[Plugin] Skelion (solar, shadows)

kmullin · 28 Jan 2015, 15:35

PVSYST exporter is not yest in manual but you can export pressing pvsyst icon: [attachment=0:7gexlda0]pvsyst_icon.JPG[/attachment:7gexlda0].
Buildings does not project shadows over solar panels. They are working to fix that. But size and position of solar panels are right.

Has any progress been made on buildings and other objects being able to project shadows?

taranraj123 · 28 Jan 2015, 15:52

Hey @Juantxo has there been any update on the PVsyst shadows issue?

I'm trying to create a Helios 3D file from Sketchup using the Skelion toolbar. The tool works great but as you mentioned none of the obstructions are imported as shadow producing objects. Is there a timeline on when there will be a fix for this?

Thanks!!

Juantxo · 29 Jan 2015, 09:41

I don't know. You should ask PVSYST team.

Smexystef · 27 Feb 2015, 22:21

Where can we see the update logs? version history?

Also, there's a very irritating graphical glitch if you move solar panels manually, both in sketchup as in exported/printed projects, as seen here:

can you fix this?

Juantxo · 4 Mar 2015, 15:48

Go to plugins foder and there skelion folder. Read change.log to see the changes.

About the image, is not a glitch. If you have 2 faces coplanar, SketchUp shows both textures.
Give some depth to your panels and then the face of the panel won't be coplanar to roof face.

emerkel · 18 May 2015, 14:49

Curious if there is any functionality on non-planar surfaces to set criteria for slope. In other words, when placing on a non-planar surface, it will not place components that would cause the component's slope to be greater than some value either in the direction of sheds or in the lateral direction. If not is there any plans for this function? It would be extremely handy for larger scale ground mount systems.

Juantxo · 19 May 2015, 05:00

I not sure what are you talking... You can set tilt and azimuth of the components. You can choose also 3 different ways to insert the components in non-planar.
Please, watch the video tutorials at http://www.youtube.com/skelion

emerkel · 19 May 2015, 13:18

Yes, the pitch of the component (modules themselves) are entered in the Skelion prompt. What I'm referring to is the slope of the terrain the components are being placed on, for example placing a table on a hill that slopes 10 degrees to the south. Realistically, racking systems can only be installed on terrain that is within a certain criteria of slope. This isn't a huge issue for simple terrain but for more complex terrain, a particular mesh may slope in the direction of the azimuth and in the lateral direction (side to side). There are practical limits on both of these, generally about 20 degrees in the direction of the azimuth (following the sheds) and about 5-10 degrees side to side. This all depends on the racking mfg but I'm curious if there's any functionality to set criteria for this in Skelion or if there are any plans to add it. I've also emailed the question to j.pons at skelion.

Froedem · 16 Jun 2015, 09:52

Hi,

I'm using skelion for a while now (without any issues) but have been suffering some problems with my regular shadow analysis in sketchup that might be caused by the skelion plugin. In most cases my objects disappear for certain periods a day (while using the shadow slider). This differs a bit from the orientation of the object but it's rather severe. Is this a known bug of the skelion or sketchup 2015 software? Also I would like to know whether this can cause accuracy issues with my skelion shawdow derating calculations?

Cheers

Juantxo · 16 Jun 2015, 14:05

Obects disappear: Not skelion related, is camera clipping. Change from parallel view to perspective view and problem is solved.
Read about here:
http://help.sketchup.com/en/article/36261

Camera clipping problem does not affect shading derate calculations

Froedem · 16 Jun 2015, 16:04

Tried all that already but it has nothing to do with zooming or anything. It's just when I use the shadow function everything just disappears during a certain time of the day. The rest of the day everything visualizes just fine including the shadows. The exact interval of this error depends on the camera position and day of the year.

Hope anyone can help!

Juantxo · 16 Jun 2015, 18:40

Problem is not related with Skelion. Update to SketchUp 2015 last release.
And use perspective view.

Froedem · 19 Jun 2015, 09:41

Something else, could you let me know how the shadow derating calculations of a face are determined? Is this based on a single string for the face (so that the worst performing module at a given time sets the minimum for the others) or is this based on a design with optimisers (performance of modules is independent of each other)? In any case it would be useful to have this option included in the software in order to come to an optimal system design or to calculate both shadow deratings. Besides that it would even be better to be able to select modules to be included for each independent MPPT string.

Cheers

HANERGY · 22 Jul 2015, 08:44

Hi Guys!
I'm a beginner user of Sketchup (Pro 2015, version 15.3.331 64 bit) and I'm trying to design a PV-system in a flat roof with several chimneys. Is there any way to create the shading area and then automatically avoid those while filling in the available surfaces?

I hope someone can help me!
Many thanks!

juju · 22 Jul 2015, 13:48

@hanergy said:

Hi Guys!
I'm a beginner user of Sketchup (Pro 2015, version 15.3.331 64 bit) and I'm trying to design a PV-system in a flat roof with several chimneys. Is there any way to create the shading area and then automatically avoid those while filling in the available surfaces?

I hope someone can help me!
Many thanks!