Photovoltaic system installation

Abstract

The disclosure is directed to a photovoltaic installation. A method may include determining a method of interconnection to couple a photovoltaic system to an electrical system of a structure based on site survey information. The method may also include determining an ideal usage offset ratio for the photovoltaic system based on at least some of the site survey information. Further, the method may include estimating, via the electronic device, a number of modules required to meet the determined ideal usage offset ratio. Moreover, the method may include generating a roof plan based on at least a portion of the site survey information, the roof plan including an illustration of each roof section of the roof. Furthermore, the method may include approving or rejecting the photovoltaic system based on a comparison of the estimated production levels and the required production levels. Associated systems are also described.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method, comprising:
 determining a method of interconnection to couple a photovoltaic system to an electrical system of a structure based on site survey information including electrical information for the structure, measurements of a roof of the structure, roof obstruction information, tilt information for the roof, and structure utility usage information;   determining, via an electronic device, an ideal usage offset ratio for the photovoltaic system based on at least some of the site survey information;   estimating, via the electronic device, a number of modules required to meet the determined ideal usage offset ratio; and   approving or rejecting the photovoltaic system based on a comparison of estimated production levels for the photovoltaic system and required production levels.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising generating a roof plan including an illustration of at least one roof section depicting one or more modules of the number of modules and at least one of a trunk cable, hatching, or a conduit. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising performing a site survey at a location of the structure to generate the site survey information. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 obtaining an aerial photo of the structure;   calculating an azimuth of a roof of the structure from the aerial photo; and   scaling the aerial photo into a design file.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , further comprising generating a roof plan comprising illustrating one or more roof sections on the design file in order of approximated production efficiency in the roof plan based on roof measurements and tilt information. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising applying required offsets to each roof section illustration of the design file. 
     
     
         7 . A method, comprising:
 determining a method of interconnection to couple a photovoltaic system to an electrical system of a structure based on site information associated with a power meter and one or more breaker ratings associated with the structure;   determining, via an electronic device, an ideal usage offset ratio for the photovoltaic system based on at least some of the site information;   estimating, via the electronic device, a number of modules required to meet the determined ideal usage offset ratio; and   approving or rejecting the photovoltaic system based on a comparison of estimated production levels for the photovoltaic system and required production levels.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , further comprising providing an application program of the electronic device with information related to the photovoltaic system including the estimated number of modules. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein providing the application program with information comprises providing at least one of customer account information, location-specific information, and electrical codes to the application program, wherein determining the ideal usage offset ratio for the photovoltaic system comprises determining the ideal usage offset ratio for the photovoltaic system with the application program, and wherein estimating the number of modules comprises estimating a number of modules with the application program. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein determining an ideal usage offset ratio comprises determining the ideal usage offset ratio for the photovoltaic system based on a known utility rate and one or more utility discounts associated with the structure. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 7 , further comprising generating the site information including at least one photo taken on or approximate the structure or at least one photo of a power meter and an electrical panel including the one or more breaker ratings. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 7 , further comprising:
 obtaining an aerial photo of the structure;   calculating an azimuth of a roof of the structure from the aerial photo; and   scaling the aerial photo into design file.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 7 , further comprising generating a roof plan based on at least a portion of the site information, the roof plan depicting a number of roof sections of a roof of the structure. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising applying required offsets to each roof section of the roof plan. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising adding at least one module to the roof plan to at least one of fill each roof section or meet the number of modules required for the determined ideal usage offset ratio. 
     
     
         16 . A system, comprising:
 an application program stored in a computer-readable medium, wherein the application program, when executed by a processor, is configured to:
 determine a method of interconnection to couple a photovoltaic system to an electrical system of a structure based on site survey information including electrical information for the structure, measurements of a roof of the structure, roof obstruction information, tilt information for the roof, and structure utility usage information; 
 determine, via an electronic device, an ideal usage offset ratio for the photovoltaic system based on at least some of the site survey information; 
 estimate a number of modules required to meet the determined ideal usage offset ratio; and 
 approve or reject the photovoltaic system based on a comparison of estimated production levels for the photovoltaic system and required production levels. 
   
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the application program is further configured to generate installation information for the photovoltaic system based at least partially on location-specific information and the estimated number of modules, wherein the installation information comprises information related to required installation parts, estimated costs, point-load, and electrical requirements for the photovoltaic system. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the application program is further configured to receive at least one of customer account information, location-specific information, and electrical codes. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the site survey information includes information associated with a power meter and one or more breaker ratings associated with the structure. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the application program is further configured to calculate an azimuth of the roof from an aerial photo of the roof and scale the aerial photo into a design file.