Solar Advisor allows you to connect any input variable in Solar Advisor to a cell or range of cells in a Microsoft Excel workbook. This feature allows you to use external spreadsheet-based cost and performance models to generate values for Solar Advisor input variables. Because Solar Advisor can both import values from workbooks and export values to them, you can use the result of a spreadsheet calculation as the value of one input variable that depends on the value of other input variables. User variables are user-defined input variables that can also share values with external workbooks.

Note for Mac users. Solar Advisor can not exchange data with Microsoft Excel on Mac computers. This means that the Excel Exchange feature is disabled on Mac versions of the software, and that Solar Advisor cannot directly export data to Excel workbooks.
 
To use the Solar Advisor data in Excel or another spreadsheet program, you can export the data to a comma-separated text file (CSV), and then import the CSV file to the spreadsheet program.

For an example of a Solar Advisor file with Excel Exchange, open the sample template Excel Sample: On the File menu, click Open Sample Template and select the template from the list.

To display the Excel data exchange setup options:

The Excel Data Exchange options allow you to add and remove Solar Advisor input variables to the list of variables to exchange data with Excel, specify the Excel workbook with which to exchange data, and for each input variable, define the relationship with a cell or range of cells in the workbook.

Parametric Simulation Setup

Add

Add one or more input variable from the input pages. You can configure each variable to either send a value to an Excel range, or "capture" a value from an Excel range.

Remove

Delete the highlighted variable from the list.

Clear All

Delete all variables from the list.

Browse

Browse your computer's folders to find the Excel workbook with which you want to exchange data. The workbook can be located in any folder on your computer.

Apply for all variables

Send Variable Value to Excel Range

Configure the highlighted variable to send its value to the specified Excel range.

Capture Variable Value From Excel Range

Configure the highlighted variable to capture its value from the specified Excel range.

Excel Range

The range name or cell reference identifying the cell or range of cells in the Excel workbook  with which the highlighted variable will exchange data.

Enable this simulation

This box must be checked for the analysis to exchange data with Excel.