There are many websites which offer an online configurator to configure a photovoltaic system for the requirements of the perspective purchaser. The Austrian company Fronius International GmbH specialises in inverters among other product categories.
You can browse their webpage under www.fronius.com to get an idea of the products and solutions they offer.
The configurator is found at https://fronius.solarconfigurator.de/solar.configurator/Quick
If you are looking at a photovoltaic solution which will fit your needs, you can start by choosing the PV Module of choice. This is done by choosing the manufacturer and then one of the current modules you are interested in.
By clicking on the information icon to the right of the Model you will find a set of data describing the module of choice. We chose the Kioto KPV ME NEC 330 Wp mono silver module and got the information stated below:
The range of expected module operating temperatures can also be set. If you click on the configuration icon you can set more detailed values with regards to the module temperatures.
The next thing to do is choose under INVERTER the country, the series and the inverter you are interested in. Clicking on the information icon to the right of Type will display the important data features of the inverter. We chose the Primo GEN24 5.0 Plus inverter and the information displayed is as follows:
The inverter ratio (IR) describes the relationship between the MPPT power of the PV generator P_DC to the maximum output power P_ACmax of the inverter. The default values for the bottom and top IR are 80% to 120%.
We want to use a battery and choose the BYD Battery Box HVS 5.1 (5,12 kWh). Again clicking on the information button you get the important facts of the battery.
Our annual power consumption chosen is 5000 kWh.
The load profile selected in our case is Family. This means that the majority of consumption is during the generation of the PV power.
The design results are displayed in the table below the selection. We did not choose the number of PV modules we aim to install as we assume we have enough space to install them.
The number of possible installations is 13 to 18 modules. The calculation of the IR percentage is based on the data from the module and the data from the inverter. As an example for 15 modules. The P_DC = 4,95 kW and the P_ACmax is the AC nominal output from the inverter data which is 5 kW. The devision yields an IR of 99%.
The battery chosen has a capacity of 5,1 kWh and a self sufficiency level SL ranging from 53% to 57% and an Own Consumption Level OCL ranging from 61% to 48%. Below it you find the optimal battery which is a 7,7 kWh battery with the corresponding levels for the possible installations.
The inverter chosen has 2 MPPT trackers, so the number of modules is distributed among the MPPT trackers depending on the optimal configuration of strings and Modules per Strings. Some choices a string fuse or DC combiner is required.
If you decide to register in the configurator, then you will be have more configuration options with regards to the solar panel module section. You will also be able to printout your project in form of a PDF document.
Positive:
- All in all a very useful photovoltaic configurator
- The database contains a large number of modules. It is updated regularly. When you are logged in you can add your own modules.
- Easy to use
What we would like to have:
- Solar panel configuration for different mountings scenarios
- Geo information for geographic locations in the world
- More options with regards to batteries
I hope this was helpful and useful.
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