Adding solar to a home that already has a PV system comes with a number of questions. What is the best practice for this situation?
When using Aurora to design a PV system for a home that already has an existing solar facility, try these tips:
- Design a supplementary system: Adding more PV to an existing inverter adds a lot of complexity. For ease of use both in the field and using Aurora, design a smaller, supplementary system to meet the home's increased energy needs, and utilize a new and separate inverter.
- Use interval data: For a home with an existing PV system, there will be times where the meter "spins backwards" as the system generates more power than the home can use. Using 12 months of interval data will then model the actual, existing usage profile for the home. This will let you accurately project the impact of your supplementary system. Read more about using interval data in Aurora.
- Don't model the existing system: Using interval data as recommended in step two allows you to consider the impact of the existing system on the home's energy usage already, so there is no need to model those panels again.