How to simulate a site with a mix of new and old modules? Some of them installed for several years with degradation and some new

[Auxi Madero]

How to simulate a site in which I have part of the modules installed for 10 years to which I want to apply degradation and part of the modules are new to install now?

To provide context, I have a site where approximately half of the panels that were installed 10 years ago are going to be replaced with modules of the same Peak Power but a different, more efficient model.
I want to run a simulation where part of the site has modules that are degraded in year 10 and part of the same site in the simulation has the new modules just installed.
How could I do this in PVsyst?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Linda Thoren]

Dear Auxi Madero,

In detailed losses, in the Aging tab you can simulate the degradation of your system after 10 years, though only for your entire system. 

To get around this you can divide your project and run one simulation for the already existing system and a second for the new additional part. 

Kind regards 

[Auxi Madero]

Hi @Linda Thoren,

Thanks for your answer. 

I have also seen in the help section that it is possible to define a (created) degraded module (i.e. by modifying the PAN file). I wanted to confirm with you if that is equivalent to using the 'Ageing section' for the old modules and how should it be used.

Thank you in advance.

Best regards,

[Linda Thoren]

Hi Auxi Madero,

Very true! In the Pan file,  in the Additional Data, Degradation you can change the Global degradation factor on Pmpp. Normally this value is indicated per year in the panels data sheet, and should for 10 years be a value of something in the order of magnitude of 3.8%. By modifying the PAN file and saving it with a new name, you can create your project with the two variants of panels. 

In the Detailed losses window, in the Module quality - LID - Mismatch tab you can also increase the Module mismatch losses for the sub-arrays with the degraded modules. 

Kind regards