I have the task of looking into whether it is possible to build a solar potential application which would inform the user whether a roof is suitable for solar panels and a brief report about the roof´s potential output.
I have seen quite a few of these applications and they are pretty user friendly and easy to use. Being a GIS Analyst with experience in vector/raster data analysis and presentation using opensource desktop/webgis tools ( and ESRI products of course!) I am not a newcomer to this kind of project…but I must admit, the consequences of getting the methodology wrong would be quite embarassing.
Does anyone have any "real" experience in this area and can report or supply advice regarding the methodology and processes involved. Is this something that can be realistically done by someone without any experience in the solar world…or should this be left to the universities?
I look forward to hearing from any comments.
Best Answer
Not sure if your question is regarding open source tools or sources of information but I recall doing a project in school and found plenty from an internet search.
just a few starting points might be worth mentioning: GRASS documentation (my favourite place to start): http://grass.fbk.eu/grass62/manuals/html62_user/r.sun.html
European assessment examples which might be interesting: http://re.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pvgis/solrad/index.htm http://re.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pvgis/solres/solres.htm
I think I also found lots of companies online that offered assessments, but I don't think i need to provide their links. You might try a test site if you have one and see if your analysis and someone else's were to match.
I hope some of this is useful, SA