With Configure by numbers, you describe a solar system with numbers instead of drawing it. This is useful for a quick first design and, above all, for adding an existing solar system to the simulation, e.g. when you retrofit a battery.

A by-numbers planning is a normal design: yield, simulation, proposal and presentation work just like they do for a drawn design.

Creating a by-numbers planning

New design: In the Get started! dialog, select Configure by numbers and click Start planning.
Existing design: Select Configure by numbers as the planning background, either in the sidebar under Settings > Planning background or via the Layers button at the bottom right, in the Map section.

If the design already has drawn surfaces, autarc asks Switch planning mode?. Switching would discard that configuration, so autarc only offers two options: Create new planning creates a new by-numbers design, and Keep current planning leaves everything as it is. If the design only contains inverters and batteries, it switches without asking and the products are kept. The same applies the other way round if you later want to draw a planning that has PV arrays.

Entering PV arrays

Click + Add PV array. A PV array stands for panels with the same orientation and tilt, e.g. one roof side. Create a separate array for each orientation.

Name: e.g. “South roof”.
System size (kWp): the installed capacity of the array.
Shading losses (%): applied evenly to every production step of this array.
Layout: Single-sided or Dual-sided (east-west). With east-west, half of the kWp faces the orientation you set and the other half faces the opposite direction.
Orientation (compass °): Enter the value or select a direction (N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, NW).
Tilt (°)
PV module and Number of modules: optional, shown in the proposal and presentation. Once a module is selected, autarc keeps the system size and the number of modules in step using the module's Wp (modules × Wp).

The yield is calculated from the system size, orientation, tilt and shading losses.

Inverters and batteries

Under Details for offer and presentation, use Add inverter and Add battery to add products from your catalogue. They appear in the proposal and presentation and do not affect the yield. A battery is included in the simulation, though, e.g. in self-consumption, autarky and breakeven.

You open the simulation, proposal and presentation via Actions as usual.

Adding an existing solar system to the simulation

In the simulation, the Current tab shows the building as it is today. Every scenario is compared with it. If your customer already has a solar system, add it like this:

Create a by-numbers design with the details of the existing system, e.g. named “Existing system”. Only enter what is installed today.
Open the simulation via Actions > Simulation.
Switch to the Current tab.
Switch on Solar System and select the existing system's design under Solar planning.

From now on, Current includes the existing solar system, and each scenario only shows the change compared with today. To learn more about the simulation, see System simulation overview.

Example: retrofitting a battery

Your customer has a solar system without a battery and wants to know what a battery would add:

Add the existing system without a battery as described above and link it in the Current tab.
Duplicate the design: in the header, click the design's name and select Duplicate via .... Rename the copy, e.g. “Existing system with battery”.
Open the copy and add the new battery with Add battery.
In the simulation, create a scenario with New simulation and select the copy under Solar planning. Make sure Solar System and Battery storage are switched on.
Under Compare with:, select Current.

The charts and savings now show exactly what the battery adds. To compare several batteries, create another copy and another scenario for each battery.

Tip: The investment, breakeven and proposal are calculated with the products in the copy. So don't select priced panels or inverters in the existing system, so that only the new battery counts as the investment.

Frequently asked questions

Where is “Simulate existing system” in the simulation?

This option no longer exists in the simulation. Previously, you entered the system size, number of panels, orientation, tilt and the panels, inverter and battery directly under Existing System. Now you describe the system once as a by-numbers planning and link it to the simulation. This way the simulation uses the same basis for drawn and existing systems, and you can reuse the existing system in several scenarios.

Your previous entries have not been lost. autarc transferred them automatically:

Every project with an existing system now has a by-numbers design called “Existing system”. If a project had several different existing systems, they are numbered (“Existing system 2” and so on). Simulations with the same values share one design.
The design is already linked to the simulations that used the existing system. Their results stay the same.
You find it in the header of the solar design under the design's name, or in the simulation via the link icon next to Solar planning. That is where you change the values now.

For new projects, add the existing system as described above under Adding an existing solar system to the simulation.

Can I draw a by-numbers planning later?

Not in the same design. Switching the planning mode would discard the configuration, so autarc offers to create a new planning instead. To learn how to draw a system, see PV planning.

Why does the system size change when I select a module?

With a module selected: system size = number of modules × the module's Wp. If you change the number, autarc adjusts the System size (kWp), and vice versa. If you select a module while a number is already entered, autarc recalculates the system size from it; otherwise it calculates the number from the system size. As the yield is based on the system size, it changes too. So check after selecting that the kWp match the real system.

Configuring a solar system by numbers