PVsyst stands as the global reference for photovoltaic software, enabling engineers and researchers to model solar energy systems with exceptional precision. This specialized tool covers every aspect of PV system design, from preliminary sizing to deep analysis of shading effects and financial viability. Professionals rely on its detailed simulation engine to generate bankable reports that investors and financial institutions trust for utility-scale and commercial solar projects.
Key Features
- 3D Shading Scene: Construct detailed three-dimensional environments to analyze near-shadings, defining complex objects like trees and buildings while simulating tracking systems with backtracking strategies.
- System Sizing & Configuration: Design grid-connected, stand-alone, or pumping systems by selecting from an extensive database of verified commercially available PV modules and inverters.
- Meteo Data Management: Integrate meteorological data from sources like Meteonorm and NASA-SSE, or import custom TMY files to ensure location-specific accuracy for irradiation and temperature.
- Bifacial System Modeling: Simulate energy gain from bifacial modules by calculating ground albedo and rear-side irradiance, optimizing row spacing and mounting height for maximum yield.
- Economic Evaluation: Perform comprehensive financial analysis including CAPEX, OPEX, and Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) to determine the long-term profitability and return on investment of solar assets.
- Batch Simulation Mode: Automate parametric studies by running multiple simulation variants consecutively, allowing for rapid comparison of different equipment configurations or orientation parameters.
Use Cases
Solar engineering firms utilize this software to design multi-megawatt photovoltaic plants, optimizing tracker layouts to minimize shading losses. Architects and building consultants also apply the tool to integrate solar arrays into complex urban rooftops, ensuring that estimated energy yields match real-world conditions for client proposals.
By combining rigorous physics-based algorithms with a vast component library, PVsyst 8 remains the definitive choice for professionals demanding accuracy in solar performance modeling.
Version 8.0.19 — 2026
- Added a new option to disable the display of country names in generated reports.
- Improved 3D scene import functionality to group table orientations according to project-defined tolerances.
- Improved data precision for object storage in variant files to prevent discrepancies when loading projects.
- Fixed an issue in the Presizing tool that caused incorrect irradiance calculations on tilted planes.
- Fixed stability issues where importing DAE files with conversion errors or calculating specific shading factors caused crashes.
