Wiley Electronics ACME Solar Site Evaluation Tool (ASSET)

Wiley Electronics
Acme Solar Site Evaluation Tool (ASSET)

The ASSET consists of a precise positioning system, a digital camera, and software.

The ASSET is a patent pending system for evaluating shading at a site. The ASSET allows the user to efficiently analyze and document installation sites. In use, the ASSET is positioned to take a series of pictures at the intended site. The software assembles the pictures into a panorama with the path of the sun superimposed. One can easily see the times when the sun will be shaded.

The complete survey can be done much more quickly than with past methods, so it is easy to optimize installations. In addition, the software incorporates the PVWatts program, written by Bill Marion of the National Renewal Energy Laboratory (NREL) under contract to the Department of Energy (DOE). The program uses hourly historical data from the TMY2 data set to calculate energy captured by the array. All information is available for editing in an Excel spreadsheet, and it is available in both Windows and Mac platforms!

The photo below is a composite panorama assembled from seven photographs taken with the ASSET camera as they would appear on your computer. Superimposed on the panorama is the path of the sun averaged over each month of the year. The yellow numbers on the grid represent the hours of the day, 6am to 6pm, reading left to right. The months of the year are also indicated in yellow on the lower left of the panorama. As can be seen, the site has some morning and evening shading, especially during winter, but midday is mostly unobstructed. Exposure is excellent during the summer.

The ASSET is easy to use.

• Level the system
• Align to South
• Adjust tilt
• Take pictures
• Download pictures to computer and analyze

The ASSET produces a better record for your survey and saves you time in computing results automatically. Its definitely the modern, professional way to do a site survey. Impress your customers with an ASSET!

The ASSET comes packed in a foam-padded hard shell case and includes:

ASSET Software Requirements

The ASSET software currently has two versions. The PC version is designed to run on IBM compatible computers with Microsoft Windows operating systems, Windows 2000 or newer. Installation for Windows Vista is slightly modified as noted below. Java is required to be installed for all Windows systems.

The Mac version is designed to run on Macintosh computers with the Mac OS X operating system. The Mac version is not compatible with Intel Mac. Please let us know if you would prefer a Linux platform. We may port the code if there is sufficient interest.

300 MBytes of disk space is required; 512 MBytes of RAM is recommended. The computer must have a USB port or adapter for transferring files from the camera.