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Exporting single-axis trackers to PVsyst

Jonas Žemaitaitis
Updated

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🛈 In this tutorial, we are going to show how to enable Backtracking calculations using PVsyst 7.2 versions and up.

Here we will showcase the necessary steps so that you can import your layout to PVsyst for the yield estimations.

Export

When exporting to PVsyst we have two files format options to choose from:

  • .PVC is recommended for PVsyst 7.0 and higher versions.

  • .DAE is used for 6.8 and lower versions.

After selecting either the .DAE or the .PVC format, two options will be presented:

  1. Frames - PVcase will export frames and shading objects;

  2. Terrain and frames - PVcase will export frames, shading objects, and selected terrain meshes as well.

Frame export

To export only the frames and shading objects, click on Export to PVsyst; then choose the Frames option. Having done so, a new window will pop up where you will need to choose the file format - .DAE or .PVC. Then, give the file a name and choose the location where the file will be saved. To finalize, click Save. Example below:

Terrain and frame export

To export the frames, shading objects, and terrain, the steps are fairly similar: click on Export to PVsyst; Then choose the Terrain and Frames option. Having done so, you will be prompted to select terrain mesh and press Space or Enter on your keyboard. Then a new window will pop up where you will need to choose the file format - .DAE or .PVC. Then, designate the files names and choose the location where the file will be saved. To finalize click Save. The design will be saved as .DAE or .PVC and the terrain mesh will be saved asa separate .csv file. Example below:

🛈 The density and size of the mesh impact the import speed of PVsyst.
🛈 If you would like to learn how to prepare terrain mesh using your terrain data, click here:

The many uses of Terrain Mesh

How to import .PVC files to PVsyst:

1. Open - and select the Near Shadings tab.

2. Click on Construction / Perspective.

3. Click File → Import → Import a 3D scene (3DS, DAE, PVC), and select your exported .PVC file.

4. In the Import results pop-up window, 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 may also import the terrain by selecting File → Import → Ground data (CSV)

🛈 PVsyst will automatically identify the axis plane and turning angle range specification from PVcase while using the .PVC format.

Backtracking for 3D tables - PVsyst 7.2

  1. After importing your layout, go to Tools and select Backtracking Management; here you will need to check if your pitch distance is correct.

  2. We also recommend performing the string partition on your frames. You can do it by double-clicking on one of the tables and then going to the Partition tab → to enable the option Define partition function and edit the number of strings that you have per frame → select All tables of the same size → click Apply → Close object.

  3. You may also go to Tools and check the Shading animation.

  4. The last step is to calculate the shading factor table.

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