the "Unlimited trackers" hypothesis.
PVsyst will create an artificial "Unlimited trackers" system associated to your real PV system, just for the calculation of the bi-facial features during the simulation.
This "added" system should be similar to your basic 3D system defined in the calculation version. Therefore, this simplified model is not suited for complex systems that involve
different axis orientations, different tracker widths, different pitches, etc
Prior to the simulation, except the height above the ground, all parameters of this unlimited trackers object will be adjusted according to your real 3D system. The parameters defined in
the bi-facial dialog are just here for a pedagogic analysis of the bifaciality model in any conditions: they are not used in the simulation.
2-dimensional calculation
The "unlimited trackers" hypothesis allows a simple analytical calculation of the tracker's behavior, namely the mutual shadings from tracker to tracker (or backtracking), considering only
one direction perpendicular to the axis for all the calculations (i.e., a 2D model).
The treatment of the different irradiances on the trackers is identical to the sheds 2D model. The pre-calculation of the ground points (irradiance received, view factor integrals), is
performed on 7 different trackers positions. Then the simulation will interpolate these values (using cubic splines) at each hour, in terms of the exact position of the trackers.
Tools
Similar tools as those for sheds are available to study tracking systems. We can try to understand all the contributions and behaviors with different drawings in terms of different variables,
especially the Tracker's positions, and the Ground-points positions.
In this tool, you can vary the tracker's parameters to analyze the effects. These modifications do not affect the simulation parameters (except the height above ground, which is specified
here): before the simulation, PVsyst will reevaluate the parameters, and fix them as close as possible to your existing project.
Performances
Now, we are expecting for a performance that is slighty lower than the shed-like systems. Because the tracking strategy tends to optimize the trapping of sun rays, thus less beam
irradiance reaches the ground.
The next figure shows a comparison of the beam attaining the ground, for similar fixed and tracking systems (GCR = 41%):
We can observe that in the morning and evening, the beam acceptance is much lower for tracking systems, falling to null when the mutual shadings (or backtracking) begin.
In our case and for a clear day in June, the beam fraction on ground is 44% with tracking, and 60% with sheds systems.
Other parameters may balance a part of this deficit: the view factor on the back side are similar. But the front gain, as well as the back diffuse irradiance from sky, are better. We can
mention that there cannot be a "direct" beam contribution from the sky on the back side of trackers.
2D Bifacial model conditions

The 2-dimensional models for the bifacial contribution are naturally applicable to the "unlimited sheds" and "unlimited trackers" situations. Nonetheless, they may also be used in
conjunction with a 3D scene, under some conditions ensuring the regularity of the arrangement of tables or trackers. If these conditions are not fulfilled, PVsyst will display the error
message "your PV system is not suited for the bifacial 2D model computation".
"Fixed tilted plane" orientation with shading scene

 The (horizontal) pitch between the tables has to be regular enough. PVsyst internally computes the RMS deviation on the pitches between all neighboring tables in the scene. The
resulting value must then lie below a threshold set by default at 0.4 m. The threshold can be modified in the advanced parameters, by changing the value "Pitch RMS limit for bifacial 2D
models". The threshold is four times the value of the advanced parameter.
 The table heights must be homogeneous across the whole scene. PVsyst will require tables to have a difference in heights of at most 1 cm or 1%. Note that the height can be found in
the PV table edition window, or under "width" in the window "List and management of objects".
 There must only be one single orientation. In some cases, it is possible to group orientations by increasing the tolerance in the "Orientations management tool".
"Tracking, horizontal axis N-S" orientation with shading scene

 The (horizontal) E-W pitch between the trackers has to be regular enough. PVsyst internally computes the RMS deviation on the pitches between all neighboring trackers in the scene.
The resulting value must then lie below a threshold set by default at 0.4 m. The threshold can be modified in the advanced parameters, by changing the value "Pitch RMS limit for bifacial
2D models". The threshold is four times the value of the advanced parameter.
 The tracker widths must be homogeneous across the whole scene. PVsyst will require tables to have a difference in widths of at most 1 cm or 1%. Note that the width can be found in
the tracker edition window, or in the window "List and management of objects".
 The average axis tilt must lie below a threshold given by default of 2°. The threshold can be modified directly in the advanced parameters, by changing the value "Max. tilt axis for the
bifacial 2D model".
Note on modifying the thresholds

The different limits set by default ensure that the model is applied only in situations where its results will be accurate. Although it is possible to circumvent some of these limits, this will also
mean that the bifacial contribution to your PV production may suffer from some inaccuracies, due to working with an idealized model using only average values.
Concentrating systems
Systems involving concentrating devices are not treated in whole generality in PVsyst. Some specific features have been implemented from version 4.2, for evaluating especially high-
concentrating systems. But their accuracy is not quite established.
The general study of concentration systems involves a detailed description of the irradiance distribution, which cannot be available using the present treatment of the Meteo, nor the limited
information included in the meteo database (site database).
Namely high concentrating performances require a good knowledge of the beam component. Then accurate models for achieving this evaluation would involve parameter like turbidity,
water and aerosol contents of the atmosphere, which are not defined in our database.
As an example, the eruption of the Mt. Pinatubo in 1991, had little effects on the global irradiance (less than 2%) but induced a very high loss of beam component: the pure direct was
scattered by aerosols, resulting in a strong halo around the sun, up to 30% during almost 2 years. This had dramatic consequences on the productivity of the high concentration thermal
plants all around the earth [Molineaux 1996].
In PVsyst, the simulation of concentrating systems has to deal with 2 aspects:

Acceptance of the Diffuse component
The higher the concentration, the lower the acceptance angle, which implies a limited acceptance of the diffuse component.
The maximum achievable Concentration Ratio CR is related to the acceptance half-angle θ as:
CRmax (1axis) = 1 / sin θ
CRmax (2axis) = 1 / sin² θ (Kreith and Kreidler, 1978, p 248).
In the present state, PVsyst is only able to treat 2-axis high concentration systems.
General treatment of low concentration systems (especially 1-axis parabola or "Compound Parabolic Concentrator" CPC) would imply a very detailed description of the optical system, as
well as a good knowledge of the irradiance distribution by any weather conditions, and would result in inhomogeneous irradiance on the PV receiver, which is very difficult to take into
account when there is more than one cell.
Therefore, concentration system parameters are only proposed in the 2-axis tracking dialog, where you have to define:
- The diffuse fraction to be taken into account in the simulation (usually near 0 with high concentration).
- The acceptance angle for a full efficiency (half-opening angle, i.e. the angle between incident and optical axis).
- The limit angle at which the efficiency falls to 0. Besides tracking errors (which cannot be taken into account), this will be useful when the array is reaching its tracking mechanical limits.
The simulation will perform a linear decrease between the acceptance and limit angles, and will accumulate the corresponding tracking loss.
Electrical behavior of the concentration device
In a 2-axis high concentrating system, the PV sensitive device is usually a single multi-junction cell of some few cm², with very high efficiency. This receives a flux of the order of 500x
suns (50 W/cm²), and therefore works in a domain where our PV one-diode model is not well attested. We can just notice that the logarithmic behavior of the open-circuit voltage with
irradiance - which is a straightforward result of the model - favors the efficiency at these running conditions.
The device is mounted on a heat spreader (passively cooled), which ensures an acceptable operating temperature, of the order of 80°C or less.
Electrical modeling in PVsyst
We did not develop a specific model in PVsyst for such a configuration.
But some manufacturers of concentrating devices use to give performance data for their whole component - including concentrators - in a comparable way to usual photovoltaic modules.
That is, when a set of concentrators with their PV devices is assembled as a module, they give the usual parameters Isc, Vco, Imp and Vmp, referenced to the irradiance on the aperture
area (sometimes under 850 W/m² instead of 1000 W/m² ). The I/V curve is very sharp, with an excellent fill factor.
Then,we do the hypothesis that the standard one-diode model applies to this system, even though it has no real physical meaning. This is motivated by the sharpness of the I/V
characteristics, and by the fact that our model allows to set a customized temperature coefficient, as required by the manufacturer. Therefore, power behavior according to irradiance and
temperature that necessary for the simulation process - should be close to the reality.
In this phenomenological model, any optical aberrations are neglected.
NB: With respect to standard systems, such high concentration systems suffer of two main loss sources, the negligible diffuse acceptance (diffuse is of the order of 30% even in most
sunny regions, 40 to 50% in the middle Europe climates) and the full loss when reaching the tracking limits of the heliostats. These appear of course on the PVsyst Loss diagram.
On the other hand, in the system definition, the heat loss factor Kc should be set according to the effective sensor temperature, reached under nominal irradiance and which should be
specified by the manufacturer (some equivalent of the NOCT data).
Defining a concentrating system

A concentrating system is defined when involving a concentrating PV module (CPV).
Defining a CPV module in PVsyst is done in the PV module definitions, part "Size and Technology".
Only high concentrating CPV devices (with a concentrating factor of the order of 500x) are possible in PVsyst. These are usually equipped with very high efficiency concentrating cells
(triple junction GaInP2/GaAs/Ge). The optical characteristics and real electrical behavior of the cell cannot be modeled in detail. Therefore, as an approximation, the full CPV module is
treated as if it was a flat PV module, with a sensitive area equivalent to the optical aperture area.
The thermal behavior - with heat sinks for evacuating the heat of the cell - is supposed to behave in the same way as the flat plate modules, i.e., according to the usual thermal balance
equation with a heat loss factor U as parameter. Now there is no general rule for the determination of this thermal factor, which depends on the heat sink properties. Therefore, this should
be specified by the module manufacturer.
The CPV module is only able to use the beam component. A concentrating factor of 500x means an ideal acceptance angle of 2.5° at most (less than 1° in the reality) so that the diffuse
contribution is completely negligible. This is the reason why the industry of CPV modules has fixed the STC irradiance value at 850 W/m² instead of 1000 W/m² for usual modules (but still
with a cell temperature of 25°C).
When specifying a CPV module in PVsyst, you have the opportunity of defining specific corrections, namely for the spectral behavior. This correction is named the CPV Utilization Factor.
For applying this correction, you can define - in the PV module model parameters - a double-linear behavior according to:
- the Beam normal value (DNI),
- the air mass (the CPV module will always operate in clear day conditions),
- the ambient temperature (not for spectral response, but for accounting of optic's mechanical deformations).
Again, these corrections are determined from long-term measurement in real conditions, and should be given by the manufacturers.
PV array electrical behaviour

This option presents a set of graphic tools, intended for a better understanding of the electric phenomena involved when connecting several modules together in arrays.
Electrical connections of non-identical modules are not trivial. They lead to complex I/V characteristics shapes and current flows, which are far from being intuitive.
They often involve the reverse characteristics of the cells in the module, which has to be modelled. In PVsyst, this reverse cell model is only involved in the frame of these
phenomenological and didactic tools; moreover in the practise, modules are protected against severe cell reverse bias through bypass diodes. Therefore the exactness of this model is not
crucial.
The four graphical tools are:
Reverse characteristics of cells or modules,
Array or Cells Mismatch effects and calculation,
Array or Module with one shaded cell, hot spots, effect of bypass diodes,
Heterogeneous arrays connected in parallel.
Arrays with characteristic's mismatch

This tool allows for the phenomenological study of the resultant I/V characteristic of a module or PV array, composed of non identical cells or modules.
The program simulates the connection of any number of elements in series and in parallel - by affecting to the I/V model parameters of each element a random dispersion. The user can
choose between a normal (gaussian) distribution, or a square distribution between 2 limits.
The elements can be cells, assembled in a module, or modules, protected with by-pass diodes.
The parameters that can be modulated are:
- the short-circuit current Isc (analogous to a non-homogenous irradiance distribution),
- the open circuit voltage Voc (which can also reflect temperature differences).
The programme calculates each characteristic according to the standard model, and then adds up point-by-point the voltages of the elements in series and the currents from series in
parallel. The user can visually follow these operations. He then obtains the overall resultant characteristic of the field, and the program traces the "mean" characteristic (corresponding to
elements, all of which are identical) and two envelope-characteristics which can be chosen as 2-RMS values, or as extreme random values encountered in the sample. The program
evaluates the Power loss at maximum power point, and at a fixed operating voltage, with respect to the nominal case.
NB: The parameter dispersion being random, two successive executions of the same process will never give the same result !
You can choose the 3 following modes:
Group of Cells corresponds to the behaviour of the chosen PV module according to its cell's dispersion. Usually in a module, all cells form only one chain (sometimes two or more),
therefore only the current dispersion is relevant. For such a module, one can see that the resulting characteristics is strongly influenced by the cell with the worst current, resulting in the
flattening of the current plateau just below the maximum power point.
In such a figure, a bad cell may work in its reverse characteristics region (that is with a negative voltage) on part of the current plateau.
Remark: You will understand here the difficulty in exactly representing the operation of a real module with the help of usual models describing single cells, and that the use of too
sophisticated cell-models (i.e., two-diodes models) will not improve the situation if they do not include this statistical distribution.
Group of modules simulates a whole array. In this case, the resulting figure looks quite different, with a "bumped" shape all along the plateau. This is due to the by-pass protection
diodes, supposed to be always present in the modules. These give usually even better performances than nominal modules below half the nominal current, but degrade until the Maximum
Power Point. One can see that the MPP power is much less affected than at fixed voltage operation below the MPP point.
Remark: in the region of low voltages, some modules are operating in the reverse polarisation region. The by-pass diode blocks the reverse current which normally would flow (be
consumed) through the cells. This is the reason why the performances are better. Without diodes, the characteristics would show a linear plateau analogous to the cells behaviour in a
single module, near to the worst module characteristics.
Group of modules with sorted modules. If we sort the PV elements to put them in increasing order of short-circuit current, in such a way that each series comprises modules with close
characteristics, one can see a quite different behaviour. In this case, the diodes are no longer involved and the curve again becomes perfectly smooth. Each string behaves according to
the average of its modules; but connecting them in parallel results in a characteristic very close to the average. This confirms that sorting the modules before mounting them in series can
significantly improve the performances of an array, especially when working at fixed voltage.
PV module / array with a shaded cell

This tool visualises the behaviour of voltages and currents at the terminals of a shaded (or bad) cell, placed in a module or a group of modules. It evaluates the energy dissipation of this
cell for various operating points, and its resultant temperature by making reasonable hypotheses for the thermal loss factor.
It has to be noted that these behaviours are studied in a marginal situation - representing the most unfavourable case - where only one single cell is disturbed. The user can adjust the
irradiance, the module temperature in normal operation (i.e., without dissipation), and the shading fraction of the considered cell.
You can visualise three different cases, for a single module or arrays:
Module without protection diode: the graph shows the degraded performance curve of the whole module (grey), to be compared to the normal operation (dashed line). But it also shows
the dangerous reverse bias applied on the shaded cell, for example at the V=0 point (short circuited module), or at the Maximum Power Point operation of the whole array. The reverse
bias voltage occurs along with a current greater than the nominal photocurrent, resulting in a serious power dissipation of the shaded cell, resulting in its temperature increase.
This dangerous situation, named "Hot Spot", can be explained as each cell in the module is producing its rated current at bright sun, with its normal voltage, all of this power being
dissipated in the shaded cell. (As they are connected in series, the current flow is identical in each cell, and the sum of voltages (shaded+non-shaded) is the module overall voltage, i.e.,
zero when short-circuited).
Module with protection by-pass diode: this graph also shows the regulating action of the protection diodes connected in antiparallel to a module or two half-modules. In this case the
reverse voltage at the module's terminals is limited to the diode voltage (about –0.7V), the excess current being drawn by the diode. In this case, the power dissipation of the shaded cell is
limited to the power production of the other cells inside the protected series. If too many cells in series, the module's manufacturer will distribute several diodes along the cells string.
These behaviours help understand that the effects of partial shadings on an array give rise to highly non-linear electrical behaviours, and that apparently negligible causes can lead to
highly significant losses.
This graphical tool should lead the engineer to carefully study the wiring of the PV fields, in such a way that the foreseen shadings simultaneously affect the smallest number of series
possible. For example, in shed mountings, he should place the module series longitudinally, in order that the mutual shadings (on the lower part of the back-shed) be limited to just one
branch of cells or modules.
Amorphous degradation and Array voltage sizing

It is well-known that the amorphous modules suffer from a significant initial degradation during the first two or three operating months due to the Staebler-Wronski effect. This is sometimes
specified in the data sheets, and the voltage can be about 10% over the stabilized value. But the STC values specified in the datasheets (used for establishing the model) are always the
stabilized ones.
Simulation:
The simulation itself doesn't take the initial degradation into account: it always works with the stabilized STC values. The initial over-performance is considered as temporary, and
neglected.
System Sizing:
As the electrical data used for the sizing of the PV array are the stabilized ones, dangerous voltages overcoming the absolute admissible voltages may appear just after the commissioning
of the system. This over-voltage may be taken into account in the Sizing dialog.
Now when the commissioning takes place in Summer, the reference sizing low temperature may be chosen much higher than the usual yearly worst-case temperature. With a usual
temperature coefficient muVco of around -0.3%/°C, and a reference temperature gain of 20°C (+10°C instead of -10°C usual in middle Europe), this will reduce the Voc value by 6%.
Otherwise, if in the reality your sizing overcomes the voltage limit, you can also suppress one module in each string during the first operating months.
Shadings - General
We distinguish between two fundamentally different types of shadings:
-
Far shadings are described by a horizon line. They concern shadings from objects sufficiently far as we can consider they act on the PV field in a global way: at a given instant, the
sun is or is not visible on the field. Typically, the distance of these shading objects should be higher than, say, ten times the PV field size.
- Near shadings are shadings produced by near objects, which draw visible shades on the PV field. We call Shading Factor the ratio of the shaded area, with respect to the total
sensitive area of the field. The treatment of near shadings is much more complex than far shadings, it cannot be done without a detailed 3D description of the full PV system and its
environment.
This is the most difficult part of the PVsyst software. For beginners, you have a tutorial that explains the main procedures with an example.
During the simulation, the shading calculations have to be computed at each hour and applied differently on the beam, diffuse and albedo components (see Shadings Calculation and
Model).
For the beam component of near shadings we have to consider 2 kinds of losses:
- Irradiance losses, which correspond to the deficit of irradiance on the cells (formerly called "Linear shading losses"),
- Electrical losses, resulting from the mismatch of electrical response of the modules in series and strings in parallel: for example, in a string of modules (or cells), the total current is
always determined by the current in the weakest cell.
PVsyst provides 2 different ways to treat these electrical losses:

- Shading factor "according to strings", which is a rough evaluation giving an upper limit to the shading loss (see Electrical shadings according to module strings),
- Detailed electrical calculation according to the exact positioning of each module in the field (see Module Layout and Detailed electrical calculation).
Note that a model equivalent to the "according to strings" mode, to account for the electrical losses, may also be used with the "unlimited" orientations. These orientations are an
alternative way to include mutual shadings in the simulation.
See "Near shadings, main dialog" for the general procedure, and the different ways of performing shading calculations.
Calculation and Model
Shading calculations
In order to evaluate the shading losses during the simulation, we have to treat each of the three irradiance components of the input meteo data in the appropriate manner:
 For the Beam component, we will define a Shading factor which depends on the sun position.
 For the Circumsolar component, we apply the same shading factor as for the beam. However the Circumsolar component will not produce electrical shadings.
 For the Diffuse component, we will define a factor as an integral over all sky directions. This will result in a Shading factor for diffuse, which is independent on the sun position.
 For the Albedo component, we will perform an integral according to the near obstacles on the ground. This will result in a Shading factor for albedo, independent on the sun position.
Shading losses
When applying these shading calculations in the hourly simulation, we observe two kinds of losses:
Linear shading losses

The Linear shading losses are computed from the Shading factors described above, and represent the irradiance deficit on the PV array.
At each time step, the simulation will evaluate the shading loss on the Beam, Circumsolar, Diffuse and Albedo contributions of the irradiance input data. These losses will be available in
the results:
ShdLoss Global linear shading loss (or irradiance shading loss), total of the 4 contributions,
ShdBLss Loss on the beam component,
ShdCLss Loss on the circumsolar component,
ShdDLss Loss on the diffuse component,
ShdALss Loss on the albedo component.
Electrical shading losses

The Electrical shading losses is a result of electrical mismatch when interconnecting shaded and unshaded PV modules as an array.
For instance, the global current in a string of modules (or cells) is driven by the cell producing the lowest current. And if the current imposed in the string is higher than the maximum
current of a shaded cell, the by-pass diode of the shaded sub-module will be activated.
In PVsyst, there are 3 ways to compute the electrical losses:
 In the unlimited sheds (or trackers) orientation, the electrical effect may be evaluated in a simple and reliable way, using a 2D analytic calculation.
 a calculation named "According to module strings", which is an approximation giving an upper limit to the potential mismatch loss. As this represents a maximum, PVsyst proposes a
parameter "Fraction for electrical loss" to decrease the magnitude of the electrical shading losses. Note that for regular row-based arrangements (regular mutual shades), this factor
should be left as 100%.
 a detailed calculation named "Module Layout", which gives a more accurate evaluation involving the exact placement of each PV module within the 3D construction, as well as its
location in the electrical system. This calculation is based on the combination of the IV curves of the components forming the PV array.
During the simulation, the electrical loss is accumulated in the variable named ShdElec.
NB: The electrical losses only apply to the Beam component. The diffuse irradiance comes from all directions of the sky, and the irradiance inhomogeneities are not sufficient to create
significant mismatch losses (and we don't have any means for evaluating them). For similar reasons, we also consider that the Circumsolar component does not produce electrical losses.
NB: The main impact of the module orientation (portrait or landscape) is on the electrical loss. In the module layout tool, you have to define it explicitly. With the option "according to
module strings", you will define the "partition" sizes accordingly.
Recovery by Optimizers
Optimizers at the module level (or better at sub-module level) may recover a part of the mismatch losses due to shades on a string.
However this recovery does not represent the full electrical losses: when a few cells are shaded in a sub-module, the by-pass diode will be activated for short-circuiting this sub-module in
the string. Therefore:
 The production of the remaining illuminated cells in the sub-module, as well as the production of the remaining diffuse part, is lost,
 The voltage across the diode (≲ 1V), times the current in the string, represent an additional power loss, the diode will heat-up.
For regular shading situations, such as mutual shadings in regular row arrangements, optimizers at the string level (or better at module or sub-module levels) may recover part of the loss
due to the mismatch between strings in parallel.
Reflections
Gains due to eventual reflections on near reflective surface, usually specular, cannot be calculated by PVsyst.
However, though they are sometimes spectacular, these effects have negligible energetic consequences: they are in general involved only for very special hourly periods, and in the
presence of the beam component. Moreover, their effect on the real output of a sizeable PV field remains negligible, when considering that to benefit from it, a complete string of cells in
series should be uniformly illuminated by this supplementary supply (the production of a chain is indeed limited by the production of the weakest cell). In the same way, the reflection on the
back of a shed, on the one hand only intercepts a small efficient part of the beam component, and on the other hand only illuminates a non-homogenous band in the lower part of the
collector.
Treatment of the Beam component
Far shadings
The evaluation of the beam component in the Far Shadings case is extremely simple, it is simply an "ON/OFF" treatment: at a given time the sun is over or under the horizon line for the
whole system.
The simulation determines the time of the crossing of the horizon line within the simulation hour and applies this fraction of hour as loss to the beam and circumsolar components.
Near shadings - Shading factor

With near shadings, we define the Shading Factor as the shaded fraction of the PV field (visual shades) with respect to the full sensitive area, for a given position of the sun.
The geometric configuration of the shadows falling on the field, and the determination of the shading factor, are carried out in a purely geometric and analytical manner. Therefore this is an
"exact" calculation, which doesn't involve any modeling or approximating hypothesis.
For a given solar position, the program first carries out a transformation of the co-ordinates of the whole system, in order to point the OZ' axis in the direction of the sun.
Next, for each sensitive element of the PV field (table like rectangle, shed, polygon, tracker), it projects each elementary surface of the surrounding system on the plane of the field being
considered. The intersection of the field element with the positive projections (i.e., in front of the plane) of each element is then calculated. The reunion of these elementary shadows forms
a polygon representing the global shading on the field element (table) under consideration. The shading loss factor is the ratio of the area of the shadow polygon, to that of the sensitive
element. This process is repeated for each sensitive field element (each table).
The greatest difficulty with this procedure resides in the calculation of reunions and intersections of polygons in the plane, in the general case. This operation is proven to be extremely
complex to program using polygons defined by their summits. The difficulties mainly appear when the summits or the segments are overlapping or very close, as it is the case for most of
the object constructions, when each summit is a part of several elementary surfaces in the 3D space. Topological decisions depend on the proximity of points in space. It is therefore
necessary to define distance criteria in terms of the resolution of the calculations of the machine, or topological criteria, etc. and the reliability of this procedure is not absolute.
Calculation optimization
In the version 5, the calculation time became prohibitive for complex systems of more than 500-1000 elements, as each sensitive element was compared to all the other ones, leading to a
calculation time going with the square of the number of elements.
In the version 6, this calculation had been optimized. In a pre-evaluation phase, the program identifies the potential obstacles for each sensitive element, leading to gains in time of a factor
of 10 or more.
Since version 6.40, these calculations have been greatly improved again, they can also make a better use of multi-core processors.
Use in the simulation

The shading factor is computed for the effective direction of the sun at the middle of the hourly step. The simulation may
 either use an interpolated value in the pre-calculated "Shading Factor Table" (fast option),
 or compute the full shading factor at each step (slow option).
Circumsolar component
When the circumsolar is treated separately (i.e. not included with the diffuse component), PVsyst applies the same far and linear shading factors as for the beam. However the circumsolar
component will not produce shading electrical mismatch losses.
Treatment of the Diffuse component
Basic hypothesis: isotropic diffuse

The determination of the shading effects on the diffuse component is based on the hypothesis that the diffuse is isotropic. This means that the array receives the same irradiance whatever
the direction of the sky.
This assumption is realistic for covered and semi-covered conditions. But not completely true when the sun is shining, as the "circumsolar" (bright enhancement in a cone of 5° around the
sun, due to humidity and aerosols) is accounted within the diffuse component in usual meteorological data.
Calculation as an integral
PVsyst will evaluate the shading factor for the diffuse as an integral of the shading factor, calculated for each direction of the space. This integral is performed over the sky vault, as "seen"
by the collector plane, i.e., the orange slice limited by the collector plane and the horizontal plane. This integral uses the table of the shading factors calculated previously for the beam
component, for any direction of the beam (not only the possible sun's positions).
This integral, named "shading factor for diffuse" is not dependent on the sun's position, but only on the geometry of the system. It is therefore constant over the whole year, and even
independent on the latitude. It is calculated once at the beginning of the simulation, and is applied to the diffuse component at each time step of the simulation.
For tracking systems, the shading factor for diffuse should be recomputed for each position of the trackers. In practice, it is evaluated for several orientations of the trackers at the
beginning of the simulation, and interpolated between these values during the simulation. With backtracking, there are no mutual shadings for the beam component, but the shading loss
on the diffuse is significant. Note that by default, large tracking systems are approximated for the sake of the diffuse shadings computation. This may lead to some inaccuracies in some
cases; for these, the approximation should be removed, and one should calculate with all trackers.
Global calculations on diffuse

The shading factor on the Far shadings is computed the same way. We have to apply also a similar calculation to the IAM (Incidence angle Modifier).
However, these integrals are not independent: when the direction is below the horizon line, you have no irradiance contribution for the calculation of the near shadings nor the IAM.
Therefore for each direction, we should evaluate the product of the Far shadings, Near shadings and IAM loss as parameter for the integral. Along with the last irradiance loss (soiling,
independent on the direction), this leads to a constant global loss factor for diffuse, used for the calculation of the "Effective diffuse" component in the simulation.
Treatment of the Albedo component

We can consider that for a given azimuth, the albedo (ground reflection of "far" terrain) is visible by the collectors only if no close obstacle is present at the ground level.
Far shadings
With far shadings, you can manually choose the fraction of albedo to be taken into account, according to the distance of the "horizon" obstacles.
If the obstacles are far enough, like a mountain, the sun has the opportunity to illuminate the terrain in front of the horizon. If the obstacles are rather close (forest, buildings, etc), the
terrain between the obstacle and your system will receive (and re-emit) less irradiance for the albedo contribution. PVsyst gives the opportunity to reducing the albedo contribution
manually.
Moreover, the albedo contribution will diminish with the height of the obstacles, and become null for an horizon line higher than 20° (value adjustable in the Hidden parameters).
Near shadings
For the near shading, we use an analogy with the albedo calculation in the transposition models (see Hay model). We suppose that for a given azimuth, the albedo contribution is
proportional to the part that would be "seen" below the azimuth point, between the horizontal plane and the prolongation of the collector plane.
Therefore, we integrate the shading factor at zero height (presence of an obstacle or not), over the portion of the sphere "under" the horizon, comprised between the horizontal plane and
the plane of the collectors. This is of course a questionable hypothesis. By the way, please remember that for non-vertical planes, the energetic contribution of the albedo is weak in the
global incident energy, and that errors in its estimation will therefore only have secondary repercussions.
As for the diffuse, this integral is not dependent on the sun's position, and therefore constant over the whole year.
Albedo contribution in big systems

For sheds (rows) arrangements, this evaluation is quite realistic: only the first row is "seeing" the albedo, so that the albedo shading factor will be (n-1)/n (n = number of sheds). The
albedo loss is a significant contribution to the global shading losses.
Now many people have doubts about the albedo coefficient for their site. For big systems, we understand that this contribution is negligible on the yield result.
However the albedo is part of the transposition (GlobInc) value. As the Performance Ratio is referenced to GlobInc, a higher albedo value will not change the Yield, but reduce the PR !
Electrical shading mismatch loss
Qualitative behaviour
Mismatch loss between cells

When a PV array is shaded, there is a inhomogeneity of irradiance on the different PV cells, and therefore a disturbance of the Electrical yield ("mismatch loss").
Remember that in a set of PV cells connected in series (a string), the current of the less irradiated cell will govern the current within this whole string. Therefore, as soon as one cell is
shaded the full string does not produce electricity anymore, or just the amount corresponding to the remaining irradiance on the shaded cell (mainly diffuse light).
In PVsyst the diffuse is considered as uniformly distributed on the array (for simplicity). Therefore, the electrical mismatch loss will only be applied to the beam component.
Sub-modules and By-pass diodes

Mismatch losses may be mitigated by the use of by-pass diodes.
Any PV module can be protected against "Hot spot" phenomenon by by-pass diodes. We name "sub-module" a set of cells protected by a by-pass diode (usually 20 - 24 cells). Within an
array, as the shaded cells are unable to produce the current imposed by the rest of the array, they become reverse-biased. The by-pass diodes derive this imposed reverse current,
recovering a part of low-current deficit of the shaded cells.
These by-pass diodes may recover a part of the lack of current in shaded cells. However, if the number of shaded sub-modules is too high, they cannot recover all. See the explanation of
the by-pass effect. In particular in an array arrangement, as soon as the bottom cells are shaded, a string becomes inactive for the beam component.
Electrical shading mismatch calculation

PVsyst has 3 different calculation modes:
 In the unlimited sheds (or trackers) orientation, the electrical effect may be evaluated in a simple and reliable way, using a 2D analytic calculation.
 When defining a general 3D scene, there is an approximate simple calculation named "Electrical shadings according to modules strings". This calculation allows a reliable evaluation in
the case of mutual shading in regular rows of fixed tilt tables or regular rows of trackers. It is not so well suited for irregular shades.
 The most reliable calculation is the Module Layout model, which requires a detailed description of the PV array and the exact positioning of the modules in the 3D scene.
Linear and Electrical shading losses

We name "Linear shadings" the loss due to the real shades cast on the PV array, i.e., the "visible" shades on the array. These Linear shadings correspond to the deficit of irradiance.
The "Electrical shadings" are an extra loss, representing the loss during the transformation of this irradiance into electrical power. This is caused by the mismatch losses due to the
inhomogeneity of irradiance, as explained above.
On the loss diagram: while the linear shadings are taken into account in the "Irradiance" part of the simulation, the electrical losses are applied to the "Electrical" part of the simulation.
Beam and Circumsolar

Both Linear and Electrical shading losses are related to the beam component.
Up to version 6, PVsyst used the usual interpretation of the transposition models: in the original meteorological data, a circumsolar component (strengthening of the irradiance in a crown
around the sun) is assimilated to the measured diffuse irradiance. During the transposition, this circumsolar component is evaluated by the model and treated as the beam component, i.e.
submitted to the sun's position. But in the shading calculations, this circumsolar was treated within the Diffuse, i.e. as an isotropic contribution.
From version 7 of PVsyst onwards, the circumsolar contribution may (optionnally) be distinguished from the Diffuse and Beam components. For the calculation of the shading losses, only
the isotropic diffuse part is considered as diffuse, and the circumsolar is assimilated to the beam. We have therefore an increased contribution of the Linear shading loss, and a diminution
of the diffuse shading loss. But as these values are often rather equivalent, these contributions compensate each other.
For the electrical contribution, this is not the case: the electrical loss is fully proportional to the beam, and the circumsolar is added as a "new" contribution.
NB: You will find the option to associate the Circumsolar contribution to the sun position in the main menu "Preferences > Physical Models > Use new transposition".
Shading factor table

The Shading Factor is the shaded fraction of the PV field with respect to the full sensitive area, for a given sun orientation (values 0 = no shades, 1 = fully shaded).
In the 3D construction, the shading factor is a complex calculation. See Beam Component for a detailed description of this calculation.
Performing the calculation at each step of the simulation may take too much time. Therefore, the program builds one or several Shading factor tables of pre-calculated values in sun height
(10° steps) and azimuth (20° steps), from which we can interpolate for getting the Shading factor for any sun (or space) direction. Using this type of tables constitutes the "Fast
calculation" mode.
For not too big systems, the calculation of the shading factor can be fully performed at each simulation step to avoid interpolation errors (option "Slow calculation"). In this case, the
shading factor table is not used to compute the shadings on the beam and circumsolar components.
Table usage
In a project, PVsyst establishes a table for each orientation, and for each of the different stages of the shadings calculation. For example, if the option "shading according to strings" is
activated, PVsyst will establish additional tables that include the electrical shading mismatch losses for standard objects, and those for thin objects.
With tracking systems, PVsyst must internally establish tables for different tracker positions, for the evaluation of the Shading factor on diffuse for each position. This may take some time,
therefore an approximate calculation may be used as well.
This table is therefore used:
 to compute the shading factor for diffuse and albedo components,
 to establish the iso-shadings diagram,
 at each step during the simulation when choosing the fast calculation mode.
The Shading table provides a complete analysis of the shading scene. Some other software use this table (exported from PVsyst) for their own simulations.
NB: During the elaboration of the shading table, the points (sun positions) located behind the plane of the PV field appear in blue. The highest entry among the blue ones is extrapolated
from the above entries. This is to avoid artifacts in the interpolation of the shading factors. Other entries for which the sun arrives behind the plane are marked as "Behind".
Diffuse losses with tracking systems

The diffuse (and albedo) loss evaluation is not straightforward with tracking systems. Since the calculation involves several sky directions and tracker positions, it can become very time-
consuming to consider all trackers for very large or detailed scenes.
Calculation principles
Ideally, one should compute the whole shading table for all possible tracker orientations, and evaluating the diffuse integral over each of these shading tables. In practice, PVsyst
evaluates the shading factor for some chosen tracker orientations, and interpolates the shading factor at the simulation time. Even then, this calculation can take a long time. Originally, this
was not feasible for large systems with many trackers due to the significant time needed for the elaboration of the different shading tables.
Therefore, we developed an approximation that is quite acceptable in most cases (especially for big homogeneous systems) where the trackers are uniformly arranged. In this
approximation scheme, the program chooses one significant tracker in the middle of the system, and evaluates the shading factor table for this element only, using neighboring trackers to
cast shadings, but neglecting other eventual shading sources. This allows a faster diffuse shading table calculation, while still producing shading factor evaluations for about 12 tracker
positions (two-axis) or 8 (one-axis).
This approximation can be summarized as shading a representative "central tracker" with the neighboring "partial scene".
This doesn't take the finite size of the system into account, i.e., the first row (in east or west) doesn't suffer from mutual shadings; this may introduce an error of the order of 1/N rows.
However this is not a problem, as for small systems the calculation is automatically performed on the full system.
Tracker diffuse shading definition window (from version 7.3.0)

This window allows to select the most adapted calculation mode for the diffuse shadings of trackers. It is available as soon as trackers are defined in the scene, and is found from the
shading scene construction window, via Tools > Trackers diffuse shadings definition.
There are several calculation modes, and by default the "Automatic" option is selected:
 All trackers
In this case, all trackers in the scene are considered for the diffuse shading calculation. This is the most precise calculation, but may become resource intensive for large or complex
scenes.
 Central tracker
In this case, the tracker closest to the geometrical center of the scene is selected as representative sample for the whole scene. This tracker is highlighted in green both in the window
and in the scene (legend: "Shaded tracker"), while the definition window is open. The neighboring trackers, used to cast shadings on the representative tracker are highlighted in orange
(legend: "Shading mask"). Note that some arrangements of trackers invalidate the accuracy of the "central tracker" approach: if the central tracker is on the edge of a patch of trackers,
the diffuse shadings will be underestimated.
 Custom tracker
Same as above, but with the possibility of manually selecting a tracker to be used as representative sample. The shading mask is defined automatically.
 Automatic
In this case PVsyst will select the best option between "All trackers" and "Central tracker", depending on the number of trackers in the scene. The threshold between both regimes can
be changed in the advanced parameters ("Threshold number of tracker fields for partial scene") with a default value of 40. This is equivalent to the treatment used up to version 7.2.21
(see below).
Tracker diffuse shading definition window

The mode used for the diffuse shadings calculation is displayed in the report, under General parameters > Near Shadings.
Previous versions
Adjusting the partial scene cap (from version 7.2.15)

As simulated systems grow in complexity, it is not unusual to have large systems with hundreds of trackers, arranged in several patches of various shapes. Some arrangements of trackers
invalidate the accuracy of the "central tracker" and "partial scene" approach: if the central tracker is on the edge of a patch of trackers, the diffuse shadings will be underestimated. The
algorithm for finding relevant neighboring trackers also shows its limits in complex arrangements.
For this reason, the threshold number of trackers above which the "central tracker with partial scene" approach is applied, can be changed in the advanced parameters ("Threshold
number of tracker fields for partial scene"). Increasing it from its default value of 40 to a value larger than the number of trackers in the scene is henceforth advised for systems with
trackers arranged non-uniformly.
Incorrect calculation (up to version 6.08)

This was indeed a weakness of PVsyst in the versions before V6.08: the diffuse loss for tracking systems was not computed correctly.
For a fixed plane, the Shading factor on diffuse is computed as an integral of the actual shading factor over all space directions. This calculation is a characteristic of the PV system
geometry only, it doesn't depend on the sun's position nor the location, so that the shading factor is constant over the year.
For tracking systems, we applied the same method, using the usual Shading factor table calculated for different positions of the sun. But in this table the tracker orientation is adjusted for
each sun's position !
We were not aware of that problem when developing the diffuse treatment for tracking.
The main effect of the errors in the old version was visible with the backtracking strategy: as by definition of backtracking the shading factor is null for any sun's direction (i.e., any element
of the shading table), the integral of the shading factor was null. This is not the reality as with a tilted plane, a part of the diffuse (and the albedo) is affected by the neighbor trackers.
The new calculation gives indeed a shading factor on the diffuse, which may be of the order of 2 to 3% on the yearly system yield, depending of course of the system (especially the
climate and GCR).
Now, the same arguments should apply to the non-backtracking systems: the shading factor on diffuse should depend on the instantaneous tilt. This was not apparent in the results, as
with the old calculation, the existing not-null shading factor gave a not-null value for the shading factor on diffuse.
According to our first evaluations, it seems that the result with the new and the old calculations are close. This means that the "old" shading factor on diffuse represents rather well an
average over the year. This should be verified with different systems, especially different climates and GCR.
This structural simulation difference between backtracking and not-backtracking systems affects of course the comparisons between both strategies, and favors the non-backtracking
systems with respect to old simulations.
NB: These discrepancies are lower in very sunny climates (low diffuse fraction).
Iso-shading diagram
The iso-shading diagram is a graphical expression of the shading factor table. It shows lines of some given shading factors, superimposed on the sun paths.
Blue lines also indicate the tangential limits of the plane (i.e., when the sun rays are parallel to the plane).
This diagram gives a synthetic evaluation of the shading distribution according to the season and the time-of day during the year.
The irregular look of the lines is due to the interpolations across discrete calculation points.
Remember that this loss factor applies to the beam component reaching the PV plane. When the incident angle is high, even high loss factors will act on very low irradiance component,
giving rise to reasonable effects on the overall efficiency.
Far shadings - Horizon

See also Shadings - General
The horizon of far shadings part is the simplest way to define shadings in PVsyst. But this is only suited for treating shadings of objects sufficiently far, as we can consider they act on the
PV field in a global way: at a given instant, the sun is or is not visible on the field. Typically the distance of these shading objects should be higher than, say, ten times the PV field size.
For nearer objects you should use the option for near shadings.
Defining a horizon profile is a very simple operation with the PVsyst graphical tool. The horizon is a broken line superimposed on the sun path diagram, which can hold any number of
height/azimuth points.
- To modify it, simply drag the red dots with the mouse (or define the desired value in the corresponding edit box).
- To add a point, click anywhere with the right button.
- To delete a point, click on this point with the right button.
Horizon measurements (list of height and azimuth of some significant points) can be obtained on-site with a compass and theodolite (clinometer), a detailed map, panoramic or fish-eye
photographies, etc.
NB: an horizon profile with all heights less than 2° is considered insignificant. It is not taken into account in the simulation and is not shown on the report.
Importing a Horizon profile:

You have the possibility of importing horizon profile files from some other tools or Software.
Saving Horizon profile:

A horizon profile can be saved to reuse it in another project or meteo calculation. It is stored in the \Shadings\ subdirectory with an extension .HOR.
NB: A file with PVsyst format is not an ASCII file and cannot be exported to other software.
Treatment during the simulation process:

The effect on the beam component is of the "ON/OFF" kind: at a given instant, the sun is or is not visible on the field. As meteo is recorded in hourly time steps, the program determines
the exact time when the sun crosses the horizon line and weights the beam hourly value before performing the transposition.
The effect on the diffuse component is not so clear. We can admit that radiation from the back side of the obstacles is null, and therefore the diffuse attenuation is calculated as an
integral of an isotropic radiation over the portion of sphere "seen" by the plane, above the horizon line. This is independent of the sun position, and therefore constant over the year.
Albedo contribution is more difficult to estimate. For far horizons, some radiation may be reflected by the ground ahead of the collector plane. We consider the albedo to be linearly
decreasing according to the horizon height (up to zero for horizon > 20°). On the other hand, if the "horizon" obstacle is rather near, albedo should be considered as null. Therefore the
user has the opportunity of determining which fraction of calculated albedo he wants to take into account, according to the distance of horizon obstacle.
The reality is certainly very complex, and requires more experimental investigations to assess these hypotheses on diffuse and albedo contributions. Nevertheless, we can observe that
these contributions (and their errors) are rather low for low plane tilts, since the horizon irradiation has a low cosine factor. They become more significant for very tilted or vertical planes.
Read also our note on Horizon in Meteorological data.
Importing an Horizon profile

The horizon profile may be defined manually by a set of (Azimuth/Height) points in degrees. These may be from on-site measurements (using land-surveyors instruments like compass
and inclinometer).
They can be imported from several sources:
From your workspace:

 PVsyst internal file - all horizon files that are saved in your workspace
From external files:

 Standard CSV file - any text file containing properly structured data. PVsyst will recognize files as valid horizon profiles if they meet following characteristics:
o File with text or CSV format, containing columns separated with comma, semicolon, tabulation or space
 Header/comments:
 All lines containing text are considered comment lines
 Comment line containing text such as "Latitude 25.3°, Longitude 44.1°" will be used as a comment for the generated horizon. This comment can later be manually edited.
 Data:
 One line per defined point. Each point defined as an Azimuth and a Height value, expressed in degrees.
o Before import, you can define the angular reference for your file with the Direction of rotation of azimuth as Clockwise or Counterclockwise and the North azimuth angle.
 The Meteonorm software produces Horizon profiles, which you can also import in PVsyst. The file name of these profiles holds the exact coordinates of the site evaluated.
From web sources directly (requires an active internet connection):

 The free service PVGIS (http://re.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pvg_tools/en/tools.html#) provides worldwide horizons. This service is completely integrated in PVsyst, manually downloading the
profile from the web page is not necessary. Simply choose "PVGIS Horizon From WEB" and press the "Import from web" button.
 The included Meteonorm web service for horizon profiles provides worldwide horizons.
For horizon profiles established using a geo-reference grid (like PVGIS and Meteonorm), the exact location should be carefully defined. You can edit the latitude and longitude in this
window to be as precise as possible: keep in mind that a degree in latitude is 111 km, the second decimal is 1.1km and the 4th decimal is 11m. The 4th decimal can still have a big impact
in places with high slope.
Shadings and Module Layout vocabulary

The definition of the PV array, 3D shadings and Module Layout involves several different objects that should be carefully defined.
We will try to define the terms used in the different parts of the program.
PV-array or sub-array
will design the electrical set of modules, as defined at the input of the inverter in the "System" dialog. It is characterized by the Module type, the number of modules in series in a string,
and the number of strings in parallel.
A sub-array is an homogeneous set of modules (N strings of M identical modules in series) which may be applied to one or several Inverter inputs (MPPT inputs).
In version 7 the number of possible sub-arrays is not limited.
3D-field
represents a given object in the 3D shading scene. This object is defined as a whole: it may be a set of rectangles (within a same geometrical plane), a polygonal area, a set of
"sheds"(rows) or trackers defined as a whole.
Table or 3D subfield
is an element of a PV plane in the 3D scene: an area (usually rectangular) aimed to receive a set of PV modules. It is one "shed" (row), one tracker, one elementary rectangle, etc.
Submodule
is the part of a PV module protected by one by-pass diode. The sub-modules usually divide the module in length (3 sets of 10x2 or 12x2 cells). See also the new modules technology in
"Twin half-cut cells" configuration.
Near Shadings: Main dialog

See also: Shadings - General.
The "Near shadings" dialog is the Dashboard for near shadings treatment.
You have to begin with the button "Construction/Perspective", which opens the 3D editor for building the global scene.
When exiting this tool with a valid 3D shading scene, the program will check the compatibility of your construction with elements previously defined for your system:
- The orientation of your 3D fields should match the one defined on the "Orientation" part. If it is not the case the program will ask whether you want to update the "Orientation" definitions.
- You should have defined sufficient and reasonable 3D area for putting the modules defined in the "System" part.
Therefore this implies that you have already defined (roughly) the main parameters of the system. This will be the case if you follow the advice of building your whole PV system "step by
step", beginning with the most simple configuration without any complications, saving this version and adding complexities one after the other.
Table of shading factors

Once this scene has been well established, the "Table" button allows you to construct the shading factor table, which computes the Shading factor for a grid of sun (space) directions.
This process also calculates the diffuse and albedo attenuation factors, constant over the year.
After that you will be able to see the Iso-shading diagram and run the simulation.
If you have defined a partition in module strings during your 3D construction, two tables will be calculated simultaneously: one for the conventional "irradiance" or "linear" shading factor,
and one for the shading factor according to the module strings.
Use in simulation
Now you have to specify how you want to take the shadings into account during the simulation. You have several choices depending on your progress in the system's study, the size of
your system, etc.
- Linear (irradiance) shadings will only take the deficit of irradiance on the PV field into account, without electrical effect. This represents a lower limit of the full shading losses.
You can compute this simulation either in a fast way (interpolating in the shading factor table at each step), or in a slower way by computing the full shading factor at each simulation step.
- According to module strings: during the construction of the 3D scene, you can define a partition in module strings. This option will calculate a shading factor "According to strings",
representing a higher limit for electrical effects.
For a final result you can specify the Fraction for electrical effect, which is a cursor between pure "linear" calculation (lower limit 0%) and full electrical effect (higher limit 100%).
- Detailed, according to Module Layout: Finally, after specifying a detailed "Module layout" configuration, you can ask to compute the shadings according to detailed electrical losses.
Model Library
The shading scene parameters are stored with your "calculation version", and don't give rise to any additional files.
However, you can store your 3D shading scene in a *.SHD file, which may be reused in another project.
Near Shadings: tutorial

The near shadings are one of the most difficult parts of PVsyst. Therefore, here we present a full exercise to explain the main steps and tips/advices to use this tool easily.
This is built from the following "architect" plan:
Defining the 3D scene:

- Open the button "Near Shadings" and then "Construction/Perspective".
You obtain the main 3D window where you will construct your "scene".
Constructing the building.

The building will be an assembly of elementary objects, gathered afterwards as one individual object in the main 3D scene.
- In the menu, choose "Create" / "Building/Composed object".
This will open a secondary 3D window, which is the referential of the building object.
- In the menu, choose "Add object".
Here, choose "Parallelepiped" and define the sizes (Width = 10m, Length = 35m, Height = 5m).
- Click "OK", this will place the parallelepiped in the building object's referential.
- In the menu, choose again "Add object".
Here, choose "Parallelepiped" and define the sizes of the second wing of the farm (Width = 10m, Length = 25m, Height = 5m).
- Click "OK", this will place the parallelepiped in the building object's referential, positioned at the origin.
Positioning in the 3D scene

You now have to position this second wing in the scene.
Please observe that to select an object, you have to click on its edges in Technical view and on anywhere on it in Realistic view. Objects are drawn in red when selected.
- Click the "Top View" button or press F3.
- Perhaps you want to diminish the scale ("Zoom backward" button).
- Perhaps you want to recenter your scene: click on the scene - but not on an object - and drag the scene's plane.
- Be sure that the positioning tool is activated (button with 4 crosses on the left). This opens the "Object positioning" dialog.
- Now, you can click and drag the red point to move the selected object with the mouse, and the violet point to change its orientation. Position and orientate the object roughly at its place
as second wing, perpendicular to the first parallelepiped.
- The mouse does not allow to get accurate values. But after rough positioning, the dialog will give you the order of magnitude so you can finely adjust the exact values according to the
architect's plans. In this case, you will put X = 10.00m, Y = 10.00m, and do not forget Azimuth = 90.0°.
NB: Please avoid the interpenetration of objects. This often creates problems for a correct shade calculation.
Now you have to add the roof.
- Main menu "Elementary Object" / "New object" and choose "Two-sided roof + Gables".
- Define the sizes: "Base width" = 11m, "Top length" = 30.5 m (for eaves), "Roof tilt" = 25°, and "Gable 1 angle" = -45°.
- Click "OK". This will put the roof in the building's scene. You can position it with the mouse and values as before (X = 5, Y = 5, and Z = 5, building heigth).
- For the second wing, you could do the same. You can also reuse this existing roof: "Edit" / "Copy", and "Edit" / "Paste". You will obtain a second instance of the selected object.
- Position this object by mouse and values (be careful with the new azimuth, exactly 90°).
Now, the 45° cut gable is not correct. To modify the selected object, you can:
- either choose "Elementary Object" / "Modify",
- or, more easy, double-click the object on its border.
- Change -45° to +45° and click OK.
Now your building is finished, you can include it in the main 3D scene through the menu "File" / "Close and Integrate".
Adding the PV plane

PV planes cannot be integrated in building objects, as the PV planes elements (sensitive areas) are treated differently in the program. They should be positioned on the building only within
the 3D scene.
- In the main 3D scene, choose: "Object" / "New..." / "Rectangular PV plane".
- You have to define the sizes: "Nb of rectangles" = 1 (you could define several non-interpenetrating rectangles in the same plane), "Tilt" = 25°, "Width" = 5.5 m, "Length" = 25 m.
NB: There is no relation at this stage with the real size of the PV modules in your system definition. The program will just check at the end of the 3D definitions that the "plane" sensitive
area is greater than the area of the PV modules defined in the system, without shape considerations.
- Click "OK". The plane comes with respect to the origin in the 3D scene.
- To position it, again click "Top view" and position it globally with the mouse. Now, you don't have rigorous references and you don't need to adjust the values, but be careful not to
interpenetrate the other roof! Also, check the azimuth value (should be exactly 90°).
- Vertical positioning: now your field is on the ground. Click the oberver's "Front View" button, and position your plane on the roof by dragging the red dot with the mouse. Please always
leave some spacing between any active area and other objects (minimum, say 2 cm). If you put the plane below the roof, it will obviously be shaded permanently !
Completing with the silo and a tree

- In the main scene: "Object" / "New..." / "Elementary shading object" / "Portion of cylinder". According to the plan: define Radius = 3m, Aperture angle = 360°, Nb of segments = 16, Height
= 12m. Click "OK".
- In the main scene, be sure that the "Positioning" tool is activated, click "Top view" and position the silo with the mouse (if you do not know the order of magnitude or signs), and then with
values (X = 18m, Y = 45 m).
- You can also put a tree in the courtyard. "Object" / "New..." / "Elementary shading object" / "Tree". To determine the sizes and shape of the tree, you can use "Front view", and here, play
with the red points to adjust the shape of your tree. And then you position it as you like in the courtyard (please remember: a tree doesn't have definitive sizes!).
Positioning with respect to the cardinal points

For convenience, you construct the scene in the referential of the architect. After that, the button "Rotate whole scene" will perform the final orientation of the global scene.
- Select the reference object for the orientation (normally the PV plane).
- In the "Rotate Whole Scene" dialog, define the new azimuth (here +20°, west). This will orientate your whole scene. But each time you will have to re-position an object in the scene, it will
be easier to come back in the original system's referential, i.e. to a plane orientation of 0° or 90° !
Shading test and animation

Now your 3D scene holds obstacles and sensitive area, it is ready for a shading analysis.
- Push "Shadow animation over one day" button. And in this tool "Play/Record animation". The shadows will be shown for the whole selected day. After execution, you have a scrollbar to
review one or the other situation.
For each time step, the date/hour, sun position and shading factor are mentioned on the bottom of the 3D window. You can try this for different dates in the year.
If there is some shade that you don't understand well, you can click the button "View from the sun direction" on the top group. This way you will have a direct view of the shades and their
cause.
Colours
You can now personalize the view of your scene by defining colours.
- Click the 9th button from the left "Realistic view".
- The colour of each element may be defined in its definition dialog.
- For example for the building: Double-click the building, this will open the building construction.
- Double-click the roof, this will open the definition dialog.
- Here you can define the colour of the roof, and the colour of the gables independently.
- Please note: the colours are defined "at bright sun": choose them rather light.
- If you define your own colours, store them as "personalized colour" in order to reuse them for other similar objects.
Recording the scene

If you do some bad manipulation, you have the possibility to Undo (2nd button left).
As the 3D tool is not fully safe in PVsyst (sorry... this is not easy to program and there are still some bugs), and you can also do bad manipulations, you are advised to periodically save
your shading scene using "File" / "Save scene" as a *.shd file.
Please note: your definitive scene (used in the simulation) will be stored along with your "MyProject.VCi" file. It doesn't require a *.SHD file.
Display in report
This scene will appear on the final report. If you want to have a specific view of the scene in the report, you can request it by "File" / "Save scene view" / "Keep this view for the report".

Now, your shading scene seems to be ready for the simulation.
- Choose "File" / "Close". You return to the near shadings dialog.
- Choose "Linear shadings" in the box "Use in simulation".
Here, the program checks the compatibility of your 3D scene with the other definitions of your system.
- The plane orientation should match the one defined in the "Orientation" part. If not, you have a button to eventually correct the "Orientation" parameters according to the 3D
construction.
- The sensitive area should be sufficient to position the PV modules defined in your system definitions. This is a rough test that checks only the area, not according to the real sizes and
geometrical positioning of your modules. The maximum area value for warnings is much higher, to account for installations with spaced modules.
- When everything is correct, the program asks to compute the Table of the shading factors.
The table is a calculation of the shading factor (shaded fraction of the sensitive area, 1 = no shadings, 0 = full shaded), for all positions on the sky hemisphere "seen" by your PV plane. It
allows the calculation of the shading factor for the diffuse and albedo (which are integrals of this shading factor over the concerned spheric portion). At each hour, the simulation process
will interpolate in this table - according to the sun position - to evaluate the present shading factor on beam component.
This also allows the construction of the iso-shadings graph, that gives a synthetic view of the time in days and seasons where the shadings are problematic. The line 1% for example,
gives all the sun's positions (or time in the year) for which the shading loss is 1%, i.e. the limit of shadings.
Now clicking "OK" will integrate this shading effect in the next simulation. In the final loss diagram on the report, you will have a specific loss for the "Near shadings".
Electrical effect: partition in module strings

Now when a cell is shaded, the current in the whole string is affected (in principle the current of the string is the current in the weakest cell). There is no possible accurate calculation for
this complex phenomenon in PVsyst. We will just assume that when a string is hit by a shade, the whole string is considered "inactive" concerning the beam component. This is an upper
limit on the shading effect: the truth should lie between the low limit - which we call the "Linear shading" - representing the irradiance deficit, and this upper limit (see partition in module
strings), representing the electrical effect.
For this second simulation "According to module strings":

- Go back to the Near Shadings definition, button "Construction/Perspective"
- Click the button "Partition in module chains" on the left.
- Here you can split the field into several equivalent rectangles, each representing the area of a complete string (not a module !). If several subfields, you should do this for every subfield
rectangle.
This is a rough estimation, for a rough computation. Perhaps you will not be able to represent the real arrangement of your modules. But you can try different configurations, perform the
simulation and then decide which configuration is the best suited for your particular system.
- When performing the shading animation, the partially shaded rectangles will now appear in yellow. The new shading factor is the sum of the grey+yellow areas, with respect to the field
area.

- In the same way as before, in the "Near shadings", please choose "According to module strings" in the options "Use in simulation".
This will ask for computing the tables, and then you can open the iso-shading graph for comparing the effect to the "Linear" one.
- "Fraction for Electrical effect": this is the way how the yellow parts will be treated in the simulation. A 100 % value will withdraw the total electrical production of these areas in the
simulation. This is the upper limit of the shading effect. Perform a simulation with this value.
- For the simulation presented to you end-customer, you can fix a different value for better approaching the reality. But sorry in the present time we don't have means for a good
estimation of this factor (perhaps around 60-80%, accounting for the by-pass diodes partial recovery ???).
Horizon (far) and near shading cumulation

During one step of the simulation, the program will first evaluate the beam component according to the horizon line (ON/OFF, full or zero), and then apply the near shadings factor on the
beam component.
Therefore, when the sun is below the horizon line, there will be no near shading loss as the beam is null. In other words, potential near shadings for sun positions already concerned by
horizon will not produce any additional losses.
Near shadings procedure

Near shading calculations require the reconstitution of the exact geometry of the PV field and its environment, in the 3D-space.
You have to first build the global scene of the PV system by assembling parametrized elements (PV fields, shading obstacles, buildings, trees) that can be adapted from template
shapes.
Assembly is done in a global perspective or plane view. Once this scene has been well established you can visualise shadows produced for any sun position or time-of-the-year. You can
also run an animation of the shadow evolution over a given day.
During simulation, the calculation of the shading factor for each hour would spend too much computing time. Therefore, the program establishes a table of shading factors in terms of the
sun's height and azimuth. During simulation, the hourly shading factor can be calculated very fast by interpolation.
The iso-shading curves are a powerful information tool, that superimpose an estimatation of the shading factor on a sun's path height/azimuth diagram, allowing to estimate at a glance
the shading effects according to the season and time-of-day.
The shading factor is applied to the beam component. The program also has to calculate the shading factor for the diffuse component (as well as the albedo), that is independent of the
sun position and therefore constant over the year.
Simulation results include shading loss calculations for Beam, Diffuse and Global irradiation components.
It is to be noted that the real effect of partial shading on the electrical production of the PV field is non-linear and depends on the interconnections between the modules. The program
gives the possibility to partition the field into rectangles, each of which is suppose to represent a string of modules in series, and calculate another shading factor according to module
cabling. Although not perfect, this second approach should give an upper limit for the real shading loss evaluation.
Near shadings and sheds

In PVsyst detailed simulation, the mutual shading of sheds (or sun-shields) can be computed in two different ways:
- By defining them in the "Orientation" parameters option. You have to define general parameters of sheds (width, tilt, pitch, etc.) valid for the whole PV system, and the simplified
computation is assumed to be "linear" (without electrical cells effects) and for unlimited length (that is, neglecting edge effects on both extremities of the sheds).
- By explicitly defining a PV plane as sheds in the "Near shading" scene. In this case, the computation accounts for shed edges, and a module partition can be defined.
Please note that these two options should not be used at the same time, as the shadings will be taken into account twice !!!
Definition by the "Orientation" parameter shed option
This option is most suited when you have a field of numerous and little sheds (for example "one-module" wide sheds), sufficiently long as you can neglect the edge effects.
Nevertheless, if you have to combine such an array with other surrounding shading obstacles in a very big near shading scene, for which the "near shadings" calculation is prohibitive: you
can use is a very special mode:
- in the "orientation" part, you still define "unlimited sheds", ensuring a generic and quick calculation of mutual shadings.
- in the 3D near shadings part, you define a horizontal plane representing the ground occupation of your sheds. The shadings of surrounding objects will be computed on this horizontal
plane, and the resulting shading factor will be a compromise. This is of course an approximation, but in a good way when the sheds are so numerous that the near shading complexity
and calculation time becomes prohibitive (usually in the cases of big plants, the row-to-row mutual shadings largely dominatethe shading losses).
Shed definition in the Near Shading scene

The "Near shading" shed construction may be unfeasible with a very big number of rows (say, more than several hundreds). The computing time and complexity of the shading factor
calculation grows with the square of the number of elements (however reduced with optimization techniques in the version 6).
When you define sheds in the 3D scene, you have to choose a fixed tilted or multi-orientation plane (not unlimited sheds) in the "Orientation" parameters.
Global scene building tools

See also: Near shadings, general organisation.
The global scene gathers all the objects according to their relative position, in a referential based on the cardinal points. In Construction mode, the shading obstacles are represented in
black and the sensitive area of the PV fields in blue.
Creation
Create objects with the "Create" menu, PVsyst handles many types of objects including :
- PV fields: several kinds: tables and arrays of tables, arrays of domes, arrays of trackers, rectangular, polygonal, sun-shields.
- Elementary objects: a variety of 2D an 3D predefined shapes,
- Building / Composed object: an assembly of elementary shapes. “Buildings” can be saved as models to reuse in other shading scenes. They can’t include PV fields, which should
be added independently in the global scene.
- Ground objects
History
Executing actions like creating, selecting or editing objects will save changes in a history that you can undo or redo.
Undo - [CTRL + Z]
Redo - [CTRL + Y]
Selection
Default object selection - [ECHAP]

Click on any object to select it, in Technical view you must click on the edges to be able to select an object.
Rectangle selection - [SHIFT + CTRL + R]

Click and drag to draw a selection rectangle.
You can specify if you want to select all objects touching the rectangle or only the ones inside it.
Lasso selection - [SHIFT + CTRL + L]
Click and drag to draw a selection zone.

You can specify if you want to select all objects touching the zone or only the ones inside it.
Hold [SHIFT] to add objects to the current selection.

Hold [CTRL] to remove an object from the current selection.
Press [CTRL + A] to select all objects of the scene.
Point of view
Pan
Click and drag to move the point of view along its plane.
When another tool is selected, hold [SHIFT] and [Mouse middle button] to pan.
Rotate view
Click and drag to rotate the point of view around its current target.
When another tool is selected, hold [Mouse middle button] to rotate.
Perspective view - [F2]

Click to revert the point of view to the basic perspective position.
If down, the current view is a perspective one.
Top view - [F3]
Front view - [F4]
Side view - [F5]
Sun view - [F6]

Set the point of view at the current sun position.
Zoom in - [F7]
Zoom out - [F8]
Zoom rectangle
Click and drag to draw a rectangle and set it as the new viewport.
Zoom to fit - [CTRL + F]

This zooms the view in order to see all selected objects in the current viewport.
Render options
Technical / Realistic view

Technical view : Objects are drawn in wireframe, they can only be selected when clicking on their edges.
Colors are defined by the type of object and its selection status.
Lighting and real-time shadows are disabled.
Realistic view : Objects are drawn in a more realistic way, and can be selected by a click on any visible part.
Colors can be customized for each object.
Lighting is enabled, real-time shadows can be enabled.
Perspective / Orthogonal projection

Orthogonal projection is the default one, it is advised to use it when building the scene.
Perspective projection can be used to get a more realistic view of the scene, when generating the shadows video or in the report
Module strings
Show module strings defined in Module Layout.
Other render options

From the menu "View / Render options", you can enable/disable the following :
- Anti-aliasing : Enable it to smooth the objects edges rendering.
This may not be available depending on your hardware setup, and it may also reduce performance.
- Real-time shadows : Enable it to render shadows at real-time.
Shadows on PV fields are always rendered when moving the sun, but this allows to see all shadows always.
Enabling it may reduce performance.
- Camera animation : When moving to another view, the transition can be animated or not.
Enabling it may slightly reduce performance.
- Backfaces : You can show or hide objects backfaces, i.e, faces that are not facing the point of view.
Hiding backfaces will increase performance.
Measure
Measure a distance - [CTRL + L]

Click to define the measure start point, and click again to set the measure end point.
Hold [CTRL] to anchor the current point to an object vertex.
Measure an angle - [CTRL + K]

Click to define the angle summit and then the points #1 and #2.
Hold [CTRL] to anchor the current point to an object vertex.
Modify
Edit objects - [CTRL + M]
Move objects - [CTRL + B]

Please refer to the corresponding section.
Rotate objects - [CTRL + R]
Rotate whole scene - [CTRL + ALT + R]
Additional tools
Draw objects with the mouse
Field zones
Ground Image
Reference
Geographical / Building reference

Reference system of the global scene
The reference system of the global shading scene is based on the cardinal points:
In the northern hemisphere: the X-direction corresponds to the WEST, Y to the SOUTH, Z to the ZENITH.
As for the usual definition of the PV fields orientation, the azimuths are given with respect to the South (OY), and positively towards the WEST, that is clockwise (antitrigonometric
direction).
In the southern hemisphere, the X-direction points to the EAST, and Y to the NORTH.
The azimuths are given with respect to the North (OY), and positively towards WEST, that is anticlockwise (trigonometric direction).
Geographic and engineering referentials

To simplify the construction of complex systems, the system may be constructed in a referential attached to the building, i.e., (X, Y, Z) coordinates referred to the architect's plane.
Then you can rotate the whole scene according to the geographical coordinates.
Passing from one coordinates system to the other one is straightforward using the concerned buttons in the 3D editor toolbar.
PV fields
In the 3D scene, you can create several different kinds of PV fields:
- Single PV table: this is a rectangular sensitive area receiving PV modules, with possible extensions on the edges representing mechanical structures,
- Array of tables: often named "sheds" or "rows": several tables one behind the other,
- Array of domes: arrangement of east-west opposite arrays of tables,
- Array of trackers: one or several tables tracking the sun for optimal irradiance reception,
- Rectangular PV planes: sensitive rectangle, without frame. You may define several non overlapping rectangles at a time, in a same plane,
- Polygonal PV plane: you can draw a field of any shape with the mouse,
- Array of Sun-shields: special array of tables aligned vertically one above the others, for façades.
In an existing scene, you can open a field by double-clicking on its border, or through the menu "Edit > Edit an object".
NB: we will name "Field" one of these composite objects; and "Table" one element of these objects.
"Basic parameters" page

In the field dialog, you have a page "Basic parameters" defining the main properties of a field, as well as parameters for its insertion in the 3D scene.
This page defines specific parameters for each kind of fields, like the orientation, number of tables and disposition, pitch between tables, etc.
In its own referential, the PV-plane is defined by its tilt, but always facing the OY coordinate. Plane azimuth will be defined only when positioning the plane in the global scene.
For the Tables (and arrays of tables), you can define a "baseline slope", which means that the base of the table is tilted (for example following the terrain on a hill or transversally on a
2-sided roof). When doing so, the real orientation of the plane is modified. So that, for example, a set of tables following the terrain will have a set of different orientations: PVsyst can treat
these systems by defining an average orientation (which is not necessarily the nominal orientation).
cf Tracking planes for the basic definitions of tracking planes.
"Table size" page

The table has a sensitive area meant to receive PV modules. Therefore when defining a field, you should define the associated PV module (as defined in the sub-arrays of he "System"
part). A given table can only receive PV modules of the same sizes.
You may define a field:

- Either by modules: this option (strongly recommended) defines an area exactly suited for the desired number of modules, and a specific spacing between them.
- Or by the sensitive area: you specify the required size of the PV table, without constraints in a first stage. However at the end of your design, you can retrieve the exact required size for
your modules by clicking "By modules".
Both of these options may be handled by the mouse (dragging the red points): the modules will fill the available area when modifying the sizes.
The arrays are made of identical tables. You also have to define the frame sizes around the sensitive area.
For the multi-rectangular fields (suited for BIPV), you may define rectangles of different sizes.
The polygonal planes may be drawn using the mouse. This area will be filled by modules. When defining it "By modules", you can add modules by clicking on a position, or suppress a
module by right-clicking.
"Partition" page
This defines the partition in rectangle-strings, used for the approximated electrical shadings option "according to module strings".
Best practices
- You are advised to define tables as large as possible. This will simplify the drawing and lead to faster treatment during simulation.
- You should choose the construction by arrays when it is possible. This is much easier than defining each table individually, and allows easy modifications.
- Defining a table for each module individually is not the right way. This produces very high execution times, and the electrical losses are not accounted correctly.
- When defining a partition for electrical calculations, each rectangle should represent one string, not one module.
- When importing scenes from other software, the tables are usually little tables, Some models in the simulation (bi-facial 2D, backtracking) require that the spacing between tables be
very regular (with possibility of circulation ways between groups). PVsyst will check this, and will soon provide some tools to analyse this situation in detail, table by table. Such a tool is
already available for tracking systems (in the main menu of the 3D editor, choose "Tools > Backtracking management").
- In many big installations, the base of the tables is tilted, following the terrain. This leads to variations of the real orientation between these tables. PVsyst may group these tables and
define a common average orientation for the simulation, which represents a little approximation. However even in this case, the linear mutual shadings will be calculated correctly for
each table.
Elementary objects
PVsyst proposes a library of elementary shapes, basic or usual in architecture:
- 2D shapes: Triangles (whatever, isosceles or rectangle), rectangles, trapezium, regular polygon, pseudo-circle sectors.
- 3D shapes: Parallelepiped, square pyramid, triangular, hexagonal or octogonal prism, portion of cylinder.
- Building elements: House + 2-sided roof, Tree, Roof-like diedre, 2-sided roof+gables, 4-sided roof, prism chimney.
The "Elementary object" dialog allows to build one elementary object at a time in it's own referential. The user chooses the shape and size either by using available parameters, or by
dragging significant points in the orthogonal views (plane, side or front views).
You can choose a custom colour for each elementary object. Remember that the chosen colour will be that at bright sun. In the global scene, surfaces not facing the sun will appear
darker.
More complex objects are obtained by assembling elementary objects. This can be achieved in the Building/Composed objects dialog.
The "Elementary object" is then positioned in the general scene or in a "building" element.
Defining a meaningful comment is not obligatory; it will help identifying the object afterwards in the global scene.
Please note that internal representation of objects is built up with 3D-Points and Surfaces built with these summits, so that curves should be approximated by broken lines.
Building or composed objects

Although elementary objects can be readily integrated in a global scene, PVsyst allows to assembly several elementary objects to build a more complex one (for example a complete
building), which will be manipulated as a whole in the global scene.
The construction takes place in a secondary perspective view, and is quite similar to the global scene construction. Tools are the same (a subset) and the user can create and
manipulate the elementary objects in the same way.
As with other objects, the user is advised to give a meaningful description, and will have to position the composed object in the global scene.
However, "building" objects can be saved as models for use in other shading scenes.
Please note that "Building" objects are intended to build shading objects; therefore they cannot hold PV sensitive planes. When necessary, these have to be created and positioned in the
global scene, independently of the building object.
Ground objects
In the near shadings, you can create ground objects which are very specific because they will not create any shadow by default. To allow a ground object to cast shadows, please refer
to section Partial shadings and calculations.
There are two ways of doing so : Import an Helios 3D scene or Create a Ground object.
Both methods create the same kind of object and you can therefore edit them the same way.
To edit a Ground object, you can :
- Double-click on it in the global scene
- Select it and press Ctrl + M
- Select it and use the menu : Object > Modify
The following window appears when editing a Ground object.
A Ground object is a mesh of points, which means that all the building process will only manipulate points.
Scene tools
Choose this tool to select individual points. Use Shift key to add or remove points from your current selection.
Choose this tool to select points by drawing a rectangle on the scene. Use Shift key to add or remove points from your current selection.
This tool allows you to draw a transversal cut on the scene in order to view it on the right panel.
This tool allows you to invert the faces normals.
Panels
Ground generation
The "Ground generation" panel defines the ground dimensions and the complexity of the mesh. Clicking on the "Generate" button will remove the current ground and replace it with the
new one.
Selection position
This panel allows you to move the points you selected to a given position. Each point will remain at the same distance to the other points, this panel will just slide the whole selection as a
whole.
Extended selection
This panel allows you to extend your selection. You can specify 3 parameters :
Extend to : this will select the points around your current selection up to the given distance
Weight : this will decrease the selection weight on new points depending on their distance with the current selection
Accentuation : this will alter the weight in a parabolic way so that closer points will weigh more while further points will weigh less
Transversal cut
You can use the slide bar to move the transversal cut along its normal axis.
The button sets the point of view to see the transversal cut from the side.
Moving a selection of points
Once you selected one or more points, you will be able to move them directly on the scene. In order to do it, this 3-axis tool will appear.
You can either click on one axis or on the area between two axis to start dragging the points on these axis.
While moving points, you can see the current coordinates in the "Selection position" panel.
Tracking planes
The basic definitions of tracking planes are very similar to the sheds definitions: several identical trackers, with a sensitive area and an inactive frame for mutual shadings.
There are several kinds of tracking planes, for which the disposition may be different as the sheds. This is the reason why when creating a new tracking array, your first action should be to
define the Tracking Parameters. This dialog is analogous to the one of the "Orientation" general parameters, it will define the kind of tracking, the mechanical stroke limits of your trackers,
and optionally parameters for backtracking or concentration.
There are two classes of tracking systems, one axis or two axis. The 2-axis systems are less common, as they require a more complex mechanics, and therefore higher initial cost and
more maintenance; this is rarely compensated by the little yield gain with respect to the one-axis systems.
In PVsyst, we can define:
One axis trackers

- Horizontal North-South axis: this is the most used layout for tracking systems. You can construct long trackers, tracking the sun's height from east to west during the day. This is
particularly suited for low latitudes, where the sun is high in the sky.
- Tilted axis: this is analogous to Horizontal N/S, but with a tilted axis. Using a tilted axis may improve the yield at medium latitudes a little bit. However the mechanical realization is more
complex, as you cannot construct long trackers. The axis tilt should be equal or less than the latitude.
- Vertical axis: the tracker has a fixed tilt, and rotates around a vertical axis, following the azimuth of the sun. This may be suited at very high latitudes, when the sun is low on the horizon.
A particular case is the construction of a big mechanical "dish" (dozens of meters diameter), rotating towards the sun during the day, and receiving PV tables in sheds arrangement. Or
equivalently floating systems following the sun's azimuth.
- Sun-shields are taking a great importance with the architectural integration. However with fixed sun-shields it is very difficult to find a good compromise between an efficient sun
protection and an acceptable PV yield. The shadings from one sun-shield to the lower one when the sun is high (i.e. during the best summer hours) is difficult to overcome, especially
when the facade is not exactly south. This could be partially solved by using tracking sheds with a backtracking strategy.
- Horizontal East-West axis: this will follow the height of the sun (during the day and the seasons): It is not really suited for PV systems as the diurnal or seasonal sun height variations are
not very marked. In the morning or evening the sun's angle with the plane will be high. This "old" option corresponds to a disposition analogous to parabolic linear concentrators in
distributed thermal plants, with trackers "one behind the other" like in fixed sheds.
Two axis trackers

- Two axis: the tracker is permanently perpendicular to the sun's rays, receiving the maximum possible irradiance. This represents a complex mechanics, therefore implemented with
rather big trackers. However if the trackers are of big sizes, the problem of wind sensitivity necessitates robust mechanical supports. Usual two-axis trackers are less and less used,
mainly due to high maintenance costs.
- Frame with horizontal N/S axis: some manufacturers propose rotating frames with horizontal North-South axis: the frame follows the height of the sun, and a set of tables within the
frame are permanently oriented in order to stay perpendicular to the sun's rays.
- Frame with horizontal E/W axis: this is similar to the previous case, but the frame follows the height of the sun.
Stroke mechanical limits

The trackers are mechanical structures, which have obviously limits for the rotating angles, that we will name "stroke" limits.
In PVsyst, all the dialogs defining tracking systems include the specification of the stroke limits.
The construction dialog offers a tool for testing all possible rotations, in order to check the mechanical compatibility of your array layout (using the orthogonal plane or side view). In the 3D
scene, the shading animation over one day provides a powerful tool for optimizing your tracking layout by trial-and-error.
Array of trackers
Trackers are never "alone": they are organized as arrays, so that we have to take the mutual shadings into account. These mutual shadings become very important when the sun is low on
the horizon, i.e. just when the tracking strategy becomes more effective.
Therefore when defining an array of trackers, the distance between tracker's axis (pitch) is specified with the tracker's array. The mutual shadings are related to the pitch and the width of
each tracker, or more specifically to the ratio width/pitch, which is more or less represented by the "Ground Coverage Ratio" GCR. The higher the GCR, the higher shading losses.
Two-axis trackers are usually arranged in rows and columns. We have to take care of the mutual shadings from row to row and from column to column.
Tracker's array layout should be carefully optimized regarding the mutual shadings. The Backtracking control strategy avoids mutual shadings for the beam component, and helps
improving the electrical shading losses of tracking arrays.
Object selection

PVSyst - Project Design-1

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Project design Page 1 of 174

Step 2: Definition of the project site (follow the link).

Step 4: Definition of the project settings (follow the link).

Available meteo files

- Definition of the Albedo.

- Reference temperatures for the design of the PV array.

Limits in the 3D construction:

Variants - System definitions

Copy the selected variant to a new one.

Edit the selected variant comment.

Move up the selected variant.

Move down the selected variant.

Delete the selected variant.

Remarks and Limitations

Definition of near shadings

Tool for Mixed orientation analysis

Shadings on Beam and Diffuse

From these tools we can observe that:

Detailed optimizing tool

Quick optimizing tool in the "Orientation" part

Irradiance optimization strategy

Wind Stow strategy

Irradiance on the ground

Irradiance on the rear side - View Factor

Reflected Irradiance on the front side

Conversion into electrical power

Summary of the Hypothesis

Bifacial systems procedure

3. - Main bi-facial parameters

Model Pages (unlimited sheds or trackers 2d)

General Simulation Parameters page

Bifacial systems results

Here is an example, with a description of all output variables involved:

Detailed variables description:

There are 2 other contributions linked to the bifacial model:

Bifacial system: 2-dimensional unlimited sheds

Bifacial system: 2-dimensional unlimited trackers

2D Bifacial model conditions

"Fixed tilted plane" orientation with shading scene

"Tracking, horizontal axis N-S" orientation with shading scene

Note on modifying the thresholds

In PVsyst, the simulation of concentrating systems has to deal with 2 aspects:

Defining a concentrating system

PV array electrical behaviour

Arrays with characteristic's mismatch

PV module / array with a shaded cell

Amorphous degradation and Array voltage sizing

PVsyst provides 2 different ways to treat these electrical losses:

Calculation and Model

Linear shading losses

Electrical shading losses

Treatment of the Beam component

Near shadings - Shading factor

Use in the simulation

Treatment of the Diffuse component

Basic hypothesis: isotropic diffuse

Global calculations on diffuse

Treatment of the Albedo component

Albedo contribution in big systems

Electrical shading mismatch loss

Mismatch loss between cells

Sub-modules and By-pass diodes

Electrical shading mismatch calculation

Linear and Electrical shading losses