Appx B: PVCAD and AutoCAD

PVCAD is based AutoDesk’s AutoCAD application. Now that you have installed PVCAD, you’re ready to get started with your solar project design.

Let’s take a moment to make sure you know your way around AutoCAD, our users must have a a base knowledge of AutoCAD to create solar project plan sets. Our newest AI implementation on the AI tab of the PVCAD window – can help you learn.

If you’re not familiar with AutoCAD or you need to brush up on the essentials, check out handy resources below that gives you a simple, self-directed tour of the most important AutoCAD concepts. Knowledge of these commands will help you efficiently manage workflow as you begin solar project design with PVCAD.

Key PVCAD / PVCAD Mega Commands

Using the AutoCAD command input you can access numerous common and complex features of PVCAD and PVCAD Mega. Try PVCAD and PVCAD Mega commands from the list below to explore all that the software has to offer:

Command	Description
PVCABOUT	Opens up About window
PVCACTIVATEIRONRIDGE	Sets Iron Ridge active flag to true
PVCACTIVATEPOLARRACKING	Sets Polar Racking active flag to true
PVCADDFIXEDEWTRACKER	Adds new East West Fixed tables by selecting one and click and draging for PVCAD Mega
PVCADDFIXEDTRACKER	Adds new Fixed Tables by selecting and existing one and click and draging for PVCAD Mega
PVCADDOBJECTTODB	Allows insertion of custom modules or inverters to our DB
PVCADDPANEL	Adds new panels by selecting an existing one and click and dragging for PVCAD Standard
PVCADDTRACKER	Adds new Trackers by selecting an existing one and click and dragging for PVCAD Mega
PVCANNUALSHADINGANALYSIS	Creates csv report with annual shading analysis for PVCAD Standard
PVCAPPS	Opens up PVComplete Apps window
PVCAUTOELECTRICALCONNECTIONS	Automatically creates electrical connections on simple PVCAD Standard drawings
PVCCALCULATEAREA	Calculates array area for Ecolibrium specific layouts
PVCCASSYSSIMULATION	Performs energy simulation with Cassys Engine
PVCCLEARDRAWING	Creates Modules, tables, trackers, strings and electrical equipment from the drawing
PVCCLICKDRAG	Module layout creation with click and drag for PVCAD Standard
PVCCLICKDRAGFIXEDEWTRACKERLAYOUT	Creates east west fixed tilt layout by manually clicking and dragging in PVCAD Mega
PVCCLICKDRAGFIXEDTRACKERLAYOUT	Creates fixed tilt layout by manually clicking and dragging in PVCAD Mega
PVCCLICKDRAGTRACKERLAYOUT	Creates Layout for Trackers by click and drag for PVCAD Mega
PVCCREATEFIXEDEWTRACKERLAYOUT	Creates east west fixed tilt layout automatically in PCVAD Mega
PVCCREATEFIXEDTRACKERLAYOUT	Creates fixed tilt layout automatically in PCVAD Mega
PVCCREATEFIXEDUNALIGNEDTRACKERLAYOUT	Creates east west dual tilt layout automatically in PCVAD Standard
PVCCREATETRACKERLAYOUT	Creates one-axis layout automatically in PVCAD Mega
PVCDALYSIMULATION	Retrieves annual energy simulation from Daly’s api for PCVAD Mega layouts
PVCDEFINECARPORTOUTLINE	Defines a poly-line as a Carport Object
PVCDEFINEGROUNDMOUNTOUTLINE	Defines a poly-line as a Ground Mount Object
PVCDEFINEGROUNDMOUNTROAD	Creates roads surrounding a ground mount area
PVCDEFINEINSTALLATIONAREA	Defines a poly-line as an installation area object
PVCDEFINENEXTERAGROUNDMOUNTOUTLINE	Defines a poly-line as a Nextera ground mount object
PVCDEFINENEXTERAOBSTRUCTION	Defines a poly-line as a Nextera obstruction object
PVCDEFINEOBSTRUCTION	Defines a poly-line as an obstruction object
PVCDEFINEPIERS	Allows users to customize pier distances in PVCAD Mega
PVCDEFINEPOINTINTERCONNECTION	Defines a poly-line as a point of interconnection object
PVCDEFINEROAD	Creates a straight road by selecting two points and a road width
PVCDEFINEROOFOUTLINE	Defines a poly-line as a Roof Object
PVCDEFINESETBACK	Allows user to define custom setbacks
PVCDEFINESTRINGSAUTO	Creates strings automatically by selecting the modules in PVCAD Standard
PVCDEFINESTRINGSDIRECTIONAL	Creates strings directionally (east-west, west-east, north-south or south-north) in PVCAD Standard
PVCDEFINESTRINGSMANUALLY	Creates strings by manually defining the path in PVCAD Standard
PVCDOLAYOUT	Automatic layout creation filing the whole roof for PVCAD Standard
PVCDRAWACCIRCUITWIRE	Creates wire connections between Inverters and AC Panels/Main Panels or between AC Panels and Main Panels
PVCDRAWOUTPUTCIRCUITWIRES	Creates wire connections between Combiner Boxes and Inverters or between Junction Boxes and AC Panels
PVCDRAWSOURCECIRCUITWIRES	Creates wire connections between Strings and Combiner Boxes/Inverters or between AC Branches and Junction Boxes/AC Panels
PVCDRIVELINES	Draws drive lines in one-axis layouts in PVCAD Mega
PVCELECTRICALSUMMARY	Creates excel electrical report for PVCAD Standard
PVCEXPORTBOM	Exports Bill of Materials to an excel document
PVCEXPORTKML	Exports drawing to kml format
PVCEXPORTPIER	Exports to a CSV file information about all pier analysis data
PVCGCRCORRECTIONFIXED	Optimizes row spacing in fixed tilt layouts in PVCAD Mega to minimize self shading
PVCGENERATESHADINGREPORT	Generates a shading report
PVCGEOGRAPHICLOCATION	Sets drawing location
PVCHEATMAP	Retrieves relative shading from Daly’s API for PVCAD Mega layouts
PVCHELP	Opens up Help dialog
PVCIMPORTDWG	Generic command to import a drawing from the webapps (PVSketch Mega or NextEra Mega)
PVCIMPORTFROMPVMEGA	Imports PVSketch Mega projects onto PVCAD Mega
PVCIMPORTFROMPVSKETCH	Imports PVSketch projects onto PVCAD Standard
PVCIMPORTONDFILE	Uploads inverter ond file
PVCIMPORTPANFILE	Uploads module pan file
PVCIMPORTTOPODATA	Imports topography from Google’s API into PVCAD Mega projects
PVCINSERTACMAINCIRCUITSHEET	Creates AC Main Circuit table for Single Line Diagram in PVCAD Standard
PVCINSERTACPANEL	Inserts an AC Panel in the drawing
PVCINSERTACSOURCECIRCUITSHEET	Creates AC Source Circuit table for Single Line Diagram in PVCAD Standard
PVCINSERTCOMBINERBOX	Inserts a combiner box in the drawing
PVCINSERTDCOUTPUTSHEET	Creates DC Output properties table for Single Line Diagram in PVCAD Standard
PVCINSERTDCSOURCESHEET	Creates DC Source properties table for Single Line Diagram in PVCAD Standard
PVCINSERTINSTALLATIONAREAS	Creates installations areas automatically on ground mount areas in PVCAD Mega
PVCINSERTINVERTER	Inserts an inverter in the drawing
PVCINSERTINVERTERSHEET	Creates Inverter properties table for Single Line Diagram in PVCAD Standard
PVCINSERTJUNCTIONBOX	Inserts a junction box in the drawing
PVCINSERTMAINPANEL	Inserts a Main Panel in the drawing
PVCINSERTMFRBLOCKS	Inserts manufacturer specific blocks on to module layout in PVCAD Standard
PVCINSERTMODULESHEET	Creates Module properties table for Single Line Diagram in PVCAD Standard
PVCINSERTOUTPUTCIRCUITSHEET	Creates Output Circuit table for Single Line Diagram in PVCAD Standard
PVCINSERTRACKINGSHEET	Creates Racking properties table for Single Line Diagram in PVCAD Standard
PVCINSERTSHEETSET	Creates properties tables for Single Line Diagram in PVCAD Standard
PVCINSERTSYSTEMSHEET	Creates System properties table for Single Line Diagram in PVCAD Standard
PVCINSERTTRACKERMFRBLOCKS	Inserts manufacturer specific blocks to trackers in PVCAD Mega
PVCINSERTTRANSFORMEROUTPUTCIRCUITSHEET	Creates Transformer Output Circuit table for Single Line Diagram in PVCAD Standard
PVCKML	Loads location using a kml or kmz file
PVCLAYER	Moves trackers to specific layers in Array Technologies according to wind exposure
PVCLOADCONFIG	Loads from the saved text file the user configurations to the mechanical layout tab
PVCLOADPROJECTPROPERTIES	allows user to load project properties from an excel file
PVCMODIFYSETBACK	Allows user to alter custom setbacks
PVCNEPVXT	Sets Nextracker active flag to true
PVCNEVADOS	Custom command to allow specification of custom sized tracker for Nevados
PVCNEWDESIGNVERSION	Creates a new drawing version
PVCOMITMODULES	Ommits selected modules on PVCAD Standard
PVCPIERHEIGHTS	Performs pier analysis in ground mount layouts. Places piers, elevates trackers to topography and rotates them to the land slope.
PVCPIERPLAN	Generates Pier plan drawing
PVCPIERTYPE	Updates tracker properties for Array Technologies and for Nextera according to wind exposure
PVCPLOTPDF	Exports drawing to PDF (used in PVSketch mega and nextera export to pdf api)
PVCPROPS	Allows user to set tracker properties
PVCPVSYST	Exports drawing to PVSyst
PVCREGEN	Regenerates module attachments for PVCAD Standard
PVCREMOVEDESIGNVERSION	Removes a drawing version
PVCREMOVESTRINGS	removes selected strings
PVCRENAMEDESIGNVERSION	Renames a drawing version
PVCREPLACEBLOCK	Allow for block swapping
PVCREPOSITIONDRAWING	Automatically repositions drawing closer to drawing origin
PVCRESET	Unlocks documents that was saved in standard mode or in utility scale mode
PVCRESTOREMODULES	Restores omitted modules for PVCAD Standard
PVCROWCOUNT	Summarizes module count per rows on an excel file for PVCAD Standard
PVCRUNSIMULATION	Creates energy simulation in an excel template
PVCSAVECONFIG	Saves in a text file all user configurations on mechanical layout tab
PVCSELECTTOPOSOURCE	Allows switching between topo sources using a command
PVCSETCURRENTDESIGNVERSION	Sets version as current one
PVCSETIMAGESVISIBILITY	moves images in the ImageryLayer layer to the bottom (Background)
PVCSETLINEWEIGHTTOZERO	Sets selected polyline objects to a zero line weight
PVCSETPALETEVISIBILITY	makes PVCAD UI Panel visible
PVCSETTINGS	Opens up settings window
PVCSETUNITS	Allows drawing units change in a simple command
PVCSLD	Creates a Single Line Diagram for the electrical connections on the drawing for PVCAD Standard
PVCSNAPAZIMUTH	Automatically snaps azimuth to edge on sloped roofs in PVCAD Standard
PVCSWITCHTAB	Allows switching between tabs using a command
PVCTORQUEPLAN	Generates Torque Tube plan drawing
PVCTORTUGA	Sets Array Technologies active flag to true
PVCUNDEFINEOBJECT	Undefines a previously defined object
PVCUNDEFINESETBACK	Removes custom setbacks
PVCGENERATESHADINGREPORT	Generates the Shade Report Feature
PVCANNUALSHADINGANALYSIS	Generates the Annual Shade Report
PVCINSERTBATTERY	Adds a Battery to the Design
PVCCOUNTTRACKERS	Counts the trackers in the design