Array auto refinement

Solesca has three distinct features to help you refine your array once you have made the field and obstructions:

• Remove shaded modules
• Generate equipment walkways
• Remove hanging modules

Before using these features, it is highly recommended that all fields are created, module layouts are established, and obstructions are generated.

For all refinement tools, you can enable them by selecting the "Enable" button and remove the setting by selecting the "x" in the top-right corner of the section. Removing a setting will restore all previously removed modules and obstructions back to your design.

Shade cutoff obstructions

Shade cutoff obstructions allow you to simulate shade and see which modules are affected and by what percentage. You can set the desired shade cutoff percentage and move the slider to see how many modules are removed. A heatmap displays the shade intensity for each module, with red indicating the most shade and blue indicating the least. Once you set the desired cutoff threshold, Solesca will resimulate to calculate the shade loss percentage for that threshold.

You can override shade cutoff obstructions by right-clicking the transparent red modules to add them back. Once overridden, those modules will not be removed by any auto-refinement tool (unless intersected by a walkway obstruction).

Generate equipment walkways

Solesca can automatically generate walkways from equipment to the nearest field edge or existing walkway. Simply click "Enable", select which obstruction types you want walkways for, and click "Generate".

Once generated, you will see a count of the walkways created. You can regenerate walkways or select different obstruction types as needed.

Remove hanging modules

Also called ghost modules, Solesca can automatically remove a wide variety of hanging module configurations.

We have six different archetypes of module configurations that can be removed:

1. Single Module: Single modules connected to no other modules
2. Single Connected: Single modules connected to one single other module
3. Cross: Modules connected in a cross or half-cross configuration. One module center with one module in any orthogonal direction.
4. Middle Connected Edge: A module that is connected in the middle of a "C" configuration.
5. Bridge: A module or set of modules that connect two fully connected arrays.
6. Nx2 Rectangle: Any Nx2 or 2xN rectangle, where N is the length or width of the connected group. The strictest setting.

Select the desired removal threshold and click to apply.

Once removed, you can adjust the threshold by moving the slider and selecting "Update removal". This will apply the new setting to the project.

Like the shade cutoff tool, you can override hanging module removals by right-clicking the yellow modules. Overridden modules will not be removed by future runs of shade cutoff or hanging module removal.