How to add your hardware components

Summary:

OpenSolar allows you to easily add, edit, archive, and manage your favorite hardware components—including modules, inverters, batteries, and other custom components—directly from the Control > Design and Hardware section. You can also configure pricing and modify specifications to reflect your business needs. This guide walks you through each step, from adding new components to customizing pricing details.

Table of Contents:

• Accessing Your Favorite Hardware
• Adding New Hardware to Favorites
• Creating a Custom Hardware Component
• Editing a Favorite Component
• Adding Pricing to Hardware
• Best Practices

Accessing Your Favorite Hardware:

You can manage your hardware by navigating to:

Control > Design and Hardware

In this section, you'll see different windows for hardware categories:

• Module

• Inverter

• Battery

• Other Component

Click the relevant tab to view and manage components in that category. These lists represent your current favorites.

Archiving Components

If a component is no longer needed:

• Select the checkbox next to the item(s).

• Click “Archive Selected Records” to remove them from your active list.

Archived components won’t appear in your design toolkit but can be restored later if needed.

Adding New Hardware to Favorites:

To add new hardware:

• Open the relevant hardware window (e.g., Module, Inverter).

• Click “+ Add From Database” in the top-right corner.

• Use the Manufacturer Component Code to search.

  Tip: Avoid searching by manufacturer name alone—due to dropdown limitations, not all components may appear this way.

Once found, click to add the component to your favorites.

Creating a Custom Hardware Component:

If a component does not exist in the OpenSolar database:

• In the “Add From Database” window, choose the option to “Create Your Own Component”.

Note: Due to the complexity of hardware specifications, we strongly recommend sending your component details (spec sheets, warranties, etc.) to our Support Team. Our team will add the item into the database on your behalf.

Editing a Favorite Component:

Once added to your favorites, components can be customized to suit your business:

• Click the Edit icon next to the component.

• In the Edit Window, click “Customize Specification” to unlock fields for editing.

 Important: Editing a component will unlink it from the OpenSolar global database, meaning future system updates to that component will no longer apply.

This is useful for customizing specific fields such as:

• Warranty

• Performance

• Specifications unique to your region or business

Adding Pricing to Hardware:

You can configure pricing within the Edit Component window under the specification fields.

Available pricing inputs:

• COGS per Unit - Enter the cost of goods sold. This helps OpenSolar calculate accurate project margins.

• Labor per Unit - Add labor-specific costs tied to the installation of this component.

• Price Adjustment per Unit - Adds a fixed dollar amount for each unit used.

• Price Adjustment per Watt - Multiplies a dollar value by the total watts in the project.

• Price Adjustment per Panel - Multiplies a dollar value by the number of panels installed in the project.

These fields allow for flexible pricing strategies based on your business model.

Best Practices:

• Keep your hardware list organized by archiving unused components.

• Always use component codes for database searches.

• Consider having OpenSolar support add complex components to ensure accuracy.

• Clearly document pricing adjustments to maintain transparent project costing.