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The Solar Advisor Model Version 2009 Details. Nate Blair Aron Dobos Mike Wagner October 30, 2009. Contents. 2. - Program Organization - New Model Additions - Simulation Setups - Graphing Capabilities. Advantages of SAM 2009. Benefits of having rewritten SAM from the ground up:
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The Solar Advisor ModelVersion 2009 Details Nate Blair Aron Dobos Mike Wagner October 30, 2009 NREL is a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC
Contents 2 - Program Organization - New Model Additions - Simulation Setups - Graphing Capabilities National Renewable Energy Laboratory Innovation for Our Energy Future
Advantages of SAM 2009 • Benefits of having rewritten SAM from the ground up: • Significantly faster and runs on a Mac • Incorporates a Monte Carlo method for uncertainty analysis • Sensitivity and Optimization simulations • Provides a framework to eventually allow SAM to run as a web application • Allows easy interaction with tools and languages, including Excel and MATLAB • Easier maintainability in the future because of new software architecture • SAM User Language “SamUL” scripting language • Allows greater interaction with risk-assessment tools such as @Risk and CrystalBall and stochastic analysis • Integrated Web Update capability
SAM 2009 Block Diagram SAM GUI Inputs: Parameters Costs Incentives SAM SIM (Simulator) Output Metrics: LCOE, IRR, NPV, Capacity Factor Hourly Simulation Financial Model Communication (C DLL API) Graphing of Sensitivities Simulation Management: Parametrics, Optimization, Multi-Systems MATLAB Excel/VBA
PV Additions in SAM 2009 • Simple efficiency model: multi-radiation level efficiency model • PVWatts with basic battery storage model
SAM Simulation Setups • Parametric analyses • Ability to assign many values to input variables • Variables values can be linked to track together • Excel Exchange • Interact with external Excel files “on the fly” • New in SAM 2009 • Sensitivity analyses (demo) • Optimization (demo) • Statistical / Uncertainty • Multiple Systems
Sensitivity Analysis • Helps determine how sensitive an output metric is to variation in inputs • Results for each sensitivity variable are calculated independently
Uncertainty Analysis • Allows user to specify an uncertainty distribution for input variables and observe the effect on outputs • Next release will incorporate Latin Hypercube Sampling (Sandia) to reduce number of runs needed
Multiple Systems • Aggregates performance results from multiple subsystems and runs a unified financial model • Costs for each subsystem are also combined • Example: PV systems where some modules face east and others south
Links to an External Workbook Excel SAM Inputs “SentTo” “CapturedFrom” 11 National Renewable Energy Laboratory Innovation for Our Energy Future
SAM User Language (SamUL) • User request to be able to run hundreds or thousands of SAM runs (i.e. all TMY3 in US) • Scripting language much like VBA but tailored to SAM • Documentation and sample files available to help get started.
Live Demo! 14 Solar.Advisor.Support@nrel.govhttp://www.nrel.gov/analysis/sam National Renewable Energy Laboratory Innovation for Our Energy Future
Thank you! 15 solar.advisor.support@nrel.govhttp://www.nrel.gov/analysis/sam National Renewable Energy Laboratory Innovation for Our Energy Future