Projects and Cases

A Solar Advisor project file contains one or more cases. Projects are stored in files with the extension zsam.

A case is a complete set of input data and results that represents a single system design. Solar Advisor uses tabs to display each case in the project, in a way similar to how Excel displays spreadsheets in a workbook.

Note. The number of cases that a project file can contain depends on the storage and computing resources available on your computer. Solar Advisor displays a warning if you try to add more than six cases to your project. Your computer may be able to handle projects with more than six cases, but for the model to run efficiently, it is best to keep the number of cases to less than seven.

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By creating more than one case in a file, you can easily compare the assumptions and results of different analysis scenarios. For example, you could use cases to compare the cost and performance of a residential photovoltaic system in several locations by defining a separate case for each location, or you could compare a utility-scale photovoltaic and concentrating solar power systems.

There are four commands on the Case menu that you can use to manage cases:

•	Create Case: Adds a new case to the project file. Solar Advisor displays the Technology and Market window.

•	Rename Case: Change the label identifying the case that appears on the case tab.

•	Duplicate Case: Creates a copy of the active case, with a duplicate set of input parameters and results.

•	Delete Case: Deletes the active case. You can also delete a case by clicking the 'x' on the case's tab.

For projects with more cases than can be displayed on tabs, the scroll and list controls allow you to access all of the cases in the project.

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