Nick Blambied the SolarEdge Commercial Sales Manager talks this month about how he is often asked what the difference is between the logical layout and the physical layout in Monitoring and how to interpret both.  Todays Tip covers this topic.

Logical layout – defines the number of strings connected to each inverter and the number of optimisers connected per string.

Physical layout - defines the physical location of all the optimisers on the roof.

In the example above, the Logical Layout shows that the inverter has 2 strings connected with 18 optimisers per string.  The physical layout shows how all the optimisers are performing based on their actual location on site.  Looking at the logical layout alone doesn’t clearly show that shading is constrained to the first 2 rows of panels.  Looking at the physical layout doesn’t quickly show how the system has been strung up.

Use cases

It is important on completion of your projects to ensure that the logical layout and the associated stringing accurately reflect what has been physically installed onsite.  Doing so will ensure you have a permanent online version of the system layout to support your ‘as builts’.

When undertaking routine maintenance, understanding where strings are located on the roof, how they are performing and with which inverter they are associated with save time and hassle and allow you to focus your attention in the right area.  This allows for differentiation between module underperformance and string issues which aren’t always easy to differentiate from one another.

On large sites, the logical layout allows strings on inverters to be expanded and collapsed quickly, speeding up the review process.  It then becomes clear that each string has a unique orientation.

Editing the logical layout

If the logical layout is not reflective of the actual installation ie you have one long string or lots of short strings, this can be edited in the layout editor.  You simply define the string length and location in the same manner you do in Designer.  Once this is resolved, you can republish the layout.

If you need further assistance contact our sales team sales@cclcomponents.com or call +441355 599 900