Intro
QuickYield (QY), now integrated within PVcase Ground Mount, is a new simulation capability that accelerates the preliminary design and decision-making process by instantly delivering an energy performance metric. Its purpose is to drastically reduce the need for slow external simulations, enabling you to quickly iterate and de-risk among multiple design variants.
By providing a first yield assessment in seconds, it’s designed to aid in selecting the most optimized layout before committing to a final, time-intensive simulation.
Compared with PVcase Yield — the current state of the art for solar yield simulation — QuickYield delivers results that are roughly within ~10% accuracy, and does so in seconds:
- QuickYield for layout optimization: QuickYield is useful in early stages of design to rapidly identify optimized layout parameters, such as tilt and row spacing.
- PVcase Yield for fine-tuning and final validation: PVcase Yield can be utilized to compare different types of components and fine-tune the layout. Once the design is finalized, it can be used to determine exactly how much energy the system will produce for financial or bankable reporting.
How does it work?
QuickYield utilizes a proprietary calculation that leverages the power of a well-established open-source library (PVLib) in conjunction with our own internal performance models and know-how. All mount systems are supported.
QuickYield is designed to calculate yield based on the core design inputs already present in the PVcase environment, including:
- Design Geometry: The layout, including module spacing, row pitch, and tilt angles.
- Module and Inverter Data: Considered in the form of high-level parameters specifying dimensions, rated power, technology, and efficiency.
- Irradiance: We use hourly TMY weather data automatically accessed through the PVGIS service.
Additionally, the following technical assumptions, intentionally designed to keep the workflow lightweight and fast, apply:
- Terrain: QuickYield assumes flat terrain and uniform row spacing.
- Shading: Row-to-row shading losses are considered. Other shading objects are not taken into account.
- Losses: A single bundled loss factor of 10% is applied, instead of defining each individual loss parameter.
These assumptions enable you to run actionable simulations in a matter of seconds and quickly converge on optimized layout parameters (e.g., pitch, GCR, orientation) during early-stage design. As mentioned earlier, if you later need a higher-fidelity analysis that explicitly models all of the factors above, PVcase Yield is the right tool for that next level of detail.
How can I access it?
QuickYield is available to all PVcase Ground Mount users starting with version 2.57 and can be used with AutoCAD 2025 or later.
You can access QuickYield through two Ground Mount features: Layout information and Capacity Iteration. Being a cloud-based service, you’ll be asked to log in with your PVcase account when using it for the first time, and then periodically after that.
In Layout information
Once you have selected the PV areas, click on QuickYield settings and configure the parameters as needed. Make sure the project location is set correctly, since the selected location determines the weather dataset and can significantly affect the results.
After selecting your settings, simply click Run QuickYield to obtain a yearly yield preview as well as other performance indicators:
In Capacity Iteration
First, generate your design scenarios using the Capacity Iteration tool. You can find the step-by-step guides here: Fixed Tilt and Single-Axis Trackers. Once you have generated your design scenarios, click on QuickYield settings and configure the parameters as needed. Make sure the project location is set correctly, since the selected location determines the weather dataset and can significantly affect the results.
After selecting your settings, simply click Run QuickYield to obtain a yearly yield preview as well as other performance indicators:
Additional resources
If you are a PVcase user and want to learn more about this feature, you can watch Webinar 10 (Rapid Prototyping for your PV designs) in the PVcase Academy, where one of our experts demonstrates the tool. Please note that the user interface shown in the video may differ slightly from the current version, as some improvements have been implemented since the webinar was recorded.