Sunny Design

Release Notes Sunny Design 5.40

New Features (General)

• New, improved project documentation
• Electromobility also possible in quick planning mode
• For charging stations and electric vehicles, differentiation between AC and DC charging
• Battery systems now as separate items in the detailed project costs
• Subsequent editing of own cost items possible
• Management of a price list for battery systems
• Roof plan as vector graphic in project documentation
• Simplified deletion of load profiles and projects
• PV arrays are not deleted when the visual roof plan is removed
• Function for optimising PV module design in case of shading
• Display of the ground coverage ratio (GCR)
• Optimized dialogs for the selection of buildings & objects
• Optimization of the naming of inverter inputs
• Automatic polystring design for inverter selection
• New result value for active power limitation
• Start of roof planning in 2D possible
• Progress indicator for visual string design
• Configurable joint for east-west rack systems
• Alignment of objects with dialog
• Adjustable visibility and transparency of PV modules

Sunny Design PRO

• Import of 3D models

Release Notes Sunny Design 5.30

New Features (General)

• The visual roof planning was extended by the electrical design including string planning.
• String assembly plans can be created.
• Battery systems can now be configured for combined operation of peak load shaving and self-consumption optimization (Multi-Use).
• A demand charge can be used in PV projects.
• Sunny Design now also supports the energy cost calculation according to the capacity tariff for Belgium.
• The energy management design has been optimized for inverters with integrated system manager.
• In visual roof planning, the modules with east/west-oriented mounting can no longer be arranged only in pairs, but independently of each other.
• Existing buildings can be copied.
• Modules and roof objects are preserved when the building height is changed.
• The loss of yield due to shading is now calculated at the string level, taking ShadeFix into account.
• Swedish and Hungarian are available as new languages in the user interface.
• Numerous other improvements.

Sunny Design PRO

• In energy system projects, the hybrid inverters can now be simulated with battery system.
• The export of the load profiles of heating rods is now possible.
• The previous energy consumption of mobility can now be specified by a mileage.

Release Notes Sunny Design 5.22

New features (general)

• In PV projects with self-consumption, up to 3 charging stations and electric vehicles can now be configured.
• In the electromobility section of the detailed planning mode, a warning is now displayed if the energy consumption of the electric vehicles is not covered.
• The calculation to prove compliance with the THD currents can now also be carried out for medium voltage in accordance with VDE-AR-N 4110.
• For flat roofs, an attic can be added.
• The display and information about our charging solutions have been optimized.
• In the project data, the possibility was created to make specifications for the desired nominal power ratio or DC/AC ratio, respectively.
• In the area of profitability, up to 10 special tariffs can now be defined.
• The influence of shading is now also taken into account in the energy yield calculation.
• When moving modules in the roof planning, they are aligned to a grid (snap-to-grid function).
• Additional dimensions are now displayed in the roof planning.

Sunny Design PRO

• In energy system projects, heating rods can now be taken into account to increase self-consumption.
• The heat pumps now have the "SG-Ready" option for PV-optimized operation.

Release Notes Sunny Design 5.20

New features (general)

• Shading analysis: Calculation of the annual shading of roofs
• Display of the percentage of module shading
• Display of the shadow course for a selected point in time
• Any number of buildings possible in one roof plan
• Extension of the roof planning to include external objects (trees, walls, chimneys)
• Up to 6 PV generators in a sub-project
• Improved design suggestions
• Compatibility list of battery inverters and batteries
• Key figures on self-consumption and self-sufficiency in a comparison of alternatives
• Easier creation of own PV modules
• Optimized net metering for PV projects
• Extended calculation of maximum PV system voltage and circuit currents according to NEC 2017
• Prepared for SMA JOIN

SUNNY DESIGN PRO

• New key figure for self-consumption levy
• Display of additional information on tariffs
• CO₂ credit also for direct marketing

Release Notes Sunny Design 5.10

New features (general)

• PV module placement on dormers
• Definition of maintenance walks/thermal separations in module arrays
• Project documentation extended by a Roof plan
• Creation of detailed offers
• Use of Heat Pump tariffs
• Assignment of a project status and life cycle
• Optimized system design for inverters with many MPPT
• Display of Sunny Design News
• Extended customer management
• Net-Metering for standard PV projects
• Consideration of self-consumption deduction in projects with direct selling

SUNNY DESIGN PRO

• Suggestion of Peak Load Shaving threshold
• CO₂ credits for PV energy export
• Extended time series export
• Selectable visibility of charging stations
• Optimized usage of alternatives

Release Notes Sunny Design 5.0

More options for system planners: In the new version Sunny Design 5.0, the SMA planning software is now more application-oriented. Installers benefit from professional system planning that requires very little time and effort. All innovations at a glance:

Visual 2D/3D Roof Planning

• Map based creation of building models
• Numerous predefined building types and roof shapes
• Simple insertion of obstacles (dormers, windows, chimneys, …)
• Multiple PV arrays per building
• Snapshot function
• Undo/Redo
• Easy to use

Optimized Workflows

• Quick planning mode with system design in just a few steps
• Just the most important inputs and results
• Simple switchover between quick mode and detailed planning

Extended project data

• Free text address entry and automated selection of the nearest meteorological data set
• Map view (Google Maps)
• Upload of multiple object photos
• Customer management tool

Interfaces to SMA 360° App

• Creation of Sunny Design Projects by the app
• Management of PDF documents accessible within the app

Other Enhancements

• New fact sheet for residential energy systems
• Detailed calculation of project costs
• Integrated P-Q analysis tool of Sunny Central Storage systems
• Support of Sunny Boy Storage with multiple batteries
• Export of load and generation time series (Sunny Design Pro)

Release Notes Sunny Design 4.20

Sunny Design

• Improved and extended direct selling options with SMA SPOT, depending on location of measurement (LV/MV side) and generation profile.
• Database with compatible HV Li-batteries for faster system design.
• Possibility of PV system design without preceding grid selection.
• Now the COP of the heat pump can be edited manually.
• Edit function for the EV consumption.
• Default for the EV usage profile.
• Simplified creation of new time windows for EV usage profiles.

Sunny Design Pro

• Energy systems without PV and/or thermal components to simplify the design of peak load shaving systems.
• Input of a consumption power limit for peak load shaving of the battery system.
• Export of all energetic and economic key figures as csv file.
• Automatic calculation of current electricity purchase costs using load profile and purchasing tariff.
• Input option for Sunny Design Pro activation codes.
• Improved management of alternatives.
• Extended display of details for thermal components.
• Numerous additional small product improvements.

Release Notes Sunny Design Web 4.10

Possible now: the integration of charging columns for e-cars.

• In PV projects with self-consumption, an e-vehicle and a charging station can be configured as a special load
  • Templates of typical scenarios are included
  • Important key figures are also presented
• E-mobility in the commercial sector:
  • Multiple charging stations are supported as part of the system
  • Two options for specifying the energy demand of e-mobility, including templates:
    1. Fixed user group and known vehicle types (as in the case of multi-family houses or defined fleets)
    2. Statistical usage of the charging station with unknown user groups (supermarkets, hotels)
• Additional improvements
  • Single-family homes available for energy system projects
  • Numerous pre-defined building types are supported
  • Allows the thermal energy demand to be estimated when the actual consumption is not known
  • Manual dimensioning of the thermal energy storage system
  • Also: Sunny Tripower Storage 60 is covered

Release Notes Sunny Design Web 4.0

• First release of Sunny Design Web including Sunny Design Pro features:
  • Cross-sector simulation of energy systems
  • Integrated energy management for PV, battery storage and thermal systems
  • Battery storage simulation for peak load shaving applications
  • Administration of purchasing and feed-in tariffs
  • Detailed consumption and load profile analysis
  • Extended project documentation
• Definition of battery charge time windows
• New PV inverters: STP33-US-41, STP50-US-41, STP62US-41

Release Notes Sunny Design 3.55 (Web/Desktop)

• Improved handling of the active power limitation with Sunny Boy 1.5 to 5.0.
• Load profiles with a time period of seven days can also be imported now. The data are then automatically rounded up to an entire year.
• The usable battery capacity of the storage system can now be changed for off-grid projects.
• For the THD calculation the input value of the connectable feed-in power is now validated to prevent miscalculations.
• For hybrid projects the total minimum load of the gensets is now shown in the project documentation.
• The specific requirements in the USA regarding UL 1741_SA / Rule 21 can be factored in as country-specific requirements.
• The information regarding the compatibility of PV inverters with AS-NZS 5033 has been improved.
• New Sunny Design tutorial videos have been incorporated on the landing page and the personal dashboard.
• An error when calculating solar fractions of heat pumps was rectified.
• The import of load profiles from CSV files was improved.
• An unnecessary status icon of the nominal power ratio was removed in the project documentation.
• Additional minor error corrections and product improvements.
• Database changes:
  • New PV inverter: SHP75-10
  • New locations: San Diego (CA, USA) and "Eifel" region (Germany)
  • Updated PV module database (now containing 123,017 PV modules and 1,348 manufacturers).

Release Notes Sunny Design 3.51 (Web/Desktop)

• Sunny Design now allows to design PV systems containing TS4-R retrofit MLPE components (Module Level Power Electronics) by Tigo Energy.
• Sunny Design also supports smart modules with Tigo TS4 components.
• The effects of the various TS4 products on system design and yield estimation are taken into account.
• New monitoring systems: SMA Com Gateway, Tigo Gateway, Tigo Cloud Connect Advanced.
• New inverters: SB3.0/3.6/4.0/5.0-1AV-40, SC 1850-US-10
• Updated PV module database, now also containing the connector type.
• The new version also contains various minor improvements and bug fixes.

Release Notes Sunny Design 3.50 (Web/Desktop)

• Full product support for Sunny Boy 5.0/6.0-1SP-US-40 (parallel connection of inputs).
• Off-grid systems: integration of Sunny Island 4548/6048-US and the Multicluster Box 12U.
• The limitation of the active power feed-in at the grid-connection point is now being supported by the SMA Cluster Controller.
• The integration of a heat pump into the energy management of the Sunny Home Manager can now be simulated.
• An alternative dimensioning factor (peak power / max. inverter AC active power) is now available in the user settings.
• Designs with central inverters also comprise information about SMA system technology.
• Updated consideration of the KfW subsidies for energy storage systems (50% cut).
• The project documentation has been extended to include a page regarding cable dimensioning.
• The profitability analysis now also includes the storage system costs, annual rate of return and LCOE.
• Projects can be hidden on the start page via the user settings (e.g. at presentations).
• Improved presentation of the power tolerance of PV modules.
• Manual input of battery efficiency.
• Improved update dialogue regarding the Sunny Design desktop.
• Different minor improvements and corrections (bug fixes).

Release Notes Sunny Design 3.40 (Web/Desktop)

• Sunny Design can now be used to design off-grid systems
  • New project type “PV project without grid consumption” with workflow designed specifically for off-grid systems
  • System summary with a presentation of the system status and an assessment of design details
  • System wizard to quickly and easily generate a custom system proposal
  • Support for off-grid multicluster boxes when designing the battery system
  • Support for an optional genset as an additional energy source
  • Redesigned visualization of energy flows in the system
  • Diagram to display the percentage of total monthly energy demand covered by solar power
  • Project documentation specifically for off-grid systems
• Advanced personal settings
• Numerous minor improvements and bug fixes

Release Notes Sunny Design 3.30 (Web/Desktop)

• Calculation of the harmonics (THD calculator)
  • Simple adoption of project data in the calculation
  • Report conforming to VDE-AR-N-4105
  • Output language of the report selectable
  • Replaces the existing EXCEL tool for low-voltage projects
• Enhancements in the calculation of self-consumption
  • Twelve new load profiles for private households
  • Simultaneous selection of several load profiles in a project
  • Nominal power of the heat pump freely selectable
  • New diagrams show the load profile for one week per season respectively
• Individual designation of system parts for simpler assignment of the inverters in the line dimensioning
• Revision of the assistant for PV-hybrid systems
• Output of further simulation results as a diagram and as a CSV file
• Support of multi-cluster storage systems with up to 24 Sunny Island devices
• Selectable number of different inverter types in the design recommendations
• Scaling of the irradiation data at the project level
• Printable design comparison
• Introduction of a new archive format (.SDPA) for the simultaneous export or import of several projects
• Improvements in the data synchronization
• Numerous additional improvements and bug fixes

Release Notes Sunny Design 3.20 (Web/Desktop)

• Additions for the calculation of self-consumption
  • Support for systems with heat pumps for heating as well as warm water
  • Import of load profiles from Sunny Home Manager systems
  • Automatic completion of missing data
  • Load analysis for commercial load profiles
• Calculation of the efficiency for all project types
  • Consideration of up to three different purchased electricity tariffs
  • Price management for PV modules and inverters
• Design of decentralized medium-voltage projects
  • System type for medium voltage optionally centralized or decentralized
  • Revised line dimensioning for decentralized medium-voltage projects enables parameter setting for Integrated Plant Control
• Advanced personal settings
  • Minimum cross-section freely configurable for line dimensioning
  • Preset project type on the home page freely configurable
• Optimizations for PV hybrid projects
• Detailed consideration of the generator currents
• Simple export of several projects as a ZIP archive
• Support of the parallel connection of several inverter inputs for the inverters FLX PRO 15 and FLX PRO 17
• Numerous additional improvements and bug fixes

Release Notes Sunny Design 3.10 (Web Version)

• In Sunny Design there are now three different project types available which are individually tailored to specific requirements: PV system without self-consumption, PV system with self-consumption, and PV hybrid system. These projects are identified in the overviews by corresponding symbols.
• In the project data it is now possible to enter active power limitation specifications manually within a wide setting range.
• In projects with self-consumption, the Sunny Home Manager can be used to limit active power, e.g., for implementation of the 70% cap in accordance with the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG). This is also taken into account in the yield forecast.
• Also for projects with self-consumption, a new planning stage has been introduced under the heading "Define load profile". This provides not only a chart of average daily profiles, but also an editor for creating individual load profiles.
• The design now takes into account the requirements of country-specific standards in Belgium (RGIE), Australia (AS/NZS 5033) and Italy (CEI-021).
• The new section "Planning of PV system monitoring" provides the possibility of integrating communication products (hardware and software) for system monitoring, system management and visualization of key system data in the PV system. This new function also offers design options based on the specific requirements for PV system monitoring.
• The sizing of AC cabling now also supports split-phase grids.
• Project documentation for design alternatives can now be created quickly and easily.
• The dialog for creating your own PV modules has been optimized. All mandatory specifications have been condensed in one list to facilitate their entry.
• Missing PV module data can now be transmitted by e-mail via a link on the homepage.
• The user interface and the documentation are now also available in Japanese.
• The new version has been prepared for inverters with integrated battery. Their properties will in future be taken into account for design, yield simulation and self-consumption forecasting.

Release Notes Sunny Design 3.02 (Web Version)

• Sunny Design Web now allows registered users to design PV-hybrid systems in addition to designing normal PV systems. The program interface offers extended input options for this, amongst other things for efficiency aspects, extended input options as well as a visualization of load profiles and the input and configuration of gensets. The program provides support in the determination of the optimum PV contingent in terms of efficiency for the project. The potential fuel- and emission savings will be calculated and displayed on the user interface as well as in the extended project documentation. An analysis will be performed on the efficiency of the fully configured projects, which amongst other things includes the cash flow as well as the amortization period.
• The altitude of installation will be taken into consideration during the design.
• In systems with Sunny Central inverters, the altitude dependencies will be taken into consideration during the yield calculation.
• Via a new editor, individual load profiles can be created conveniently and directly in Sunny Design Web.
• Meteorological data will be displayed in new diagrams. The diagrams enable a simple determination of the band-width of irradiation and temperature for the selected installation site.

Release Notes Sunny Design 3.01 (Web Version)

• The design rules have been revised and now allow for a more flexible dimensioning of the module strings. This is based on a reassessment of the design-relevant minimum string voltage and in consideration of the starting voltage of the inverter. You can find more information here: Designing PV Plants Optimised for Economic Efficiency - Technical Information
• The sorting of the design proposals by economic viability has been improved.
• The increased self-consumption with battery option is now possible with the Sunny Island 6.0H. The user interface has been extended to display the degree of self-sufficiency and the annual battery cycles. In addition, filtering of the battery system has been made available.
• Information regarding the available communication interfaces is now displayed in the Sunny Tripower TL-20.
• The current nominal power behavior of the design is now graphically presented in the String Editor. Also, the connected peak power and number of modules is displayed.
• The detail-view of the inverter design has been supplemented with additional helpful tool tips.
• New locations: Chile: Arica, Copiapó, La Serena, Concepción, Temuco. Switzerland: St. Gallen, Frauenfeld. Indonesia: Surabaya, Jakarta, Kuching, Medan, Padang, Palembang, Samarinda. South Korea: Busan, Daejeon, Gwangju