{"id":14691,"date":"2025-10-13T23:14:34","date_gmt":"2025-10-13T21:14:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fotovol.com\/renewable-energy\/photovoltaic-sizing-guide-by-load-curve-industrial-residential-and-communities\/"},"modified":"2026-05-25T14:53:18","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T12:53:18","slug":"photovoltaic-sizing-guide-by-load-curve-industrial-residential-and-communities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fotovol.com\/en\/renewable-energy\/photovoltaic-sizing-guide-by-load-curve-industrial-residential-and-communities\/","title":{"rendered":"Photovoltaic sizing guide by load curve (industrial, residential and communities)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The most common question is, <em>&#8220;How many plates should I install?&#8221;<\/em> It sounds easy, but it&#8217;s not answered by looking at your annual bills alone. It is not enough to know <g id=\"gid_1\">how much<\/g> energy you use; what is decisive is <g id=\"gid_2\">when<\/g> you use it. That&#8217;s why serious sizing is done <g id=\"gid_3\">by load curve<\/g> (your hourly consumption). This is the only way to avoid useless surpluses and to ensure that your investment yields the maximum.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"the-story-behind-your-consumption-the-data-that-matters\">The story behind your consumption: the data that matters<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>To design a system that works in the real world, we have to understand your energetic routine. We don&#8217;t work with averages; we work with <strong>patterns<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Hourly load curve<\/strong>: your consumption every hour (or every 15 min). It is the basis for measuring the overlap between what you produce and what you consume. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Environment and mounting<\/strong>: location, orientation and inclination of the roof, shading and losses. This defines the <strong>actual<\/strong> production of the PV field. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Tariff and cost structure<\/strong>: we identify in which periods the kWh is more expensive and where more savings are gained. We value investment<strong>(capex<\/strong>) and operation<strong>(opex<\/strong>) to calculate financial profitability. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Battery (if applicable)<\/strong>: cost per kWh and kW, performance and lifetime. Key when there is relevant consumption at dusk\/night. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Useful definitions:<br><strong>ra (self-consumption ratio)<\/strong> = how much of your solar energy you eat yourself.<br><strong>ga (degree of self-sufficiency)<\/strong> = how much of your demand you cover with your solar.<br><strong>van (net present value)<\/strong> = the financial metric that indicates whether the project creates value.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"the-fotovol-method-from-data-to-optimal-size\">The Fotovol method: from data to optimal size<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Our process is designed to find <strong>the sweet spot<\/strong>: where every euro invested yields the highest return. No &#8220;ceiling full&#8221; by default. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>cleaning and segmentation<\/strong><br>we separate workdays, weekends and shifts. we remove outliers and stops to see your real pattern. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>hourly kWp simulation<\/strong><br>we model what <strong>1 kWp<\/strong> would generate on your roof, hour by hour, with losses and real system performance.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>size sweep and savings analysis<\/strong><br>we tested multiple powers. for each one we calculated self-consumption, surplus, <strong>ra<\/strong>, <strong>ga<\/strong> and <strong>savings per tariff period<\/strong>. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>impact on contracted power<\/strong> (industrial)<br>we measure how PV flattens peaks and if you can optimize the power term.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>electrical validation and standards<\/strong><br>inverters, strings, voltages, allowable clipping and safety. design passing audit. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>decision by van<\/strong><br>we choose the size where the <strong>van<\/strong> is maximum while maintaining a high <strong>ra<\/strong>. we install <strong>what suits<\/strong>, not what fits. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"integrated-example-didactic-and-realistic\">Integrated example (didactic and realistic)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Imagine a factory with a night base of 80 kW and 8-18 h shifts with 250 kW. On weekends it drops to 60 kW. On its roof, <strong>1 kWp yields ~1,650 kWh\/year<\/strong> (including losses and efficiency).  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>With <strong>500 kWp<\/strong>, you would generate ~825 MWh\/year. the overlap with daytime consumption is high: <strong>ra ~85%<\/strong> \u2192 ~701 MWh saved and ~124 MWh surplus. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If you go up to <strong>900 kWp<\/strong>, you generate more, but the <strong>ra<\/strong> drops (~68%). this translates into more surplus and lower marginal return. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The winning size is not the largest, it is the one that <strong>maximizes go<\/strong> with <strong>ra<\/strong> even high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"with-or-without-battery-when-is-it-worth\">With or without battery? When is it worth <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>We operate with clear rules: load limits<strong>(soc<\/strong>), round-trip performance and priority to expensive hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Sn battery<\/strong>: mainly daytime profiles and weekends with low activity.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>With battery<\/strong>: when there are surpluses at midday and heavy consumption at dusk\/evening, or when you need to <strong>reduce<\/strong> peaks (peak-shaving) to optimize contracted power.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"from-kwp-to-number-of-plates-without-missing\">From kWp to number of plates (without missing)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>we set the <strong>optimal kWp<\/strong> of the study.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>we choose the module (typical 400-550 Wp).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>No. of plates \u2248 kWp optimum \/ (Wp of module \/ 1,000).<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>we checked space, maintenance aisles, deck loads and shadows. zero surprises. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>We choose the module (typical 400-550 Wp). Check out our solutions for <strong>\n  <a href=\"https:\/\/fotovol.com\/en\/our-services\/industrial-photovoltaic-installations\/\">photovoltaic modules for industry<\/a>\n<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"expert-warnings-traps-we-avoid-as-a-matter-of-routine\">Expert warnings: traps we avoid as a matter of routine<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Sizing with kWh\/year or dry hsp<\/strong>: ignores the <em>when<\/em> and triggers surpluses.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Not separating profiles<\/strong> (work vs. weekend\/shifts): artificially inflates the expected <strong>ra.<\/strong> <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Forget opex and degradation<\/strong>: performance drops with dirt\/weather; promising without that is selling smoke.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Ignore contracted power<\/strong> (industrial): you lose a relevant saving lever.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"our-criterion-is-maximum-savings\">Our criterion is maximum savings<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The key is not to install more, but to install <strong>better<\/strong>. At fotovol, the <g id=\"gid_1\">load curve<\/g> and the <g id=\"gid_2\">van<\/g> are our compass. This is how we guarantee that your photovoltaic investment is as solid as the panels we install.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>do you want to know <em>exactly<\/em> how many panels you need and how much you are going to save? <strong>request your load curve study<\/strong> and we will give you the optimal size (with or without battery), the savings by periods and the impact on contracted power.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The most common question is, &#8220;How many plates should I install?&#8221; It sounds easy, but it&#8217;s not answered by looking at your annual bills alone. It is not enough to know how much energy you use; what is decisive is when you use it. That&#8217;s why serious sizing is done by load curve (your hourly [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14684,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[104],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-renewable-energy"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fotovol.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14691","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fotovol.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fotovol.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fotovol.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fotovol.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14691"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/fotovol.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14691\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19477,"href":"https:\/\/fotovol.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14691\/revisions\/19477"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fotovol.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14684"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fotovol.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14691"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fotovol.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14691"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fotovol.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14691"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}