PV Evolution labs partners with also energy to provide data monitoring for solar panel testing at PVUSA

North America’s premier PV module testing lab, PV Evolution Labs (PVEL), today announced it has partnered with AlsoEnergy to provide PVEL customers with access to their systems’ testing data over the web to track performance and energy yield in real time. PV module manufacturers utilizing PVEL’s preeminent outdoor facility at PVUSA will now have the ability to view real time data, download historical data and quickly generate plots of system performance using AlsoEnergy’s PowerTrack? energy management software solution.

“We are very excited to be working together with PV Evolution Labs. The data being developed here will greatly benefit all segments of the PV industry”

“Our clients taking advantage of the real world outdoor testing opportunity at our PVUSA site often want to know how their system is performing right now and we are thrilled to be able to offer them easy access to their data through AlsoEnergy’s PowerTrack platform,” said Jenya Meydbray, co-founder and CEO of PVEL. “We can program specific performance metrics into the system for each customer so when they log in they will see tailored reports with the data they need updated in real time, giving them the ability to inquire quickly should they notice differences in performance.”

PVEL’s PVUSA test center was one of North America’s first solar power plants and has a deep history in the US solar industry. Initially developed by PG&E to study the impact of high penetration solar on the electrical grid, the California Energy Commission’s internationally recognized PTC rating was developed at the PVUSA site. Due to PVUSA’s unique research status, PVEL’s testing program can accommodate non-UL listed products and prototypes – an opportunity seized by many of North America’s premier module and inverter manufacturers. In the past 18 months, PVEL has tested over 600 panels, all grid connected and heavily monitored.

PVEL outdoor testing services include evaluation of Energy Yield, Shading, Soiling, NOCT, Incident Angle Modifier (IAM), Airmass Response, and PVsyst PAN files, the data from which are highly valued in determining bankability by solar financiers and project developers.

The AlsoEnergy software solution gives PVEL clients the ability to generate plots of power and diagnostics so they know whether their power is an expected value based on how much sun there’s been in the last week. Performance ratios and relative energy yield reports comparing hour-by-hour to month-by-month timeframes can be viewed at the customers’ leisure, along with weather reports and live video feeds of their system in the field, giving peace of mind that the system testing is going as planned. “We are very excited to be working together with PV Evolution Labs. The data being developed here will greatly benefit all segments of the PV industry,” said Robert Schaefer, President and CEO of AlsoEnergy.