PV Arrays provide electricity by harvesting incident solar energy. PV Array in iVN may represent one or more solar panels that are, for example, placed on the roofs of buildings, or can represent solar farms, where many free-standing panels comprise the whole object. If the PV Array object is representing an array of panels, then it is assumed that all PV panels are identical and consequently have the same orientation and performance parameters.
Weather data and the orientation of the PV array are used to calculate the total incident radiation flux on the collector surface. The total flux, along with the performance parameters, is used to determine the electricity output of the PV Array.
Figure4-19: PV Array properties available for user editing
The ID number of each PV Array is unique and used for simulation. The name is not used by the simulation engine, but should be used to give the object meaningful identification within the project.
Users can define a custom PV Array, or may select from a list of pre-defined options. If defining a custom PV Array, the input values described below will need to be defined. Pre-defined options are as follows:
