6 setting patterns to check per project in the PVSyst manual

Table of Contents

• Reading the PVSyst manual on a per-project basis can reduce configuration errors.

• Why the priority of settings changes depending on the project

• Settings to check in residential and small-scale roofing projects

• Settings to check for factory and warehouse roof projects

• Settings to check for ground-mounted, low-voltage and mid-scale projects

• Settings to Check in Mega-Solar Projects

• Settings to check for self-consumption and PPA projects

• Settings to review in existing retrofit and repowering projects

• Practical steps for reviewing project-specific settings

• Approach to Leveraging the PVSyst Manual for Design, Proposals, and Internal Sharing

• Summary

Reading the PVSyst Manual Per Project Reduces Configuration Errors

The purpose of reading the PVSyst manual is not merely to memorize the procedures for operating the screens. It is to understand the meaning of the input values required for photovoltaic simulations and to correctly assemble assumptions that match the conditions of a given project.

In particular, in practical work the settings that need to be checked vary greatly depending on the nature of the project—residential roofs, factory roofs, ground-mounted systems, mega-solar plants, self-consumption, retrofits of existing installations, and so on. Even for the same generating system, the losses to prioritize, the treatment of shading, equipment configuration, grid constraints, output curtailment, and the figures that should be explained in reports will differ.

Organizing six setting patterns to check by project type in the PVSyst manual makes it easier to avoid confusion during the initial input stage. For example, for rooftop projects, orientation and tilt, near shading, and string design for each roof surface are important. On the other hand, for large ground‑mounted projects, array spacing, terrain, distant horizon, wiring losses, DC/AC ratio, and land use ratio are important. For self‑consumption projects, you must consider not only annual generation but also the relationship with the demand curve and the handling of surplus power.

Simply reading a manual from start to finish can make it hard to see which settings are important for your project. Therefore, in practice it is effective to first classify the project type and read the manual with an awareness of the settings that are likely to cause problems for that type of project. Because simulation results are determined by the set of input conditions, if the initial assumptions remain vague, no matter how polished the report is it will be less convincing.

This article organizes, into six patterns by project type, the settings to check for personnel who want to use the PVSyst manual in practical work. Rather than focusing solely on specific screen operations, it explains the meaning of setting values, the order of checks, commonly overlooked points, and ways of thinking that are easy to explain in proposal documents and internal communications.

Why the Priority Order of Settings Changes for Each Project

In solar power generation simulations, the basic workflow is common to every project. You set the site, select weather data, configure modules and power conditioners, input the array configuration and losses, reflect shading and constraint conditions as needed, and finally check the resulting energy output and performance ratio. However, what matters in practice is which parts of this common workflow you examine in depth.

For projects where roof area is limited, such as residential roofs, the orientation and tilt of each roof plane, shading effects, and the way strings are configured directly determine energy output. Even with a small installed capacity, proximate shading from neighboring houses, antennas, chimneys, trees, railings, and similar items can make a big difference. Conversely, for large ground-mounted projects, terrain, inter-row shading, the distant horizon, array layout, wiring distances, and the overall slope of the land become more important than individual obstacles.

On factory and warehouse roofs, while roof areas are large, rooftop equipment, skylights, parapets, ventilation equipment, load-bearing capacity, and roof surfaces facing multiple orientations all have an impact. Also, in self-consumption projects, not only maximizing generation but also when during the day generation occurs relative to electricity demand is important. When reviewing PVSyst results, you need to consider not only annual energy production but also monthly and hourly distributions, surplus, peak shaving, and grid-side constraints.

In mega-solar projects, initial design assumptions have a major impact on project financials. Many assumptions accumulate, including solar irradiance, temperature, losses, wiring, transformers, grid connection, output curtailment, capacity factor, and maintenance conditions. Even if the difference from a single setting looks small, its effect on annual generation and revenue from electricity sales becomes significant as installed capacity increases.

There are additional challenges in retrofits and repowering of existing installations. Unlike new projects, alignment with the existing modules, PCS, wiring, mounting structures, degradation, failure history, and past actual power generation is required. Simply replacing equipment with new devices and running simulations may not reflect the real conditions on site.

In practice, when reading the PVSyst manual it is more practical to vary the importance of items by project rather than trying to memorize every item equally. Simply being aware of the project type makes it clear which settings should be reviewed carefully, which results should be used as explanatory material, and which areas should be subject to internal checks.

Settings to Check for Residential and Small-Scale Roofing Projects

In residential and small-scale roof projects, the first things to check are the orientation of the mounting surface, the tilt, and the division of roof planes. A limited roof area often contains multiple orientations, so it’s important to consider not only the south-facing surface but also east and west faces, hip roofs, mono-pitched roofs, and how to handle roofs with multiple slopes. When reviewing the sections on orientation and tilt in the PVSyst manual, you should be mindful not only of entering the angles but also of which roof planes can be treated as the same sub-array.

Shading is also important on residential roofs. Neighboring houses, utility poles, trees, chimneys, antennas, rooftop equipment, and other objects can cast partial shadows. In small-scale projects, even if only part of the array is shaded, the relative impact can be large because the number of modules is small. When reviewing the near shading settings in the PVSyst manual, check the position, height, distance of obstacles and the extent to which the periods when shading occurs are reproduced. If you judge based only on site photos or drawings you may overlook seasonal changes in shading, so it is important to take into account the low solar altitude near the winter solstice when configuring settings.

In string design, it is important not to force modules with different roof orientations or shading conditions into the same circuit. Treating surfaces with differing azimuths or tilts as a single input can cause discrepancies between actual generation behavior and the simulation. Check the PVSyst manual for the concepts of sub-array and string configuration, and determine how far to separate conditions for each roof surface.

Also, in residential projects, because the installed capacity is small, mistakes in selecting equipment data tend to be more noticeable. If the module model, PCS capacity, number of MPPTs, input voltage range, maximum input current, etc. are not set correctly, the simulation may become electrically inconsistent. PVSyst can sometimes use an equipment database, but in practice it is essential to cross-check against the specification sheets of the equipment planned for adoption.

When reviewing reports for residential projects, check not only the annual energy production but also the monthly production, losses due to shading, system losses, and the performance ratio. Especially when explaining to customers, it is important to be able to explain why the production is at that level from the perspectives of roof orientation, tilt, shading, and equipment capacity. When using the PVSyst manual for residential projects, it is easier to understand if you read it with a focus on three points—reproducing the roof surfaces, reproducing the shading, and equipment matching—rather than diving into overly detailed setting items from the start.

Settings to Review for Factory and Warehouse Roof Projects

For factory and warehouse roof projects, the roof area is typically larger and the installed capacity tends to be greater than for residential buildings, but there are more constraints on the roof. In the PVSyst manual, the first things to check are the handling of multiple roof surfaces, the splitting of azimuth and tilt, shading from rooftop obstacles, wiring losses, and settings related to PCS placement.

Factory roofs come in various shapes, such as folded-plate roofs, flat roofs, slate roofs, roofs spanning multiple buildings, and roofs with level changes. Even when a roof area is large, it cannot necessarily be treated under uniform conditions. If south-facing and north-facing surfaces, surfaces with different slopes, or surfaces with different shading patterns are set as the same array, estimates of energy production will be coarse. The PVSyst manual recommends reviewing how to divide sub-arrays and set array conditions to determine which areas should be separated by roof surface.

One thing easily overlooked on factory roofs is shading caused by rooftop equipment. Outdoor air-conditioning units, ventilation towers, cubicles, parapets, signs, lightning protection equipment, and skylights can cast shadows on the power-generating surface. The wider the roof, the more likely each shadow is to be downplayed, but depending on the configuration of PCS and strings, partial shading can lead to widespread reductions in power generation. When checking PVSyst's near-shading settings, consider which obstacles to model, which obstacles can be simplified, and whether to treat the impact of shadows as a loss.

Wiring losses are also important in factory rooftop projects. When modules are distributed across the roof and the distance to the PCS and power receiving/transformer equipment becomes long, DC-side and AC-side wiring losses cannot be ignored. When checking loss settings in the PVSyst manual, instead of using the default values as-is, evaluate their validity based on actual cable lengths, cable sizes, current conditions, and PCS placement. Rough estimates are acceptable in the early design stage, but as you move toward the proposal stage and detailed design, you need to clarify the assumptions for wiring losses.

On factory roofs, self-consumption and power sales may be mixed. If all output is sold, annual generation and sales revenue become the focus, but for self-consumption, alignment with demand is important. For factories that operate during the daytime, solar generation hours tend to match electricity demand, but it is necessary to check how to handle surpluses caused by holidays, long vacations, and seasonal fluctuations. When reading PVSyst results, it is important not only to look at generation figures but also to be ready to separately organize and explain the demand-side conditions and the handling of surplus power.

Settings to Check for Ground-Mounted Low-Voltage and Medium-Scale Projects

In ground-mounted low-voltage and mid-sized projects, unlike roof-mounted projects, site conditions and array layout have a greater impact. In the PVSyst manual, the items to focus on are the installation location, meteorological data, azimuth and tilt, array spacing, inter-row shading, topography, far horizon, and loss settings.

First, selecting the installation site and the meteorological data is fundamental. For ground-mounted projects, even within the same prefecture, solar irradiance and temperature conditions vary between coastal areas, mountainous regions, basins, and snow-prone areas. When checking how to handle meteorological data in the PVSyst manual, consider not only choosing a nearby station but also the closeness to actual site conditions, elevation differences, the period covered by the meteorological data, and its representativeness. Because you may need to explain the meteorological data as the basis for the annual energy production, it is important to ensure which data were used can be shared within the company.

Next are the array orientation and tilt. For ground-mounted installations, it is often basic to orient them as close to south as possible, but the optimal direction varies depending on land shape, roads, earthworks, drainage, neighboring properties, racking layout, and the placement of electrical equipment. When setting azimuth and tilt in PVSyst, we pay attention not only to energy yield but also to constructability, maintenance flow, and the balance with land-use efficiency. Raising the tilt angle can be beneficial for winter generation and soiling reduction, but it also affects inter-row shading, wind loads, and racking costs.

Inter-row shading is particularly important for ground-mounted projects. Narrower array spacing increases land use efficiency, but it makes it more likely that shadows from the front row will fall on the rear rows in the morning, evening, and during winter. When checking near shading and array layout in the PVSyst manual, you consider inter-row pitch, module height, tilt angle, ground slope, and the times of day when shading occurs comprehensively. If you simply compare annual energy production, layouts with higher land use efficiency may appear favorable, but large shading losses will reduce actual performance.

The distant horizon should not be overlooked. When mountains, hills, forests, or buildings obstruct the horizon, they particularly affect solar irradiance in the morning and evening. For ground-mounted projects, confirm distant obstructions through on-site surveys and terrain data, and reflect them in PVSyst as necessary. Because the distant horizon is less intuitive to perceive than near-field shading, it is important to understand the concept from the manual.

In the loss settings, check temperature loss, wiring loss, mismatch, soiling, equipment efficiency, downtime rate, and other items. For low-voltage projects you may use standard values, but on land development sites, farmland-converted sites, dusty locations, snowy regions, coastal areas, etc., soiling and environmental conditions will differ. When reading the PVSyst manual, look at losses not simply as numeric inputs but from the perspective of how to translate the local environment into design assumptions so you can apply it more effectively in practice.

Settings to Check in Mega-Solar Projects

In mega-solar projects, a single PVSyst setting can have a major impact on the project's viability assessment. Because the installed capacity is large, even small differences in energy production affect annual revenue and the payback of the investment. Items to focus on in the PVSyst manual are meteorological data, terrain, array layout, DC/AC ratio, equipment configuration, electrical losses, grid constraints, output curtailment, and how to read the report.

The first thing to check is the reliability of the meteorological data. For mega-solar projects, the basis for solar irradiance data is important when explaining a project's profitability. Confirm which site’s data will be used, whether it is appropriate as a long-term average, and whether it reflects the local elevation and climatic characteristics. When consulting the PVSyst manual on how to load or select meteorological data, you need to consider not only the formats that can be input but also whether the data can be explained and justified in reports.

Topography and array layout are also important in megasolar projects. On large sites, ground elevation differences, the extent of earthworks, slopes, drainage plans, maintenance roads, forest boundaries, and transmission routes all affect array layout. Treating the site as an ideal flat area in PVSyst can lead to overlooking actual shading, cabling distances, and construction constraints. How much terrain conditions are reflected depends on the project stage, but it is important to make clear that assumptions will change at least between the preliminary study, basic design, and detailed design.

Consideration of the DC-to-AC ratio is also important. How large to make the PCS capacity relative to the module capacity affects energy generation, peak shaving, equipment costs, and grid connection conditions. Increasing DC capacity makes it easier to capture output under low irradiance, but can increase clipping at peak times. When reviewing sections on over-sizing and inverter losses in the PVSyst manual, do not simply look for a range that avoids errors; evaluate them together with the project’s profitability and grid conditions.

In mega-solar projects, electrical loss settings are also checked in detail. Multiple losses occur between the generated power and its delivery to the grid—through DC cables, combiner boxes, PCS, step-up equipment, AC cables, transformers, and so on. It is necessary to organize how far to input losses into PVSyst, whether to manage some by separate calculations, and how to explain them in reports. Underestimating loss values will overstate generation, while being overly conservative will disadvantage project evaluation, so settings need to be justified.

Furthermore, grid constraints and output curtailment cannot be ignored. The standard generation simulation in PVSyst alone may not be able to fully represent all grid-side conditions. Therefore, while using the generation output obtained from PVSyst as a basis, it is necessary to separately organize connection capacity, contractual conditions, output control, shutdown conditions, and so on. When reading the manual, separating the parts represented within PVSyst from those handled by external balance calculations and grid studies makes it easier to keep explanations consistent.

For mega-solar projects, it is not sufficient to present the report’s figures as-is. For internal approvals and investment decisions, it is important to make clear which assumptions the calculations were based on, which losses are included, and which constraints need to be considered separately. The PVSyst manual is useful not only for learning how to operate the software but also as a common language for explaining the calculation results.

Settings to Check for Self-Consumption and PPA Projects

For self-consumption and PPA projects, you cannot evaluate them by annual energy production alone. What matters is when the generated power occurs, how well it matches demand, and how much surplus results. The settings to review in the PVSyst manual also differ somewhat from those for projects that sell electricity. In addition to location, array configuration, and loss settings, you need to pay attention to demand data, surplus power, peak time periods, holiday operation, and alignment with contract terms.

In self-consumption projects, the first step is to understand the electricity demand of the target facility. Factories, logistics warehouses, commercial facilities, schools, hospitals, and offices use electricity in very different ways. Facilities with high daytime demand pair well with solar power, while facilities with low demand at night or on holidays are more likely to produce surplus. Even when using PVSyst’s power generation simulation results, you cannot accurately explain the actual economic effects unless you evaluate them in combination with demand-side data.

When reviewing self-consumption–related items in the PVSyst manual, be mindful of the time-series nature of electricity generation. A system that looks sufficient based on annual generation alone may still produce large daytime surpluses during summer holidays or fail to meet generation needs at winter demand peaks. By looking at monthly generation, irradiance conditions, system operating days, and holiday patterns together, you can make a more realistic assessment.

In PPA projects, there can be multiple stakeholders such as power producers, offtakers, building owners, installation contractors, and financial institutions. For this reason, it is important to organize the PVSyst configuration assumptions in a form that anyone can understand. If module capacity, PCS capacity, expected generation, losses, shading, availability, or the treatment of surplus are left ambiguous, they may later diverge from the contract terms and the financial calculations.

In self-consumption projects, a commonly overlooked point is that maximizing generation is not necessarily optimal. If selling surplus power is not possible, or the price for surplus power is low, excessive installed capacity can worsen the project's economics. Conversely, if an increase in future electricity demand or equipment expansion is anticipated, designing with some margin at the initial stage can be effective. PVSyst results should be used as material for considering the optimal capacity, and it is important to make decisions in conjunction with demand data and contract conditions.

In the loss settings, check the temperature conditions due to rooftop installation, wiring distance, shading, soiling, and downtime rate. For self-consumption projects, overestimating generation easily leads to overestimating economic benefits, so it is important not to set losses arbitrarily low. When reading the PVSyst manual, be aware not only of the meaning of the settings but also of how those values affect the economic impact in the proposal documents.

Settings to Check in Existing Retrofit and Repowering Projects

Retrofit and repowering projects require different checks than new installations. Because they are based on the condition of existing equipment, the items to review in the PVSyst manual are equipment data, degradation, existing wiring, PCS updates, module replacement, comparison with actual energy production, and re-evaluation of losses. Rather than designing a new system from scratch, it is important to run simulations that take past operational performance and on-site conditions into account.

First, the specifications of the existing modules and the PCS should be checked. Gather the as-built drawings, equipment specification sheets, string tables, single-line connection diagrams, and operating data, and organize the information that can be reproduced in PVSyst. If the model numbers of the existing equipment are old, the same devices may not be available in the database. In that case, verify the required values from the specification sheets and consider how to handle substitute data or custom inputs.

Handling degradation is also important. For facilities with many years of operation, decreases in module output, soiling, reduced insulation, poor connections, reduced PCS efficiency, and so on may be affecting power generation. Check the items related to aging degradation and loss settings in the PVSyst manual, and adjust assumptions so they match the site’s actual performance. However, it is important not to force the simulation to fit the actual results; you should be able to explain which losses you are adjusting as the reason.

In repowering, you may only update the PCS, partially replace modules, or undertake a major redesign that includes wiring and racking. Depending on the scope of the update, PVSyst settings will also change. If only the PCS is updated, the input voltage range, MPPT configuration, conversion efficiency, clipping, and DC/AC ratio become important. If module replacement is included, check the mixing of old and new modules, string length, current and voltage characteristics, and the effects of shading.

For existing retrofit projects, comparing past actual generation with simulation results is effective. If actual generation is lower than the simulation, multiple causes can be considered, such as shading, soiling, outages, faults, output curtailment, measurement errors, and differences in weather conditions. Rather than drawing conclusions based solely on PVSyst results, you can realistically evaluate the effectiveness of a retrofit by cross-checking with historical monitoring data and on-site survey results.

Also, in existing projects the drawings and the actual site may not match. Arrays that should be installed in the same orientation on the as-built drawings can, in reality, have different tilts or azimuths in some areas. There may be cases where the PCS connection configuration has been changed, wiring routes differ from the drawings, equipment thought to be removed remains in place, or trees have grown and increased shading. It is important not just to read the PVSyst manual, but also to correctly reflect actual site conditions in the inputs.

Practical approach to checking project-specific settings

To use the PVSyst manual by project type, it is important to decide on the project classification first. Simply clarifying whether it is a residential roof, an industrial roof, a ground-mounted system, a self-consumption project, or an existing-system retrofit will change the priority of the settings that need to be checked. If you begin entering data while the project classification is still ambiguous, you are likely to overuse standard settings and overlook site-specific conditions.

In practice, we first compile a list of input assumptions. We organize the installation site, meteorological data, modules, PCS, installed capacity, azimuth, tilt, array layout, shading, losses, grid conditions, demand conditions, existing equipment information, and so on, and separate which information is finalized and which is provisional. Doing this整理 before running a simulation in PVSyst makes it easier to trace the scope of recalculation impacts when assumptions change later.

Next, determine the key items to check for each project type. For residential roofs, focus on the roof surface and shading; for factory roofs, focus on rooftop equipment and wiring; for self-consumption projects, focus on matching demand; for mega-solar projects, focus on weather data and losses; and for retrofits of existing installations, focus on consistency with past performance. By setting priorities this way, you’re less likely to get confused when rereading the relevant sections of the manual.

After entering the data, check the results screen and report for any anomalous values. Look to see whether the annual energy production is excessively high, the performance ratio looks unrealistic, any specific items in the loss diagram are disproportionately large, shading losses match expectations, and whether there are any unnatural biases in the monthly energy production. PVSyst reports look tidy, so the numbers may appear correct, but if the input assumptions are wrong the results will be wrong too. Before issuing the report, it is important to always verify the consistency between the main settings and the results.

In internal reviews, we share not only the results but also the rationale behind the settings. We make sure we can explain why we used a particular meteorological data set, why we selected a given loss value, how far shading was accounted for, what demand data was used, and how degradation of existing equipment was handled. The PVSyst manual is useful as supporting documentation for these explanations. If each person interprets the settings differently, generation estimates will vary between projects, so it is also important to standardize the checklist items as an internal rule.

Managing recalculations is indispensable in practical work. When there are module changes, PCS changes, layout changes, shading condition changes, updates to demand data, etc., the results will change. If you do not record which settings changed before and after a change, it will cause values in proposal materials and internal documents to become mixed. Manage PVSyst settings and output reports on a per-project basis and make version numbers clear to prevent confusion in downstream processes.

How to Leverage the PVSyst Manual for Design, Proposals, and Internal Sharing

The PVSyst manual is not a document intended only for designers. It also serves as an important guide for proposal personnel, sales personnel, installation personnel, maintenance personnel, and those responsible for investment decisions to understand the meaning of simulation results. Especially in solar projects, because the power generation figures affect proposal amounts, profitability, contract terms, and construction planning, it is important to share the meaning of the settings among the stakeholders.

During the design stage, you can compare multiple scenarios using PVSyst. By varying orientation, tilt, array spacing, capacity, PCS configuration, DC/AC ratio, shading countermeasures, and so on, you can check differences in energy generation and losses. However, when making comparisons, it is important not to change too many conditions at once. If you change multiple conditions simultaneously, it becomes difficult to identify which factor influenced the results. By understanding the meaning of the settings from the manual and clarifying the axes of comparison, it becomes easier to establish a basis for design decisions.

At the proposal stage, the ability to explain the projected power generation is essential. Customers are not interested in viewing PVSyst’s detailed settings screens; they want to know why the system will generate that amount, on what assumptions the calculations were made, and where the risks lie. For that reason, you should extract the necessary figures from the PVSyst report and explain them clearly, tailored to the specific project. For residential projects, focus on roof conditions and shading; for factories, the effect on self-consumption; for ground-mounted systems, land conditions; and for utility-scale solar, the losses that affect profitability.

For internal sharing, it is important to minimize differences in settings between personnel. Even with the same project conditions, if inputs for meteorological data, losses, shading, or PCS configuration differ by person, the energy production will change. By preparing a standard checklist of verification items for each project while consulting the PVSyst manual, you can reduce variability in quality. Standardizing input assumptions is especially important when projects are handled across multiple sites or by multiple teams.

During the construction phase, confirm the differences between the assumptions made at the design stage and the actual site conditions. If the array layout changed in the detailed design, equipment was replaced, obstacles increased, or the wiring route changed, the assumptions in PVSyst must also be reviewed. A simulation is not something you create once and finish; it should be updated as the project progresses. If you read the manual and understand the meaning of the settings, it becomes easier to determine which changes will affect recalculation.

During the maintenance phase, PVSyst is useful for comparing actual power generation with simulation results. If actual performance is lower than expected, it is necessary to distinguish between causes such as weather differences, soiling, shading, equipment shutdowns, curtailment, and degradation. If the PVSyst configuration assumptions have been properly preserved, it becomes easier to determine what falls within expectations and what constitutes an anomaly. In particular, for retrofits and repowering of existing installations, comparing past settings with actual performance also helps explain the effects of the upgrades.

Summary

Organizing six configuration patterns to check by project in the PVSyst manual makes it easier to improve simulation accuracy and explanatory power. For residential and small rooftop projects, the orientation and tilt of each roof surface, near shading, string design, and equipment matching are important. For factory and warehouse rooftop projects, confirm multiple roof surfaces, rooftop equipment, wiring losses, PCS placement, and self-consumption conditions. For ground-mounted low-voltage and mid-scale projects, focus on meteorological data, array spacing, inter-row shading, terrain, the distant horizon, and loss settings.

On mega-solar projects, the reliability of meteorological data, topography, the DC/AC ratio, electrical losses, grid constraints, and how curtailment is handled directly affect project viability. For self-consumption and PPA projects, matching generation to demand, surplus power, holiday operation, and alignment with contract terms are more important than generation volume itself. For existing retrofit and repowering projects, settings must take into account the specifications of existing equipment, degradation, historical actual generation, and the scope of the upgrades.

PVSyst is a powerful simulation tool, but the correctness of its results depends on the input assumptions. When reading the manual, rather than trying to memorize every item with the same weight, it is practical to shift your focus according to the project type. By being conscious of which settings affect energy production, which losses are relevant to proposal documents, and which assumptions will be needed for internal checks, you can leverage PVSyst results for more convincing designs and proposals.

Also, assumptions change as a project progresses. It is important to adopt an approach of reviewing PVSyst settings at each stage—initial study, basic design, detailed design, construction, and maintenance. By organizing meteorological data, equipment configuration, shading, losses, wiring, demand conditions, and information on existing equipment, and keeping a change history, you can prevent confusion in the figures used in proposal documents and internal materials.

By mastering the six configuration patterns to check for each project in the PVSyst manual, you will be able not only to understand the operational procedures but also to explain the risks and design decisions specific to each project. Rather than simply chasing the power generation figures, being able to explain the conditions that produced those figures is what leads to simulations that are trusted in practice.