Design vs condition set
Why geometry and weather stay separate, and what a simulation pairs.
Reviewed
What this is for
A design is what you would build. A condition set is what the world does to it. A simulation is one of each, paired. That split is the point: one roof can be run against five weather assumptions, or five roofs against one year, without copying geometry into the weather or weather into the drawing.
Steps
- Designer holds field segments, keepouts, modules, racking, tilt and azimuth. There is no weather file on it. Nameplate is
0 kWpuntil modules exist. - Conditions holds the weather year, soiling, horizon, losses and which characterisation to simulate against. There is no tilt and no field segment on it. Fetch a year or upload a file, then Apply. A set with no weather source cannot be simulated.
- Clone a condition set to vary one assumption. The clone carries the random seed, so two sets that differ only in soiling differ only in soiling.
- Results is the matrix: designs down the side, condition sets across the top, one cell per pairing. Read across a row to compare one design under different assumptions; read down a column to compare designs under one.
- At the least, the design needs modules and the set needs weather. A pairing that cannot run reads Not ready, and Not ready to simulate under the matrix says why - not
0.
Consumption is not a condition set. The engine is generation-only and never sees load. What the site draws lives on Consumption and is read later, at storage and at the meter.
Tips and common mistakes
- Putting weather on a design, or a tilt on a condition set, collapses the pair into one "run" and you cannot compare options any more.
- Fetching weather is not enough until you Apply.
- Module count and nameplate on the designer HUD are a live estimate while you draw. They are not a simulation. Energy comes from a run on Results.