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In this tutorial, we will discuss steps that need to be taken in order to import your 3D layout to PVsyst for yield estimation.
Export
When exporting to PVsyst we have two files format options to choose from:
.PVC is recommended for PVsyst 7 and higher versions.
.DAE is used for 6.8 and lower versions.
After selecting either.DAE or .PVC format, two options will be presented:
Frames - PVcase will export frames and trees;
Terrain and frames - PVcase will export frames, trees, and selected terrain meshes as well.
🛈 Note: Terrain and frames option will appear if you have a terrain mesh already generated in the layout.
Frame export
If you select only "Frames", please select the location for the export and a .DAE/.PVC file will be saved.
Terrain and frame export
If you select Terrain and Frames, select the mesh, two separated files will be generated. One for the frames with the extension .DAE/.PVC and a .CSV file for the terrain mesh:
🛈 The density and size of the mesh impact the import speed of PVSyst.
🛈 If you would like to learn how to prepare terrain mesh on a topographic survey, click here:
How to import .PVC format to PVSyst software:
1. Open -and select the Near shadings tab.
2. Click on Construction / Perspective.
3. Press File → Import → Import a 3D scene (3DS, DAE, PVC), and select your exported.PVC file.
4. In Import results PVsyst will automatically read the units that were used while creating the project in PVcase.
5. Click OK.
6. Alternatively, in addition to the frames, you can also import the terrain by selecting: File → Import → Ground data (CSV)
🛈 The density and size of the mesh impact the import speed of PVsyst.
Additional notes:
Automatic identification, "You have defined fields with x different orientations":
When defining PV fields in a shading scene, PVsyst will always try to identify their orientations automatically, grouping all similar fields into the same orientations. This is normal behavior because the field properties give all the information needed to do so.
Problems arise when the fields are not created with a regular layout, for example when they follow the ground slope, meaning that there are too many orientations:
When this happens, don't click on "Update Orientation Parameters"; in the 3D scene, in Tools --> Orientation Management, we need to either increase the grouping tolerance or delete all the orientations and assigning the frames to the same orientation (recommended):
PVsyst will retain all the individual table orientation properties even though it will show one orientation in the final report, while you actually have more.
Once the orientations are unified, the warning might be shown:
("The orientation of the collector plan for shadings doesn't match the one defined in the "Orientation" parameters of the PV array")
At this point, you have to click the Update Orientation Parameters. When you click this it’s updated and should resolve itself, if it does not, you have to correct the orientation parameters.
The area of the 3D fields is lower/higher than the area of the modules defined in the subarrays
If this warning is shown, please make sure the settings in PVsyst "System" are correct. Especially, check if they match PVcase in and output:
You can check the current module settings in PVcase with the function "Frame information":
If you change module size or power in PVcase "Frame creation", before exporting again to .PVC, make sure you either regenerate the area or apply "Swap preset" in order to update the settings in the design first.
If you need further help on this, please send us (via chat or support@pvcase.com) screenshots of the mentioned PVsyst settings and your .DWG file, so we can look into it.