Coming Soon: PV & Storage Retrofit Projects

Users can model system designs for adding storage and/or additional solar panels to existing PV systems within Design Mode. From there, they can present the designs within Sales Mode. In this article, we’ll walk you through how to present proposals for homeowners with existing systems.

• Modeling Existing System Production in Design Mode
• Entering Energy Usage for Retrofit Projects
• Designing New Systems in Design Mode or Sales Mode

Modeling Existing System Production in Design Mode 

To generate accurate estimates for retrofit storage and/or solar projects, Aurora needs hourly production from the site’s existing system. To provide this, users can design projects in Design Mode that include existing panels, and Aurora will approximate the existing system’s hourly production.

1. Create a design within a new or existing project.
2. Model the roof
3. Click on System > Panels > Modules 
4. From the right-hand side panel, indicate that the panels are ‘Part of existing system’.  
5. In most cases, existing panels will appear in the aerial image, so you can aim to place panels over what appears in imagery by adjusting the following: 
   • Orientation: Indicate whether the panels are portrait or landscape
   • Length and Width: If you don’t know the dimensions of the panels, adjust the dimensions until it matches the imagery 
   • Rotation 
6. Additional panel attributes will impact the amount of production estimated from the existing system 
   • Panel wattage
   • Installation year 
   • Installation month 
7. After placing panels, estimate the production of the existing system by clicking Simulate
   • Note: Existing panels cannot be strung at this time. 

To view production estimates from the current and new systems, click on the Simulation Results Drawer in the top right-hand corner of Design Mode. This view will show you the existing system’s panel count and annual energy, as well as its estimated monthly production.

Next, you can click on “Edit energy usage” to calculate the homeowner’s gross consumption.

Editing Energy Usage for Retrofit Projects 

1. Navigate to the Energy usage page from Sales Mode or the Project Overview page
2. Under Input method, select Monthly estimate with existing system. 
3. Input a kWh value for at least one month from the homeowner’s utility bill.
   • Once one month has been entered, Aurora will extrapolate the energy usage for the entire year based on other homes in the area. The more months you add, the more representative it will be for customers.
   • Generally, energy usage on a homeowner’s utility bill includes what’s used from the grid (and not from their PV system). To get a holistic view of a homeowner’s energy usage, you also need to add their consumption from their PV system in the next step.
4. Once energy usage from the utility is entered, select Add production data from the black banner to include production from the homeowner’s existing system. 
5. Select the design with the existing system that you previously modeled. 
6. When selected, you’ll see monthly gross consumption estimates:
   • Current value: This is the homeowner’s monthly utility energy usage based on the inputs provided on the Energy usage page 
   • Production value: This is the homeowner’s monthly solar energy usage based on Aurora’s modeling of the existing system
   • Result: To get the homeowner’s energy usage, current value and production value will be added together. This represents the homeowner’s gross energy usage from both the grid and their PV system. 
7. This enables you to add production data from the homeowner’s existing system to calculate gross consumption.

Note: Only sync data from an existing system once! If you’ve done it once, you don’t need to do it again. 

Adding New Storage and/or Solar Systems

Once you’ve modeled your existing system in Design Mode, you can add additional panels and / or storage in Sales Mode or Design Mode using the same steps as with new projects. Learn more:

• Solar Panel Placement in Design Mode
• Adding Modules in Sales Mode

Note: For Sales Mode users, Aurora’s standard proposal templates are designed for solar projects. For storage-only proposals, we recommend you create a custom proposal template. Learn more under Sales Mode Configuration. 

Impact on Financing & Incentives 

Incentives and Integrated Financing Options 

The list of available incentives and financing from integrated financiers will remain unchanged whether or not panels from an existing system are in a design. It is the responsibility of the user to select the correct option based on the nuance of the project.