Manual panel allocation
Panels can be manually allocated in the Performance task. Whether a project requires manual allocation depends on it's complexity, it's size and whether the system is optimised. After a system has been automatically allocated, you may also wish to make edits to the string arrangement.
Manual panel allocation
To open up the manual panel allocation, follow these steps:
- Open the Performance task
- Click
Edit inputsin the top right - Select the
Panel allocationtab - Then click
Edit allocationorAllocate panelsin the bottom left
The steps to manually allocate panels panels is slightly different depending on whether the panels are optimised or not. All panels connected to an input must be within a certain pitch and orientation threshold and panels incompatible with the selected string will not be selectable. In this case the panels may need to be optimised or the stringing arrangement in the Inverter task adjusted.
With non-optimised systems
- Select inverter input and the roof you'd like to allocate from the list on the left
- Click or drag over panels to allocate them to an inverter input
- Repeat steps 1-2 on the next inverter input or roof until all panels are allocated. All inputs will be in green and a tick will show at the top of the page
- Below all your inverters and roofs, you can then click
Nextto continue with the Performance task
With optimised systems
Were optimisers are required (panels are on the same string but different pitch or orientation) Easy PV will not let you allocate them on the same string. You must instead sub-divide the string into shading groups. These steps are outlined below:
- Select inverter input and the roof you'd like to allocate from the list on the left
- Click or drag over panels to allocate them to an inverter input
- If you are allocating panels to the same MPPT on a different roof click
Add group +to sub-divide the input into shading groups and then select the roof and allocate the panels - Repeat step 3 on the next inverter input, shading group or roof until all panels are allocated. All inputs will be in green and a tick will show at the top of the page
- Below all your inverters and roofs, you can then click
Nextto continue with the Performance task
Tip: You do not need to put each individual panel into a shading group. To best model the output of the system, group panels that will get similar levels of shade. Easy PV will also require that you use shading groups for panels that are on different facing roofs but on the same string.
❓FAQ: Why has the generation not changed after adding optimisers?
Adding optimisers in the inverter task will not automatically change the generation. The generation is a product of the kWp of the inverter, the kk value (which itself is based on the pitch, orientation and location of the panels) and the shading factor.
If panels remain grouped the same, their shading factors and kk value will not change. With optimisers, you can put panels in separate shading groups. This allows Easy PV to factor in differences in the kk value and shading factor for the panels in each group on a single string. Without shading groups the generation will not change because the kk value and shading factor will be the same on the whole string, as it would be without optimsers.
Other options
-
Use the
icon to reset the allocation on the inverter or individual inverter inputs - Below where it says
Next, you also have the option to clickAuto-string. This will not be available for all systems
Still Need Help?
Contact Support: If you've got further questions, get in touch with our support team at help@easy-pv.co.uk (UK) or help@easy-pv.ie (IE). If you are experiencing a bug, to help us look into your issue faster, please include the email address of your account, the name of the project and screenshots of any unexpected behaviour.