PVsyst files and the PVsyst 8 path

The PVsyst 8 path selects the method of PVsyst 8 at each calculation step. A run can return its hourly series under PVsyst's variable names and units.

Files pvperf reads

File	Endpoint	Returns
PAN module file, text form	POST /v1/parse-pan	the module section and an id
OND inverter file	POST /v1/parse-ond	the inverter section and an id
MET weather file, hourly	POST /v1/parse-weather	the weather section and an id
Variant file (.VC0, .VC1, …) with a 3D scene	POST /v1/parse-scene	a scene body and the racking fields it implies

Each endpoint takes a multipart form with the file in file.

curl -X POST https://pvperf.com/v1/parse-pan -F "file=@module.PAN"

A run request names a parsed file by its id. The module takes {"id": "pan_…"}, the inverter {"id": "ond_…"} and the weather {"id": "met_…"}. A PAN file in binary or encrypted form is refused with a request for its text form. The scene reader takes the pvShading block of a PVsyst 8 variant file. Its array_patch goes into the request's array section before the run.

The PVsyst 8 path

The PVsyst 8 path selects, at each step, the method of PVsyst 8 with its default settings. The table gives the methods for a fixed monofacial array without a horizon profile, and the methods that change with the request.

Step	PVsyst 8 path
Irradiance
Solar position	PVsyst 8 ephemeris
Sun timing	Sunlit-slice midpoint
Dark intervals	Zero
Transposition	Perez 1990
Perez settings	PVsyst 8 settings
Circumsolar treatment	Like beam
Low-light threshold	Threshold on the plane global
Far shading (horizon)	Do not modelWith a horizon profile: Crossing fraction + diffuse integrals
Near shading (row to row)	Infinite rows, PVsyst applicationWith a scene: Shading-factor table, PVsyst application
Sky-diffuse masking	Isotropic integral of the row shading factor
Backtracking width	Active band width
Backtracking angle	Planar backtracking, PVsyst application
Irradiance-optimised tracking	OffWith irradiance-optimised tracking on in the request: Best plane angle, PVsyst application
Best plane angle search	PVsyst 8 settings
Incidence-angle modifier, beam	Fresnel, AR coatingWith an IAM curve in the module file: Module IAM profile
Incidence-angle modifier, diffuse and albedo	Mask-conditioned integrals
Ground IAM angle	Horizontal direction
Soiling	Monthly table
Rear side and front ground reflection	MonofacialWith a bifacial module: Unlimited sheds or trackers 2D (PVsyst)
Rear-side geometry	Racking and bifacial sections
Energy
Cell temperature	Prilliman transient
Module model	Mermoud one-diode
One-diode STC point	Through the datasheet MPP
Spectral correction	OffWith a CdTe module and precipitable water or humidity in the weather: Lee and Panchula
Where the correction acts	After the cell temperature
Rear mismatch	Flat fraction
DC ohmic wiring	I²R on the MPP current
MPPT inputs	One input per string
Inverter efficiency	Linear in power and voltage
Inverter operating limits	Operating point on the array's I–V curve
DC drop reference	Drop at the MPP current
MPPT minimum	Hold the MPPT minimum, fitted voltage trim
MPPT minimum loss row	Power-limit loss when it would have clipped
IV shading current scale	Scale the curve by the electrical shading
Night consumption	On
AC ohmic wiring	k·P² on the inverter output
AC resistive reference	Inverter output
AC power reference	P_nom inverter
Medium-voltage transformer	Iron and copper losses
System-level AC losses	On the sum of the inverters
MV line	Resistive loss
HV transformer	Iron and copper losses
HV line	Resistive loss
Transmission and other losses	Flat fractions
Auxiliaries	Day and night draw
Grid power limitation	At the injection point
Unavailability	Flat fraction and periods
Power factor	Inside the inverter and AC rows

POST /v1/tree/irradiance/describe and POST /v1/tree/energy/describe take a run request and return each path's changes to it as presets[].patch. Apply the irradiance patch, then the energy patch, and send the result to POST /v1/run. In the workbench, the Model tab's PVsyst 8 path button applies the same changes.

Hourly series under PVsyst's names

With "include_pvsyst_series": true, the answer carries a second hourly block, pvsyst_series. Its keys are PVsyst's hourly variable names, such as GlobInc, EArrNom and E_Grid, with PVsyst's units. A CSV written from it lines up with a PVsyst hourly export column for column. A year of it is about 3 MB. The workbench's hourly CSV export uses the same names.

Further pages

• PV simulation API
• PVWatts and SAM paths
• Reference, with every method of the table and its equations