Solar software offers a dependable solution

ASK THE EXPERTS
Solar software offers
a dependable solution
A privately-held Swiss corporation that is a pioneer in the field
of software solutions for the renewable energy sector, Vela
Solaris AG is one of the leaders in the global market,
combining software innovation with expertise in renewable
energy – with a particular focus on solar. We caught up with
the company’s visionary Managing Director, Andreas Witzig.
PES: Welcome to PES magazine. Would
you like to introduce the company to our
readers and explain how you serve the
PV industry in Europe?
the software only served the solar thermal
community, but for several years we now
also provide a comprehensive photovoltaic
feature set.
Andreas Witzig: Vela Solaris is a spin-off
from the University of Rapperswil in
Switzerland, and with our commercial
software Polysun we provide a planning
tool for the solar industry – last year
Polysun had its 20th anniversary. Originally
The Polysun database contains all PV
modules and inverters on the market and it
proposes an optimised string plan for a
given roof. New features cover local storage
in batteries and a range of smart-grid
applications.
PES: Can you outline a few of the
benefits of Polysun?
AW: Polysun calculates future revenues of a
PV field including advanced topics such as
module temperature, wind-chill and
shading. Furthermore, PV self-consumption
optimisation with the use of rechargeable
batteries is supported in a practical way
based on a thorough and precise
calculation.
Polysun pursues a system approach which
adds the power control to the analysis
(while many other methods are solely
focused on the component level). In
particular, Polysun also supports PV
systems which include heating such as in
the design of zero energy buildings when
solar power is used to drive a heat pump or
active load balancing.
PES: On your website you also offer a
browser based online version of your
software. How is it different from the
standalone version?
AW: The browser based online version of
Polysun is a result of our market analysis
with regards to de-centralised energy
With Polysun 6 PV Rooftop Planner, the string allocation is optimised based on roof geometry and
inverter allocation
Self-consumption optimisation in Polysun
www.pessolar.com
85
ASK THE EXPERTS
The Polysun simulation kernel is present in other software like DDS-CAD
production on rooftops. Very often it is the
home owner who initiates the installation of
solar energy systems. Offering Polysun as
an internet service rather than delivering a
software package to be installed on the
user’s computer, significantly lowers the
barrier for using simulation in an early
planning stage.
Polysun Online Basic is a free version for a
broad user community ranging from house
owners to architects and energy
consultants.
Polysun Online Premium is a professional
tool suitable for expert users that need the
simulation capability not very often. The
payment scheme of Polysun Online Premium
allows renting our services for a limited time,
e.g. when a customer project is in progress.
Since there is no installation required and
the handling though the browser interface is
very easy it requires no initial learning effort.
We offer the Polysun calculation kernel in
several ways: Not only is Polysun available
as an online version, but also as a plugin for
other software packages such as DDS-CAD
or Solar.Pro.Tool.
PES: The ‘public face’ of the company is
Polysun, with Vela Solaris a more
discrete brand. Would you agree with
this statement? What’s the thinking
behind this strategy?
AW: This is correct, Polysun as the product
name is more important in our
communication with customers. Polysun
86
PES: Europe
had already been an established brand
when Vela Solaris was founded seven years
ago. We use several channels to provide
our software to customers.
The above mentioned partners use our
software kernel, ‘Polysun Inside’, to show to
their customers that their yield prediction is
based on the well-established Polysun
simulation kernel. It is a significant
advantage for DDS-CAD or Solar.Pro.Tool
when their result reports are recognised by
authorities, subsidy bodies and banks.
PES: The time and investment required
to launch a new piece of software can
be considerable. What processes do
you go through to assess the viability of
this investment?
AW: We currently have a full innovation
pipeline and most often the new features
are fully integrated into Polysun. Therefore
we are fortunate to avoid investing into
launching a completely new tool.
Consequently, we have a relatively short
innovation cycle and it is easy to react on
new requirements from the market.
The secret for the success of new features
is our strong link to the Polysun user
community. We regularly offer trainings
with hands-on exercises and use these
events to closely interact with our
customers. Also, feedback from different
regions in the world is fed back to us
through our network of distribution partners
and associated experts.
PES: You offer instant downloads from
your website. How straightforward is it
for a new customer to install the
software and begin working with it –
without losing significant labour time?
AW: The web-based distribution of our
software has proven to be very efficient. We
are very happy that it is no longer a
requirement to ship CDs with the software
program to our customers. And with valid
payment options such as credit cards or
PayPal, immediate payment can be made
and Polysun is up and running with a valid
license within minutes.
While the installing procedure has proved
to be trivial, it can be challenging for our
customers to make effective use of Polysun
right away because of the inherent
complexity a simulation tool naturally bears.
Therefore we provide a set of instruction
movies to allow a smooth learning curve
and to help our customers to have a
successful planning experience within an
hour after purchasing the software.
PES: Can you tell us a little about the
services you offer to support the
life-cycle of your products?
AW: In order to understand our services, it
is important to see that Polysun is a
simulation tool on one hand, and on the
other hand– maybe even more importantly
– it has a huge database integrated within
the software package. We are constantly
maintaining and extending the database to
ASK THE EXPERTS
cover new products on the market and new
market trends. After purchasing Polysun for
the first time, customers have the right to
obtain database updates for 12 months into
the future.
Furthermore, the updates include new
features extending the functionality of
Polysun. Within the first year of using
Polysun, our customers can easily see
the tremendous worth of these updates
and then decide to renew the right to
obtain updates.
PES: Do the shifting weather systems of
recent years present you with a
challenge when it comes to providing
accurate data?
AW: In order to provide the best available
climate data, it is important to closely work
together with meteorologists. It needs a
thorough scientific basis to provide the
input data for statistical weather that is the
basis for a yield prediction of PV systems.
Polysun is based on the weather profiles of
Meteonorm.
For most Polysun users it is important that
the software automatically provides a
weather profile when the location of the
solar system is chosen on a map. Weather
scenarios can also be entered in Polysun as
a user input. A modern approach is to
measure solar irradiation on the site of the
PV power plant. A guarantee is then given
for the plant yield relative to the solar
irradiation. Therefore, the prediction quality
is worth a lot of money and only
comprehensive yield analysis models are
sufficiently accurate.
PES: How have the demands of
installers and planners changed since
you first launched this software?
AW: Some time ago there were separate
markets for solar thermal, heat pump and
photovoltaics. Also, there was a strong
focus on components and a variety of
performance parameters. In recent years
installers and planners recognised that it is
the optimisation on the system level that
makes successful projects.
Furthermore, the links between the different
disciplines became apparent: due to price
differences between feed-in tariffs and the
current electricity price from the grid, it starts
to matter where and when the PV electricity
is used: it is better to adjust heat pumps for
heating and cooling with the PV production.
Or, as a second example, if a home owner
wants to harvest as much solar energy as
“Due to strong regulation and steering
intentions in the energy market, there are
very different market trends within Europe”
possible from his rooftop, he will cover part
of his roof with solar thermal for the local
sanitary hot water production and the rest
with PV. Thirdly, innovative systems for
combined PV and thermal (PVT) are
developed and have been introduced in the
market to optimise PV efficiency and use
solar hot water in the same cell.
PES: Just how competitive is your
corner of the solar/PV market? And
similarly, what’s your on-the-ground
assessment of sector growth in Europe?
AW: In my view, the main competitive
element in our market is the strong lobby of
the nuclear and fossil industry. In addition,
the solar manufacturers currently are in a
price war. Down the value chain there is still
room for system providers to create
innovative systems, improve quality and
optimise processes to deliver solar
installations. We assume that more turnkey
systems are offered not only for big plants
but also in medium-sized applications.
PES: What are your thoughts about
prospects for the coming year with
regard to your organisation, and the
solar/PV industry in general?
AW: Due to strong regulation and steering
intentions in the energy market, there are
very different market trends within Europe.
Recent changes in the subvention schemes
and some irritations in the communication
from the agencies have had a negative
influence on the market.
With the high targets that are still present in
European politics (Energy Roadmap 2050)
and the irreversible turning away from
nuclear power, we assume that the strong
support for solar power will continue. The
big players have an advantage in this
situation because a multinational business
can equal out the problems introduced by
unsteady support from politics.
Furthermore, the solar energy business has
more and more a global perspective and
European players have to care about what
is going on further afield.
www.velasolaris.com
www.pessolar.com
87