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How to string frames and place electrical devices:
Open the Electrical design window.
Select your preferred stringing method:
Single row stringing - strings every row in a frame with one continuous string.
U stringing - strings frames in U shaped strings in accordance to defined example
Custom stringing - strings frames in accordance to one's defined example.
ⓘ You can read more about custom stringing here
Select the string direction. It's later used for the starting and ending points of DC cabling.
Click on String PV area to string an entire area or String frames for separate frame stringing.
If you choose to string a PV area you must then click on the polyline of that area.
In the case of Frames - doing a mass select over a number of frames works fine.
After the stringing is done you will see that there are positive and negative signs & indicative strings created. All of these elements are later used for electrical equipment, color coding & cabling.
2. Place electrical devices.
Note: In order to generate device placement you must first place your central inverter or substation block object in your designated area.
The first thing you should do is select the PV area(s) that you will be using for the electrical device placement and connection. To do this click on Select PV areas and then on the PV area polylines. You will then see the total amount of strings for that area both used and unused.
Used - strings that are already connected to devices.
Unused - strings that are still free for connection.
To select your electrical system setup click on the dropdown next to PV area selection. Doing so will allow you to input the sizing parameters for each transformer/central inverter.
For easier configuration the software calculates how many devices or strings you'll need for your configuration for one transformer or central inverter.
Please note that the amount of devices you input per substation/central inverter will cap it at this value. Which means you have to input how many total devices you will have for that substation/central inverter even if your area doesn't have that many strings.
Afterwards you have to decide on the Device placement mode. You can currently choose from three different types:
Trench adjacent - devices are placed near the trench, which is selected during device generation.
String adjacent - equipment is placed on the same row as its strings.
Row clustering - devices are divided and placed on the selected rows.
Placement is done to minimize cabling length from device to transformer/central inverter.
Next step is to click on Auto generate and specify the transformer or central inverter block object that you will be connecting your electrical devices to.
If you don't have a block object created you must do so and place it somewhere near or inside the PV area.
Note: If your Placement type is Trench adjacent, you will be asked to select device alignment line, to which devices will be aligned to.
After the generation you will notice electrical devices placed in your specified areas as well as the string numbering based on your system setup.
🛈 For the next step in electrical design - click on the button below: