NEW: Panel Stringing

As part of the solar design process, Solar Designers are required to design how panels are to be wired (panel stringing).

Designers must consider a variety of factors including panel layout, roof orientation, components specifications and regulatory requirements. The stringing information is provided to electricians and solar installers to install on site, and included in the solar proposal to the end-consumer.

Although designing for Panel Stringing is a required by industry standards, most solar designers and solar sales companies will skip this step. Interviews with solar professionals indicate that a lack of a solar specific editor as the primary reason. Solar designers would need to use MS Paint, PhotoShop or AutoCAD in conjunction with solar panel placement software (Pylon Observer, Nearmap or SolarPlus) to display panel stringing.

The costs and added complexity of moving between software means solar designers would simply provide panel placement designs without panel stringing. As a result, solar installers will decide on stringing configuration on site and with little documentation.

Pylon Observer’s Panel Stringing tool designed to reduce complexity of panel stringing by utilizing the data already available from panel placement and keep solar designers on the single software. After solar designers layout panels on a roof, they can easily select an inverter and click and drag over panels to assign panels into a string and indicate how they are strung. Stringing an array of panels takes less than 10 seconds.

Using Photoshop or MS Paint, this process will take upwards of 20 minutes which includes to colour coding each panel and then show string lines. Pylon Observer will automatically include panel stringing information generated in end-consumer proposals and installer information packs.

Simplifying the process of stringing panels has reduced the time commitment required subsequently improve compliance within the industry. Almost 50% of all panel placement designs on Pylon Observer now has an associated panel stringing design. This has substantially improved transparency within the industry with end-consumers as well as improved safety and documentation with solar installations.

There are still important improvements to make with Pylon Observer’s panel stringing. Future updates will include design checks when panel stringing. This will notify the solar designer when the string design is not suitable for the electrical components or do not meet industry standards.