Problem related with Electric Load data input.

Hello,

I am trying to simulate a PV detailed residential, on the last version of SAM,

I started a new file and simulated with default load date, I checked value of electricity savings from the cash flow table, it is about $848 for the first year, choosing to Normalize supplied load profile to monthly utility bill data from Electric load section, shows a decrease in the load input, here I am assuming I am consuming less energy so im selling more to the grid, I am expecting more profit on value of electricity savings on the cash flow table, but it is showing the opposite, my profit decreased to $658 on the first year. On the other hand, Editing values of Monthly energy usage to lower values, causes a decrease in profit and vise versa.

Moreover, Using "Calculate Load Data" from the electric load option and editing one of the values of Monthly load data, for example choosing February to be 150.00 Kwh and simulating shows an error saying "The building electric load profile estimator calculated negative loads for 8 hours. Loads for these hours were set to zero; however, this may indicate a problem with your inputs." and again less profit with lower load on the cash flow table.

I tried another option, which is no load option from Electric Load section, the profit decreased from $848 on the first case to $243.


I would appreciate if someone can explain why this problem occurs and what can I do to solve it

Thank you very much.


Kind Regards,
Ahmad Harb.

Dear Ahmad,

Thank you for the message.

SAM's residential and commercial financial models calculate electricity bill savings rather than profit: The electricity generated by the renewable energy system reduces the amount of electricity the household or business must purchase from the utility.

The "Value of electricity savings" in the project cash flow shows you the value of the reduction in the electricity bill.

When you decrease the size of the load, you decrease the potential for electricity bill savings.

Exactly what effect reducing the size of the load has on the savings depends on the electricity rate structure on the Electricity Rates input page.

Best regards,
Paul.