Shade Analysis
When you generate a layout, PVSketch will automatically take into consideration the impact of the shade of obstructions, other roofs, and modules, in addition to the soiling, shading, snow, system inefficiencies, and degradation on the overall annual production of the system. The impact of the shade will be shown on the modules in a color gradient, which can be enabled or disabled using the toggles on the Site tab. You will be able to see how each module is impacted by the shade see a cumulative Total Solar Resource Fraction (TSRF) value for the project. Modules that appear more yellow are best, while modules that appear red or black may be removed to improve system cost efficiency. Typically a 70% or higher TSRF is preferable, though PVSketch allows you to design with modules that fall below that threshold given shading. Additional loss values are provided in the system summary page of the downloadable PDF report for the project. The additional values are described in detail below:
TSRF (Total Solar Resource Fraction)
The fraction of total solar energy available at a given location after accounting for shading effects from nearby objects, such as trees or buildings. It is a crucial factor in determining the efficiency of a solar installation site, as shading reduces the total amount of sunlight received by the solar panels.
SAF (Solar Access Fraction)
The ratio of the actual solar radiation received by a solar module to the total possible solar radiation it could receive under ideal, unobstructed conditions. It helps quantify the impact of shading, panel orientation, and tilt on the performance of the solar module.
W/m² (Watts per square meter)
A measure of solar irradiance, which is the power of solar radiation received per unit area. W/m² is a critical input in performance models for solar modules, as it determines the amount of energy the panels can convert to electricity.
TOF (Tilt Orientation Factor)
A factor representing the impact of the tilt angle and orientation of the solar panel on its ability to capture solar radiation. TOF is used to optimize the positioning of solar modules to maximize their exposure to sunlight throughout the year.
