SAM Shading analysis

  • Vitor
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20 Apr 2023 21:15 #12065 by Vitor
SAM Shading analysis was created by Vitor
Hello everyone,I would like to discuss a shading analysis issue that I encountered while using SAM, a photovoltaic analysis software. I created a 3D model in SketchUp and exported the "month-by-hour beam irradiance shading losses" using Skelion, which looked like the image provided in the following link: ibb.co/87BQs5D During the simulation, I found that the losses due to shading were only 2.22%, and the medium value was 20,24% calculated in a excel sheet. 

However, as an exercise, I set all the shading analysis values to 100%. Surprisingly, the losses at the end of the simulation were 57% instead of 100%. I am attaching the project for your reference.Could you please help me identify what went wrong in the simulation? I appreciate any assistance or insights on this matter.Thank you.

I imported it to SAM an
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  • Paul Gilman
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21 Apr 2023 00:16 #12067 by Paul Gilman
Replied by Paul Gilman on topic SAM Shading analysis
Hi Victor,

It's good to hear that you were able to use Sketchup with Skelion to generate shading data to use with SAM.

The shading factors you set to 100% only apply to the beam irradiance. The PV array generates some power from the diffuse sky irradiance and ground-reflected irradiance, which is why the shading losses on the loss diagram are not 100%. If you want diffuse irradiance to be blocked, you can check Enable constant sky diffuse shading loss in the Edit Shading window and set the diffuse loss to 100%.

 

You can plot the "Subarray 1 POA front beam irradiance after shading and soiling" and "Subarray 1 POA front diffuse irradiance after shading and soiling" variables on the Time Series or Heat Map tab of the Results page to see the beam and diffuse irradiance incident on the subarray.

Best regards,
Paul.
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