A free online tool for the simulation of individual or collective self-consumption in Europe.
This free online tool is the fruit of collaboration between Lucisun and Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and is part of the COPLASIMON platform, developed in the framework of the Serendi-PV project.
The tool is composed of an interface for calculating the self-consumption ratio, the self-sufficiency ratio and other results for the self-consumption of the energy produced by photovoltaic installations in the whole Europe.
It is aimed at the general public, policymakers, and the photovoltaic installation professionals.
It has two main functionalities. One is for the individual prosumers. Another one is for energy communities.
So both for the prosumer and for a whole neighborhood, this Consolectiv contributes to help people make better informed decisions.
The tool calculates the self-consumption and self-sufficiency ratios for the whole Europe on a 10-min basis, with subsequent integrations over time intervals of 1 hours, 1 day, 1 month and 1 year by giving the location and additional parameters. For the consumption part, synthetic profiles in TMY format have been used corresponding to 17 different types of buildings, and therefore of consumption profiles. These profiles are obtained through a synthetic generation method developed by National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in the USA (Wilcox, 2008), and takes into account the local climate and consumer preferences. For the photovoltaic generation part, the simulation tool uses a simulation library that has been built upon the most common and widely accepted photovoltaic simulation models. Economic calculations are based on the self-consumption and self-sufficiency ratios that are calculated, as well as on the specific figures that correspond to the situation in Brussels, Belgium, but can be adapted for the purpose of specific consulting work. More information on this simulation tool and the methodology behind it is available (Sarr, 2021).
Consolectiv provides simple simulations aimed at the general public. If you need more specific simulations, if you have feedback, recommendations, or if you would like to see some new features to be incorporated into Consolectiv, please contact us or use the dedicated form.
- Wilcox S. and Marion W., Users Manual for TMY3 Data Sets, NREL Technical Report TP-581-43156, 2008.
