FAQ (Read only)

On the "System Type, Climate, and Grid" page, select the 1-minute time step: On the "Presentation" page, you can export the simulation results using the "Time Series (CSV)" button. Specify 15 minutes for the data resolution. Select the desired data series, for example, "PV energy (AC) minus standby use," and the 15-minute values for a year in kWh will be output to a CSV file:

When simulating different modules that have the same power output and similar characteristics, yield differences are usually due to the low-light performance. Module manufacturers enter their own data into the PV*SOL database. They have the option to define a specific low-light performance for the module. A specific low-light characteristic curve is then calculated for the module. If a manufacturer does not do this, a standard low-light performance for the respective module type, e.g., monocrystalline, must be assumed. The low-light performance used for the selected modules can be found in the database. Example module (600 Wp) with specific low-light perfor…

Losses during charging/discharging The efficiency curve of the battery system determines the losses that occur during the conversion of electrical to chemical energy and vice versa: Battery losses The battery's internal resistance and self-discharge rate determine the losses that arise from aging processes:

The reduced feed-in power can be entered in relative (in %) and absolute (in kW) terms. If you enter an absolute amount for several inverters of different sizes, this is converted by the software into a relative amount and distributed accordingly to all inverters. Small inverters are still penalised compared to large inverters because the small inverters are curtailed first when very small quantities are curtailed.

You can import your logo under "Options" → "User". Supported file formats are *.gif, *.bmp, *.png, and *.jpg. However, T*SOL only supports logos in bitmap format (*.bmp).

The unit of the currency in the program depends on the system settings of your operating system and can be changed in the Regional and Language Options of the Windows Control Panel.

In the window "System Type, Climate and Grid" under "AC Mains" you will find the settings for the maximum feed-in power clipping and for the displacement power factor cos φ:

Installation Problems If you receive error messages during the software setup, please send us a screenshot of the error message via e-mail. Please note the following: Are you using the correct version? We provide the latest version of our software on our website. Your user license is valid for program versions from 2025 Release 1 onwards. Older program versions cannot be activated with a user license. Are you using the correct software? Some users confuse PV*SOL and PV*SOL premium. Has your license manager prompted you to register as a license user in our license portal? Have you registered and been assigned a valid license? You can find step…

This message means that an important hardware feature for the 3D display is not available on the graphics card being used. Possible reasons: DirectX version lower than 9.0c. DirectX 9.0c is not supported by your graphics card. You are using a terminal server solution. The DirectX graphics component is not capable of running on a terminal server. You are using a Windows emulator. Not all Windows emulators support DirectX. Your graphics card does not support all required 3D accelerations. In many cases an update of your graphics card drivers can help.

The download of the new software release stops during the automatic update process. I got the message "The operation timed out" or "the time limit is reached". What can I do? The program needs a relative constant and stable internet connection. If this is not guaranteed, then the program aborts the download of data. Alternatively you can also try to download the latest program version from the download section of our webpage: http://www.valentin-software.com/en/downloads/products Please execute the downloaded setup file. The old program version doesn't need to be uninstalled.

The PV*SOL software is written for Windows systems only. It cannot be used directly on a Mac. You can use a virtual machine like Parallels or VMware on your Mac. You can install Windows and run PV*SOL within it. This works without problems for many of our customers. We do not test the use of PV*SOL on a Windows VM on a Mac and therefore do not offer official support for this.

In the Valentin License Portal, you will find all your company’s licenses, listed with license key, product and expiration date. If you click on in the line of a license, you can manage the License Users of this license. You can add a new License User to the license by clicking on . If the added License User has already registered and created their sign-in details, they can use the license immediately. If the License User has not yet registered, you can invite the License User to do so by email. To send an invitation to the email address of the new License User, click in the new line. For more information on user licenses, please see our …

New sign in required Once you have successfully entered your sign-in details, user authentication will only remain valid for a limited period of time. You will need to re-enter your sign-in details from time to time. Your sign-in details are always transmitted in encrypted form and your password is not stored on your computer. You are asked to re-enter your sign-in details in the following situations: Once the validity of the user authentication has expired: After several days of inactivity on the respective device After several weeks, even with regular use of PV*SOL on the respective device After you have reset y…

At startup, we check the accuracy of the system time (the time displayed by Windows). To do this, we compare the system time (time zone adjusted, i.e., UTC) with the UTC time from the time servers of Microsoft, Apple, or Google (depending on availability). If this difference exceeds three minutes, a dialog box will appear. Please ensure you are using the same time server. Check under Settings --> Time & Language --> Date & Time --> Additional settings to see which time server is configured and synchronize it if necessary.

Reactivation of software If you want to move your license to another computer, you must first release the relevant serial number on the old computer. To do this, please open the program on the old computer and carry out the following steps: Help -> Registration -> Change registration -> Release serial number With the released serial number you can register your software on the new computer. Important: You can only release a license yourself once in six months. If the release did not work or you no longer have access to the old computer (e.g. after a hard disk crash or an update of the operating system), we can release the license for you or…