Solar Technology Analysis Models and Tools
The following is a list of computer software that can assist in the design of solar energy systems and/or passive solar heating and cooling techniques for buildings. This is not a complete listing of all software products with solar system and passive solar applications. Inclusion or exclusion from this list does not imply in any way an endorsement of the included programs.
Bird Clear Sky Model
Bird Clear Sky Model model is based on comparisons with results from rigourous radiative transfer codes. It is composed of simple algebraic expressions with 10 user provided inputs.
Bird Simple Spectral Model
The Bird Simple Spectral Model computes clear sky spectral direct beam, hemispherical diffuse, and hemispherical total irradiances on a prescribed receiver plane — tilted or horizontal — at a single point in time. C code revised 24 March 2004
DISC Model
DISC Model allows the user supplies hourly average measured global horizontal data. The algorithm uses empirical relationships between the global and direct clearness indices (Kt, Kn) to estimate the direct beam component.
Energy Smart Pools
This computer software Energy Smart Pools was developed by the U.S. Department of Energy for swimming pool installers and/or owners to analyze pool energy consumption and project the potential savings of a variety of energy management measures and solar pool water heating systems. It is designed to run on MS Windows, but will not run on Windows 2000 or later versions.
Job and Economic Development Impact (JEDI) Model
The Job and Economic Development Impact (JEDI) Models are easy-to-use, spreadsheet based tools that analyze the economic impacts of constructing and operating power generation and biofuel plants at the local and state level. First developed to model wind energy development impacts, JEDI has expanded to offer models that analyze the job and economic impacts of biofuel plants and concentrating solar power, coal and natural gas power plants.
PV Clearinghouse
The PV Clearinghouse was developed by NREL and Clean Power Research to provide users with a searchable database of analyses of solar power technology benefits and costs. In the Evaluation Matrix, these costs and benefits are categorized based on who receives the benefit (or pays the cost) and by the benefit/cost component, such as investment, tax effects, or utility cost savings – this allows for more targeted document searches. The database is also searchable by author, title, title keyword, date, or by type of document (reports, conference proceedings, etc.). Each document includes basic information (abstract, authors, date, etc.) and more specific information, such as Internet location of the document (if any), keywords, and geographical area covered. This information will be helpful for anyone looking for methodologies and results of solar power cost/benefit analysis.
PV-DESIGNPRO
PV-DESIGNPRO simulates photovoltaic system operation on an hourly basis for one year, based on a user selected climate and system design.
PVWatts
PVWatts is an internet accessible tool developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory that calculates electrical energy produced by a grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) system for locations within the United States and its territories.
Regional Energy Deployment System (ReEDS)
Regional Energy Deployment System (ReEDS) is a multiregional, multitimeperiod, Geographic Information System (GIS), and linear programming model of capacity expansion in the electric sector of the United States. The model, developed by NREL's Strategic Energy Analysis Center (SEAC), is designed to conduct analysis of the critical energy issues in today's electric sector with detailed treatment of the full potential of conventional and renewable electricity generating technologies as well as electricity storage. The principal issues addressed include access to and cost of transmission, access to and quality of renewable resources, the variability of wind and solar power, and the influence of variability on the reliability of the grid. ReEDS addresses these issues through a highly discretized regional structure, explicit accounting for the variability in wind and solar output over time, and consideration of ancillary services requirements and costs. See the ReEDS Web site for more information.
RETScreen
The RETScreen software, provided free-of-charge, can be used world-wide to evaluate the energy production, life-cycle costs and greenhouse gas emission reductions for various types of energy efficient and renewable energy technologies (RETs). Developed by the CANMET Energy Diversification Research Laboratory / Natural Resource's Canada.
SMARTS
SMARTS: Simple Model of the Atmospheric Radiative Transfer of Sunshine requires the user supplies hourly average measured global horizontal data. The algorithm uses empirical relationships between the global and direct clearness indices (Kt, Kn) to estimate the direct beam component. Computations are based on the solar geometry for the hour and clearness indices.
SOLAR-2
SOLAR-2 plots sunlight penetrating through a window with any combination of rectangular fins and overhangs. Also plots hour-by-hour 3-D suns-eye view 'movie' of the building. Prints annual tables of percent of window in full sun, radiation on glass, etc.
Developed in 2006, the Solar Advisor Model (SAM) is able to evaluate several types of financing (from residential to utility-scale) and a variety of technology-specific cost models for several and, eventually, all Solar Energy Technologies Program (SETP) technologies. The SETP technologies currently represented in SAM include concentrating solar power (CSP) parabolic trough systems and photovoltaic (PV) flat plate and concentrating technologies. Other technologies to be added include dish/Stirling, solar heating (primarily solar residential hot water) and solar hybrid lighting.
Solar and Wind Energy Resource Assessment (SWERA) Model
The availability of reliable, accurate, and easily accessible solar and wind energy resource data is critical — and it can greatly accelerate the deployment of these technologies. The Solar and Wind Energy Resource Assessment (SWERA) is a pilot project designed to compile such data in 13 developing countries and to facilitate investments in solar and wind energy projects. The Strategic Energy Analysis Center (SEAC) developed a Geo-spatial Toolkit, which uses a Geographic Information System (GIS) to easily access this data. The SWERA Geo-spatial Toolkit is:
- Easy to use — not directed at a technical audience
- Allows people with no GIS experience to look at and analyze GIS data
- Will be distributed free of charge with resource data to 13 countries that are part of the SWERA project
- Can facilitate renewable development in these countries by providing easy access to the resource data
- Is being integrated with the project analysis tool HOMER.
SWERA information can be accessed online - please contact Marguerite Kelly in SEAC with any comments or questions.
Solar Deployment System (SolarDS)
The Solar Deployment System (SolarDS) model evaluates the potential market penetration of solar photovoltaic (PV) technology. SolarDS examines the market competitiveness of Solar PV technologies from the building user's perspective, considering capital costs, electricity prices, as utility rate structures, incentives, and net-metering policies. SolarDS is a spreadsheet/VBA-based model that simulates the hourly price and performance of PV over 216 locations in the United States to derive a national estimate of the potential PV market from 2005 to 2050. Contact Paul Denholm of the Strategic Energy Analysis Center (SEAC) for more information. You can also access
"Solar Deployment System (SolarDS) Model: Documentation and Base Case Results"
(PDF 973 KB) Download Adobe Reader for more on the model.
SolTrace
Monte Carlo optical model. Contact: Tim Wendelin
SUN_CHART
The solar design software, SUN_CHART, calculates the position of the sun as its apparent position changes from day to day and from latitude to latitude, and performs shading calculations and plots these shading diagrams directly onto a cylindrical sun chart.
SunPath (Version 3.2)
SunPath is a fully MS Windows-based implementation of the popular SUNPATH 2.0, an MS DOS application allows the user to select latitude and longitude coordinates for a site of interest and then determine the position in the sky of the center of the sun for any day of the year and time of day, or for a sequence of days and times.
Sun or Moon Altitude/Azimuth Table for One Day
A Web site of the U.S. Naval Observatory's Astronomical Applications Department, which provides altitudes and azimuths for the sun for locations in the USA. This provides a simple way to determine if a landscape feature will shade a potential solar collector site.
United States PV Atlas
A map interface accesses monthly average solar resource information for any given location in the contiguous 48 states. It also provides access to spreadsheets giving average monthly radiation for 14 different types of solar collectors. Data for individual collectors is also available for fixed, flat-plate (photovoltaic) collectors on five different orientations. The United States PV Atlas is developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
The following is a list of models and tools that can assist in learning more about our main renewable energy technologies and their uses. Most of these tools can be applied on a global, regional, local, or project basis.
Cost Curves
The cost of energy (COE) from renewable technologies has steadily declined in the past quarter century. As an example, the cost of wind energy has declined from about 30-45 cents per kilowatt-hour in 1980 to less than 5 cents today. Wind, PV, geothermal, solar thermal, and biomass have all seen significant drops in cost with the improvements in technology. This PowerPoint slide shows these historical trends and includes projections through 2020. These represent levelized cents/kWh in constant $2000. (PowerPoint 210 KB)
Energy-10
ENERGY-10 software can identify the best combination of energy-efficient strategies, including daylighting, passive solar heating, and high-efficiency mechanical systems. Using ENERGY-10 at a project's start takes less than an hour and can result in energy savings of 40%-70%, with little or no increase in construction cost. Visit the Energy-10 Web site for more information.
Geographic Information System
This site provides dynamically generated maps of renewable energy resources that determine which energy technologies are viable solutions in the United States. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory analyzes the resources and inputs the data into the GIS—Geographic Information Systems.
Green Power Network
The Green Power Network (GPN) provides news and information on green power markets and related activities. The site provides up-to-date information on green power providers, product offerings, consumer protection issues, and policies affecting green power markets. It also includes a reference library of relevant papers, articles and reports. The Green Power Network is operated and maintained by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy.
HOMER
HOMER, the micropower optimization model, simplifies the task of evaluating design options for both off-grid and grid-connected power systems. When you design a power system, you must make many decisions about the configuration of the system: What components does it make sense to include in the system design? How many and what size of each component should you use? How do the costs and environmental impacts of different system designs compare? The large number of technology options, range of technology costs, and variable availability of energy resources make these decisions difficult to make. HOMER's optimization and sensitivity analysis algorithms make it easier to evaluate the many possible system configurations. For more information, visit the HOMER Web page. You also can access a fact sheet (PDF 934 KB) Download Adobe Reader about this unique tool. Contact developer Peter Lilienthal for more information.
Hybrid2
The Hybrid2 code is a user-friendly tool to conduct detailed long-term performance and economic analysis on a wide variety of hybrid power systems. Visit the Modeling and Tools for Project Engineering Web page, see last item for more information.
Power Technologies Energy Data Book (Fourth Edition)
In 2002, the Strategic Energy Analysis Center of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) developed the first version of the Power Technologies Energy Data Book for the U.S. Department of Energy. The analysis group has now posted the fourth edition of the Power Technologies Energy Data Book, which provides updates from our previous edition. The primary purpose of the data book is to compile — in one central document — a comprehensive set of data about power technologies from diverse sources. This publication features more than 200 pages of energy supply-side data and complete technology profiles for renewable energy and distributed power technologies. The data book also contains a variety of charts on electricity restructuring, power technology forecasts and comparisons, electricity supply, electricity capability, electricity generation, electricity demand, prices, economic indicators, environmental indicators, and conversion factors. Please contact Jørn Aabakken with any questions.
REFlex
REFlex is a reduced form dispatch model that evaluates the limits of variable renewable generation as a function of system flexibility. It can also evaluate the role of enabling technologies such as demand response and energy storage. It is an updated version of the PVFlex model described in the following articles: "Evaluating the Limits of Solar Photovoltaics (PV) in Traditional Electric Power Systems," by Paul Denholm and Robert Margolis, NREL Report No. JA-640-41459; doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2006.10.014 and "Evaluating the Limits of Solar Photovoltaics (PV) in Electric Power Systems Utilizing Energy Storage and Other Enabling Technologies," by Paul Denholm and Robert Margolis, NREL Report No. JA-6A2-45315. doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2007.03.004
RET Finance
RETFinance is a levelized cost-of-energy model, which simulates a detailed 20-year nominal dollar cash flow for renewable energy projects power projects including project earnings, cash flows, and debt payment to calculate a project's levelized cost-of-electricity, after-tax nominal Internal Rate of Return, and annual Debt-Service-Coverage-Ratios.
Real Options Analysis Center
The Real Options Analysis Center (ROAC) features two online models for real options valuation of renewable energy R&D and valuation of distributed generation assets.
Regional Energy Deployment System (ReEDS)
Regional Energy Deployment System (ReEDS) is a multiregional, multitimeperiod, Geographic Information System (GIS), and linear programming model of capacity expansion in the electric sector of the United States. The model, developed by NREL's Strategic Energy Analysis Center (SEAC), is designed to conduct analysis of the critical energy issues in today's electric sector with detailed treatment of the full potential of conventional and renewable electricity generating technologies as well as electricity storage. The principal issues addressed include access to and cost of transmission, access to and quality of renewable resources, the variability of wind and solar power, and the influence of variability on the reliability of the grid. ReEDS addresses these issues through a highly discretized regional structure, explicit accounting for the variability in wind and solar output over time, and consideration of ancillary services requirements and costs. See the ReEDS Web site for more information.
The Renewable Energy Technology Characterizations describe the technical and economic status of the major emerging renewable energy options for electricity supply. These technology characterizations represent the best estimates of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) regarding the future performance and cost improvements expected for these technologies as a result of continuing research and development (R&D) and development of markets for renewable energy through the year 2030. The Renewable Energy Technology Characterizations are copyrighted, but permission is granted for unlimited copying for noncommercial use.
SERA (Scenario Evaluation, Regionalization & Analysis)
The Scenario Evaluation, Regionalization and Analysis (SERA) model is a geospatially and temporally oriented infrastructure analysis model that determines the optimal production and delivery scenarios for hydrogen, given resource availability and technology cost. Given annual H2 demands on a city-by-city basis, forecasts of feedstock costs, and a catalog of available hydrogen production and transportation technologies, the model generates "blueprints" for hydrogen infrastructure build-out that minimize the overall net-present-value of capital, operating, and feedstock costs for infrastructure networks that meet the specified demand profiles. The model represents production facilities and pipelines at the level of individually geolocated components, while it treats truck and rail transportation at an aggregate level. Intra-urban locations of dispensing stations and of hydrogen production for stationary applications are generated using a geospatial statistical model that matches empirical distributions of such facilities. Prior to October 2009, SERA was know as the Hydrogen Deployment System Modeling Environment (HyDS-ME).
Stochastic Energy Deployment System (SEDS)
The Stochastic Energy Deployment System (SEDS) model is a capacity-expansion model of the U.S. energy market. The model uses five-year time periods from 2005 to 2050. SEDS can be operated either deterministically or stochastically. When operated deterministically, SEDS uses a single value instead of the input-probability distributions for the uncertain parameters. In this mode, the results are immediate and informative, in terms of how the model responds to different inputs and assumptions. When operated stochastically, SEDS uses Monte Carlo simulations to make a number of sweeps through the time period. In each sweep, the random variables are sampled using a Latin Hypercube approach that improves on a standard Monte Carlo simulation. SEDS is being developed with a commercially available software package, Analytica, designed to facilitate the development of stochastic models (for more information on Analytica, visit Lumina). Contact James Milford of the Strategic Energy Analysis Center (SEAC) for more information.
ViPOR
The Village Power Optimization Model for Renewables, ViPOR, is a computational tool capable of designing an autonomous village electrification system using the lowest cost combination of centralized and isolated generation.
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