“collectors”

A collector is a plane on which solar panels of a particular type are mounted. A house can have multiple collectors. For example, a collector on a south facing roof and another on a south-west facing roof. Give each collector a name, e.g. “collector A” and “collector B” in the below example.

For multiple panel types within a same plane, create a separate collector for each type.

For each collector:

• name your collector using “name” (optional);
• use “include” to include it in the simulation;
• if the collector is shaded, express in “shading_factor” its average shading across the year as a fractional factor corresponding to the average proportion of light that reaches it¹;
• give the number of panels in “panels_number” if you know it. Alternately give in “area”:
  • “border_m”: the width of a border area where panels cannot be placed;
  • dimensions of the collector’s ground footprint along the tilt axis (“tilt_m”) and line of slope (“other_m”) to allow the simulator to use the maximum number that will fit from the panel dimensions;
• give its “orientation” by stating its “type” as “tilted” giving the angle of tilt above the horizontal in “tilt_degrees”, and tilt direction from true north in “azimuth_degrees”;
• specify initial and on-going costs in “costs” under “gbp” and “gbp_per_year” respectively;
• identify the type of panel in “panel”: see also here.

See example below:

    "collectors": {
      "collector A": {
        "include": true,
        "panel": "AIKO 455W",
        "panels_number" : 0.9,
        "shading_factor": 1.0,
        "area": {
           "dimensions_footprint_axis": {
              "tilt_m": 6.0,
              "other_m": 1.9
              },
           "orientation": {
              "type": "tilted",
              "tilt_degrees": 35,
              "azimuth_degrees": 185
              }
           }
        },        
      "collector B": {
        "include": false,  
        "panel": "AIKO 470W",  
        "shading_factor": 0.7,
        "panels_number": 5
        "cost": {
          "gbp": 1500.0,
          "gbp_per_year": 0.0      
        },
        "orientation": {
          "type": "tilted",
          "tilt_degrees": 45,
          "azimuth_degrees": 270
        }
      }
    }
  },

Costs can be itemised, for example:

        "cost": {
          "gbp": {
             "materials" : 500.0
             "labour" : 1000",
          "gbp_per_year": 0.0      
        },

1. Ranging from 0 (fully obscured) to 1 (no shading). ↩︎