Whether it's living more sustainably, saving money, or both, many people are considering installing solar panels in their homes. When making an investment decision, homeowners consider a number of factors, including which type of solar panel is best for them.
Now, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) online tool can help answer owners' questions. The program is called [PV]2 - Present Value Photovoltaics - and analyzes the economic and environmental impact of rooftop solar technology. The tool can help homeowners and even installers when evaluating rooftop solar PV systems.
Photovoltaic cells are a semiconductor material that converts sunlight into electricity. It consists of individual cells that make up solar panels. But how can owners know if this technology is right for them?
To help answer this question, [PV]2 uses a technique called life cycle cost analysis, which estimates the total cost of a structure, project, or product over time. It takes into account various costs and can determine the most profitable options in the long run.
The idea for this tool came to National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) economist Joshua Knievel when he was considering installing solar panels in his home a few years ago. "Solar installers provided key cost and savings information based on simple and sometimes vague assumptions. I wanted to determine if installing solar power was a better investment than just putting that money in, and at the time there was no available tool that could do it" - Knievel. said.
He performed his calculations using an Excel spreadsheet, but found that the average person could not translate this format. "I decided that there was no tool that a homeowner or solar panel installer could use to get an independent, criteria-based, actual proposal to install solar energy for a given home. I wanted to provide all the necessary details, considering all the possible complexities. . while simplifying the user interface in a way that is easy to digest,” said Knievel.
When users reach [PV]2 online, they first encounter a landing page that introduces them to the online tool. The page contains links to the User's Guide, which contains a quick guide to using the tool.
The tool does most of the calculations and analysis, so users only need two pieces of information: the current solar price - an estimate from the solar installer - and the electricity bill. If the user does not have these items, they can enter the estimated price and electricity bill from the landing page to get a rough estimate.
Once the start button is pressed, users must complete six steps, such as entering their address or zip code, the electricity price listed on their bill, solar system information, and any cash incentives they are eligible for. . Users do not need to know all this information; Some milestones contain predefined information based on the latest research and data. Knievel said that the information that users enter is not stored on the server or web application, which protects the privacy of the user's personal data.
“After the user completes these steps, they will click the Done button and receive a summary of the costs, energy savings and carbon footprint associated with the PV system. Lists are also included and everything can be downloaded as a spreadsheet or PDF.”
[PV]2 uses the Economic Evaluation Engine (E3), an Application Programming Interface (API) developed by [PV]2 experts from NIST's Office of Applied Economics.
"The new concept is to provide a public API that can be used as an 'internal' computing engine for multiple 'front-end' tools such as web applications," Knievel said. "This makes it easier and faster to develop new tools in the future, as well as reducing the time and cost of maintaining existing tools. The Solar Estimator Tool was an ideal use case for testing and demonstrating the capabilities of the General Economy API and how it can be used with other tools. who evaluate long-term projects that require a life cycle perspective For example, any building or equipment related project that focuses on energy efficiency, sustainability, or sustainability can use E3 for economic analysis.
The web app went through beta testing before it was released to the public and received feedback from beta testers such as solar panel installers, homeowners who have recently installed solar panels, homeowners who have considered but not yet installed solar panels , and other tool developers. . . [PV]2 can also be useful for solar panel installers who need to provide a transparent and independent economic analysis of solar panels. “I hope non-experts can use this web app for the same analysis as I do to get comfortable with their solar investments,” Knievel said.
This is the initial release of the tool, new features are under study; Users can leave comments to further improve the tool.
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