MCS PV Output Calculator (UK Only)

Note: The MCS calculator is only available when designing a system within the UK. If used outside of the UK it will throw an error.

OpenSolar's MCS Calculator follows the MCS standards in calculating solar PV output as defined in MIS 3002 (The Solar PV Standard (Installation)). It also follows the methodology in calculating self-consumption with and without energy storage as defined in MGD 003 (Determining the Electrical Self-Consumption of Domestic Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Installations with and without Electrical Energy Storage).

Setting up the MCS Calculator as the Default

To set the MCS PV Output Calculator to be the default calculator please go to Control > Design & Hardware > Setbacks & Design Settings > Simulation Settings and select MCS (UK Only) option under Energy Production Calculator. Note, MCS is the default option as standard for all designs created within the UK.

Setting up the MCS Calculator for a specific project

You can set to use the MCS PV Output Calculator within Design under Summary > Advanced Settings > Energy Production Calculator. For non-MCS or larger systems (typically 50kW+) OpenSolar offers alternative calculation methodologies based on System Advisor Model (NREL) and PVWatts.

Setting up the MCS System Performance Summary & Sunpath Shading Diagram in your Proposal

You can add the MCS system performance summary table and sunpath shading diagram (Only if using the MCS Calculator) to your proposal template by the following steps:

1. Go to Control > Purchase Experience > Proposal Template and then click on  of an existing proposal template (please create a new proposal template if you don't have one created already). You will then need to open up the Proposal Content section.
   

2. Scroll down to the Disclaimers section in Proposal Content.

Note: The placeholder for the MCS system performance summary table and sunpath shading diagram is only available within the Disclaimers section of the Proposal Template.

3. You can add the placeholder for the MCS system performance summary under any Disclaimer section by clicking on the icon as shown in the image below.
   
   
   
   And then search for the . It is recommended to either place it under System Performance or System Hardware Components to show the MCS table directly under the System hardware section in MyEnergy.
   
4. Repeat step 3 to add the sunpath shading diagram via the placeholder
5. Save the proposal template and go to MyEnergy to see if the MCS system performance table and sunpath shading diagram have been applied as follows:
   
   

Setting up the Occupancy Archetype for MCS Self-consumption Calculations

You can set the occupancy archetype in Projects > Electricity Usage. You will need to choose a usage source other than default as you set the occupancy archetype under Curve weekday. Each of the options for Curve Weekday maps to the 3 different occupancy archetype as defined in the table below:

Limitations of the MCS Self-consumption Calculations:

The MGD 003 is only applicable in a domestic context when:

1. The total expected annual electricity generation from domestic solar PV system is less than 50 kWh per year according to approved MCS calculations.
2. The total annual domestic electricity consumption is between 1500 kWh and 6000 kWh per year.
3. And the usable energy storage capacity is less than 15.1 kWh

If any of these conditions are not met, the self-consumption will be calculated using OpenSolar's self-consumption calculations.

Note: MGD 003 defines the maximum self-consumption percentage as 95%. Hence when using the MCS calculator, the self-consumption will never exceed 95%.