User's guide

V5.1.5

Skelion

ndice
ndice _______________________________________________________________________ 2
1

Installation ______________________________________________________________ 4
1.1

Automatic installation way___________________________________________________ 4

1.2

Manual installation way _____________________________________________________ 4

1.3

Extension warehouse installation way__________________________________________ 5

1.4

Update ___________________________________________________________________ 5

1.5

Uninstall __________________________________________________________________ 5

1.6

Write rights _______________________________________________________________ 5

1.6.1
1.6.2

1.7

Write rights in Windows OS________________________________________________________ 6

Write rights in MAC OS ___________________________________________________________ 7

Pro version and Free version _________________________________________________ 7

Units____________________________________________________________________ 8

Geolocating model_________________________________________________________ 8

Drawing the building ______________________________________________________ 9

Skelion's toolbar __________________________________________________________ 9

5.1

Rotate north and

5.2

Surface azimuth and tilt ________________________________________________ 12

5.3

Insert solar components ________________________________________________ 12

5.3.1

Insert following an edge.

5.3.2

Multiple faces

5.3.3

Non planar surface

Restore north _____________________________________ 11

___________________________________________ 12

__________________________________________ 15

_________________________________________________ 15

5.4

Meteorological data ____________________________________________________ 18

5.5

Optimum orientation _________________________________________________ 19

5.6

Sunny area ___________________________________________________________ 20

5.7

Minimal Shading criterion _____________________________________________ 20

5.8

Erase panels _________________________________________________________ 20

5.9

Array mode __________________________________________________________ 20

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ndice

5.10

Report _______________________________________________________________ 20

5.11

Face report dialog_____________________________________________________ 21

5.12

JRC PVGYS EUROPE y

5.13

PVWATS report ______________________________________________________ 21

5.14

Project face to mesh____________________________________________________ 22

5.15

Surface report ________________________________________________________ 22

5.16

Change UTM model origin ______________________________________________ 23

5.17

Drop ________________________________________________________________ 23

5.18

PVSYST EXPORTER __________________________________________________ 23

5.19

Export shading derate _________________________________________________ 24

5.20

Relief ________________________________________________________________ 24

5.21

Skelion component_________________________________________________ 24

5.22

Construction point _____________________________________________________ 24

5.23

Sun Path Chart _______________________________________________________ 24

5.24

Settings ______________________________________________________________ 25

5.24.1
5.24.2
5.24.3

5.25

JRC PVGYS AFRICA _______________________ 21

Azimuth convention ___________________________________________________________ 25

Shading derate _______________________________________________________________ 25
Report ______________________________________________________________________ 25

About _______________________________________________________________ 25

Links: _________________________________________________________________ 26

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Skelion

1 Installation
SkelionisapluginofSketchUp.PluginsareoneofthemostimportantfeaturesinSketchUp.Thereare
thousandsofpluginsyoucaninstallinSketchUptoaddnewfeatures.SotoinstallSkelionyoumustinstallfirst
SketchUp(MakeorPro).TheinstallationprocessisthesameofanypluginofSketchUp.
YoucanreadaboutinstallaplugininSketchUphere:
http://support.google.com/SketchUp/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=38583
http://www.thomthom.net/thoughts/2012/01/installingpluginsforgoogleSketchUp/

Thereare3waystoinstallaplugin:
Manually,unzippingdownloadedpluginandsavingitinPluginsfolder.
Opening Sketchup and going to Preferences Extensions Install plugin, and selecting
downloadedfile.
UsingExtensionsWarehousetoolinSketchUp.(Letsyouinstallanduninstall)

1.1 Automatic installation way

Downloadaplugin,storeitinyourcomputer,openSketchUpandgoto:

WindowsOS:
Window-Preferences-Extensions-Install Extension
MACOS
SketchUp-Preferences-Extensions-Install Extension

Selecttheplugin.

1.2 Manual installation way

Werecommendthemanualwaybecauseiseasytoinstallanduninstall(onlyyoumustdeleteunzipped
files),andyoucancontrolthefilesyoucopy.
Steps:
Changetheextensionofthefilefrom.rbzto.zip.
Unzipthefile:
StoreunzippedfilesinPluginsfolderofSketchUp:
WindowsOS:

C:\Users\YOUR USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\SketchUp\SketchUp
2014\SketchUp\Plugins
MACOS

Version 2014 and newer: Open a new Finder window, press and hold
the Option key on your keyboard, then click Go in the menu bar >
Library > Application Support > SketchUp 2014 > SketchUp > Plugins

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Skelion

1.3 Extension warehouse installation way

ExtensionswarehouseisawebpagewhereyoucandownloadalotofpluginsforSketchUp.
OpenSketchUpandgotoWindowExtensionWarehousetoinstallanyplugin.Tobesurethatinstalled
plugin is the last version we recommend not use that method and download Skelion from www.skelion.com
directly.

1.4 Update
Makeabackupofdimension_modules.csv.Thisfilestoreallsizesofyourcustompanels.
DeleteallSkelionfilesandfolders
Installnewversion.Aboveimageshowthefilestodelete.

1.5 Uninstall
GotoPluginsfolderanddeleteskelionfolderandskelion.rbfile.OtherwayisopenSketchUPandgo
toWindowExtensionWarehouse,lookforplugininExtensionswarehouseandclickuninstall.

1.6 Write rights

Skelion needs write rights in plugins folder to write in files like dimension_modules.csv. If you dont
havewriterightsyoureceivethismessageandSkelionwontstart.

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Skelion

MessageoferrorwhenPluginsfolderdoesnthavewriterights
Readthisarticleabout:
http://sketchucation.com/resources/tutorials/811settingsecuritypermissionsinSketchUp

1.6.1

Write rights in Windows OS

Securitytabofpluginsfolder.
Go to C:\Program Files (x86)\SketchUp (SketchUp 2013)" or C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Google
SketchUp8\(SketchUp8).
RightclickonthePluginsfolderandselected"Properties".
Selectthesecuritytab,selectedyourselfasthe"Grouporusernames:",andallowyourselfFullcontrol.
CheckinGeneraltabthatreadonlyisuncheckedforallfilesandfoldersinsidePlugins.

GeneraltabofPluginsfolder.

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Skelion

1.6.2

Write rights in MAC OS

RightclickoverPluginsfolderandselectGetInfo.
ClickthedisclosuretrianglenexttoSharing&Permissionstodisplaypermissionsfortheselectedfolder.
Clickthelockandauthenticatewithanadministratoraccount.
UsethemenusnexttousersandgroupstoaddRead&Writepermissionstoyou.
Whenyourefinished,closetheInfowindow.Changesareeffectiveimmediately.

1.7 Pro version and Free version

Skelionruns15daysinpromode.Afterthat,freeversionisactivated.
IfyouwanttouseProversion,youmustbuyalicenseinwww.skelion.comandinserttheserialintheweb
dialogyoucanwatchpushing

"About"buttoninSkeliontoolbar.

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Skelion

2 Units
InSkeliondialogsyoucanuselengthunitsasinSketchUp.Youcanwrite8m,8cm,8mm,8,8(default
unitisused).
Forotherunitsdifferentthanlength,usermustwriteonlythenumber.
Examples:
Youmustwrite220,butnot2.2kW.
Youmustcan8cmor8mor8anySketchUpvalidunit.

3 Geolocating model
FirststepinSketchUpisgeolocatethemodel.GotoViewtoolbarsGoogle.

GoogleToolbar
Press this button

. "Add Location", to open Google Maps window dialog and grab the area you

want.
Whenyougeolocatethemodelyouachieve:
Satellitepicture(WindowsLayersGoogleEarthSnapshot)
3Dmeshofsurface.(WindowsLayersGoogleEarthTerrain)
Realshadowsofgeographicpositionselectedforanytimeoftheyear.(WindowShadows)

GoogleEarthTerrainlayer

Shadowwindow

Layerswindow

GoogleEarthTerrainlayer

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GoogleEarthSnapshotlayer

Skelion

4 Drawing the building

InSketchUpthereareseveralformstodrawthebuilding:
Drawingfromsatellitepicturedirectly.GeomodelingwithSketchUp.
http://support.google.com/SketchUp/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=167458
Exporting2dor3dplanesfromotherprogramslikeAutoCAD.

5 Skelion's toolbar
ToactivateSkelion'stoolbargotoViewtoolbarsSkelion.
AlsoyoucanfindallSkelioncommandsinPluginsSkelion
Inpromodeinsertbutton

letyoualsoinsertpanelsinnonplanarsurfaces.

Skelionprotoolbar

Namesofbuttons:

Surfaceazimuthandtilt

Insertsolarcomponents

Meteorologicaldata

Skelionfreetoolbar

Facereport

JRCPVGYSEUROPE

JRCPVGYSAFRICA

PVWATSreport

Projectfacetomesh

MinimalShadingcriterion

Surfacereport

Erasepanels

ChangeUTMmodelorigin

Rotatenorth

Drop

Restorenorth

Optimumorientation

Sunnyarea

Exportshadingderate

Arrayview

Report

PVSYSTexporter

Relief

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Skelion

NormalcomponenttoSkelion
component

Skelioncomponenttonormal
component

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Constructionpoint
Edituserdatabase

SunPathChart

Help

Settings

About

Skelion

5.1

Rotate north and

Restore north

InSketchUptruenorthcanpointinanydirection.Youcanchangetruenorthinstallingtheplugin"Solar
North"formSketchupextensionswarehouse.

SolarNorthtoolbar
SkelionusedefaultY+axis(greenaxis)liketruenorth.SoyoumusttakeintoaccountSketchUptrue
.
north(orangeaxis)musthavesamedirectionofY+axis(green).YoucanseeSketchUptruenorthclicking
Skechup current version, import 3d mesh and satellite image slightly rotated when you geolocate a
model.Thatisbecausetruenorthvaluechangestoavaluebetween0and2.Inthepictureyoucanappreciate
truenorth(orangeaxis)differ1.74fromgreenaxis.
Button"Rotatenorth"
calculationswillberight.
"Restorenorth"button

letusrotateallmodeltogivetruenorthsamedirectionofY+.ThenSkelion

rotatemodeltooriginalposition,justincaseyouwanttoreturn.

Midid'ossauLatitude,Longitude:42.842240.435891

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Skelion
5.2

Surface azimuth and tilt

Press the button andselectfaces to watch his azimuth and tilt in the opened window. Values will
changeinthewindoweachtimeyouselectanewface.

5.3

Insert solar components

Thisbuttongiveaccesstothreedifferentwebdialogs,infunctionoftheobjectsselectedbeforepressthe

button:

Selectingandedgeandaface:INSERTFOLLOWINGANEDGE

5.3.1

SelectingsomefacesMULTIPLEFACES

Selecting3dmesh:NONPLANARSURFACE

Insert following an edge.

Toopenthewebdialog"Insertfollowinganedge"usermustselectoneedgeandonefaceandpressthe

.Selectededgecanbeanyedgeofthefaceboundaryoranyedgeinsame
button"insertsolarcomponents"
planeoftheface.
Orientation:
Componentswillfollowedge.(Youcanreversedirectionifyouwanttoinsertjustintheoppositewayof
defaultdirection.)
Component:

Componentselection
Skelionhas2fileswithsomesquarepanels:
user/pvmodules.csv>Usercanstorehereitsownmodules.(Userfolderwon'tbeoverwritteninfuture
rleases>5.1.5)
database/pvmodules.csv>SkelionPVpanelsdatabase.

Youcanedituserfiletoaddyourownmoduleswithanytexteditor.Youmusttakeintoacountisacsv
file.Excelcanchangeallcommasforsemicolonsifyourregionalconfigurationusecommaasdecimalseparator.
ChangeregionalconfigurationtoavoidthisbecauseSkeliononlyworkswithcommastoseparatethevalues.
thistooltoinsertasolarpanelinuser/pvmodules.csvfilewithoueditthefileina
Alsoyoucanuse
texteditor.

Youcaninsertyourowndesignedcomponents.Toinsertit,youmustloadintothemodelusingSketchup
windowsComponents.AfterinSkelioninsertdialog,changedatabasetoInmodel

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Skelion
DesignyourownsolarcomponentinSketchUp:
1Drawyourcomponent.
2Makeitacomponent.
3MakeitaSkelioncomponentwith
.
4Clickrightbuttonoverit,andselectsaveastosavethecomponentinyourcomputer.
Before save, component must be oriented in an specific form, because Skelion needs to know how to
insertit:
Z+axismustbeperpendiculartocollectingsurface
Originwillbethepointofinsertionovertheface.
If collecting surface is smaller than bounding box then you need to mark it with right button
Skelion Mark collecting surface. Marking this, Skelion will be able to calculate right shadow
distances between rows. If collecting surface is equal to bounding box, then this step is not
necessary.

Collectingsurfacesmallerthanboundingbox.
Youcanlearnmoreaboutcomponentsin:
http://SketchUp.google.com/intl/en/training/videos/new_to_gsu.html

Loadedcomponents

Rightaxessituationincomponent.

Rightaxessitutionincomponent.

Squarecreatedcomponents

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Skelion
Othercomponentparameters:

Parameterstoinsertacomponent.
"Stackcomponents"letuspileupcomponents.
With"Rowsalignment"youcanadjustallcomponentstoagridorletrowstomaximizethespace.
Pitch:

Pitch.
UsercaninserthisownpitchoruseanyoftheoptionsproposedbySkelion.

Pitch.
Insert:

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Skelion
YoucaninsertallcomponentsatsametimeinthefacewithFillfacebuttonorgoingrowbyrowusing
Fillinrows.Usingthislastbutton,youcanclickinanypointrearthelastrowinserted.Skelionwillinsertnext
rowmatainingtheminimumpitchyouselected,butifyouclickinapointwithmorepitch,thenthenextrowwill
beinsertedinthatpoint.

5.3.2

Multiple faces

Multiplefacesdialog
Youcanaccesstodialog"multiplefaces"openingsomefacesandclickingthebutton
components".(Skelionwilluseonlyfaces.Otherobjectsofselectionwillbediscarded).

Selectionofsomefaces.

"Insertsolar

"Multiplefaces"r=0

Thereare3optionstoinsertsolarcomponents:
andofcomponent:Skelionwillinsertcomponentsinallselectedfaces.(Incoplanarcase,
Skelionwilltrytofollowthetiltoftheroof.
: Solar component will be inserted following roof tilt. If roof tiltis0 then programwill try to
followanyedgeoftheroof.
r:SolarcomponentwillbeinsertedfollowingrooftiltIfyouwantcoplanaryoumustinsertr=
0.Ifrooftiltis0thenprogramwilltrytofollowanyedgeoftheroof.

5.3.3

Non planar surface

"Non planar surface" allows you to insert components in 3d mesh, like curved roofs or solar ground
mountsystems.
Touse"Nonplanarsurface"youmustfollownextsteps:
Selectmeshwithmainsurfaceandinnersurfacesinwhichnocomponentswillbeinserted.
Boundaries of each surface must be "NO SOFT" and the others must be "SOFT" to let Skelion detect
surfacesofthemesh.
Pressbutton

"Insertsolarcomponents".

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Skelion
"Surfacetool"willbeactivated.Pickwiththemouseoverapointinthemeshtoinsertfirstrow.Youmust
selectothertooltodeactivate"Surfacetool".
Then, when you click "Non planar surface" a dialog will be opened and we must insert azimuth, tilt,
componentandtimestocalculatethepitch.Pitchusedbetweenrowswillbedifferentandwillbetheworstofall
the components for the times specified by the user. If you want only one hour you must insert the same time
twice.

"surfacereport"tomakeareportaboutposition
Ifcomponenthas"constructionpoints"youcanuse
of construction points and and of selected edge. You can use any type of component, solar panel, solar
groundstructure...
Allinsertedcomponentswillhavesameazimuthandsametiltandtherearen'tshadowsbetween
thetimesinsertedindialog
In complex surfaces sometimes you must execute twice the program because rows follow only one
directionwhenareinserted.

Componentswith0e30(180conv).

Componentswith0e30(180conv).

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Skelion

Rulestouse"nonplanarsurface":
NOHOLESinmesh.

Rightmesh.

Meshwithahole.

Allfacesmusthaverightorientation.(Usereversefacetofixmesh)

Rightmesh.

Meshwithreversedfaces.

Boundaryofanysurfacesmustbe"NOSOFT".Restofedgesmustbe"SOFT".

Meshwith3surfacesandboundariesNOSOFT.

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Skelion

Selectallsurfaces,themainsurfacesandtheotherswheresolarcomponentswon'tbeinserted.

.
Meshwithallselected.

Mainsurfacescan'tshareboundarywiththeotherssurfaces.

Mainsurfaceshareboundarywithothersurface.

5.4

Rightmesh.

Checkshadows.Sometimeslastrowsorcomponentsneartheboundariescanbeerroneous.

Meteorological data

Skelionneedsmeteorologicaldatatomakesomecalculationslikeshadingderate,orSOFplots.
Youcanchoosedatafromseveraldatabases.
Satellightdatabse:
DowloadatsvfilefromSatellightwebpage.Selectirradianceglobalanddifuse.Timeperiodcanbeone
orseveralyears.SkeliontriestomakeaTMYifyouchoosethe5yearsusingRMSDmethod.

SatellightParameterstomaketsvfileforSkelion

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Skelion
5.5

Optimum orientation

Surfaceorientationfactor(SOF)istheratioofannualincidentsolarradiationforaparticularorientation
to annual incident solar radiation for an optimally oriented surface. To make a SOF you must select several
constructionpointsofaface.Shadowsofthemodelarecalculatedandeffectsofmorning/afternooncloudiness
andsnowcoverarealsoaddressedifyouareusinghourlyTMYmeteorologicaldata.
IncreasedgroundreflectanceduetosnowcoverisnotusedbuthaveanegligibleeffectonSOFplots.
Anuallapsecanbechangedusingthe8760hourlyarray.
Youcanaddtoselectiononefaceandoneedge.RelativetiltversusSOFgraphisplotted.Thisgraph
showsdifferentrelativetiltsofasolarpanelfollowingtheselectededge:

Tiltingsolarpanelinonedirection

Tiltingsolarpanelintheotherdirection

SOFplotwithallrelativetiltsfollowinganedgeforasolarpanel.(Redonedirection,bluetheother)

RelativetiltversusSOFfollowinganedge.

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Skelion
5.6

Sunny area

Selectingafaceyoucanfindoutthezonewithnoshadowsatonetimeorbetweentwotimes.(Ifyou
wantonlyonetime,repeatsametimetwiceindialog.)
ToimprovespeedofalgorithmyoucanhideallelementsnotusefulwithnormalmethodsofSketchUp:
hidegeometry,hidelayersandcastshadows.

Faceafteruse"sunnyarea"

Facebeforeuse"sunnyarea"

5.7

Minimal Shading criterion

Select a face and press the button to find out the area that accomplish this rule
5.8

Erase panels

Firstyoumustmakeareport,calculatingshadingderate.Nowyoucanusethisfeaturetohideallpanels
thathaveashadingderatelessthanapercentageyouwant.Nowyoumusttomakeagainthereporttoknowthe
numberofpanelsofyoursystem.

5.9

Array mode
Clickingthisbuttonsolarcomponentsturntowhite.Youcanselecteachcomponentandcolouritwith
"Addmaterial"tomarkthearraysofyoursystem.
Clickagaintoreturntonormalview.

5.10

Report

"Report"button
returnsthenumberofcomponentsinsertedbySkelion,andtheirpower.Youcan
copythereporttoexcelifyouwant.
Dataisarrangedin3forms:
Byfaceandsolarcomponentmodel.
Bygroupswithsametiltandazimuthandsolarcomponentmodel.
Byarrays
Anewlayerswillbecreatewithnumberedfaces.

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Skelion

LayerTX:Face_namesactive.

5.11

Face report dialog

Pressthisbuttontoopenfacereportwindow.Afterthisselectanyface.Alltheinformationoftheface
willbeshowedinthewindow.Rememberthisinformationisstatic.Ifyoudeletecomponents,youmustupdate
modelclickingreportanalysis,PVGYSorPVWATTS.

5.12

JRC PVGYS EUROPE y

JRC PVGYS AFRICA

With button
"PVGYS" or
"PVGYS" AFRICA you can find out energy of solar components.
SkelionlinkswithJRCwebsendingallthenecessarydatatotheweb.PVGYSwebisvalidonlyforonetiltandone
azimuth,soSkelionrepeattheprocessthenumberoftimesequaltothegroupswithsametiltandazimuthofthe
model.
Skelionsendsthefollowingdata:
Azimuthandtilt.AzimuthistransformedautomaticallytoPVGYSconvention.(180north
hemisphereconventionfortheentireworld).
Technology
Grouppower.
Location.
Youmustfollowanorderclosingwindowsandyoucanclosewhitewindow.
Locationisaddedautomaticallybutyoumustclicksearchbutton.
1. Clickcalculate
2. Closemainwindow.
3. Repeattheprocessforeachgroup.
YoucanselectandcopytheresultinExcel.

5.13

PVWATS report

Withbutton
"PVWATTS"youcanfindouttheenergyofSketchUpmodelinUSA.Skelionlinkswith
NREL web, sending all necessary data. PVWATTS is valid for one azimuth and tilt, so Skelion repeat process a
numberoftimesequaltogroupswithsametiltandazimuthintheSketchUpmodel.
Skelionsendsthefollowingdata:
Azimuthandtilt.AzimuthistransformedautomaticallytoconventionusedbyPVWATTS.
360convention.
Grouppower.
Location.
Youcancopyandpastethereportinexcel.

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Skelion
5.14

Project face to mesh

Withbutton"projectfacetomesh",youcanobtainthefacemoresimilartothemeshbelowit.Selectthe

face and press the button

systems.

"project face to mesh". You can use it to make fast layouts of ground mount

Resultoffaceprojected.

Facereadytoproject.

5.15

Surface report
"Surfacereport"givesinformationaboutpositionofsolarcomponentsinserted.
Componentmusthave"ConstructionPoints"inside
Stepstouse"Surfacereport":
Hideallelementsoverandbelowsurface.
.
Selectoneedgeofcomponentandpress
Thereportgeneratedinformabout:
CoordinatesUTMofall"constructionpoint"ofeachcomponent.
Coordinates UTM of projections of "constructions points" over surface, following direction of
selectededge.
Distanceofeachpointstosurface.
Azimuthandtiltfromselectededgeinallcomponents.

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Skelion
5.16

Change UTM model origin

SketchUporiginpoint(0,0,0)intherealworldisthesamepointthatweusetogeolocatethemodel:

Windowmodelgeolocation.
Knowingthiscorrelationwecanfindoutthecoordinatesofanypointofthemodelintherealworld.
Surfacereportusethiscorrelationtocalculatethepositionofsomepointsofthemodelinrealworld.
IfweareworkingoverGoogleEarthTerrainLayerwemustdonothing.Butifweareworkingwitha
mesh imported from AutoCad or a mesh from a topographer we must set the origin of SketchUp in the right
place.
Toachieveagoodcorrelationbetweenrealworldandmodelwemustfollowthenextsteps:
1Knowthecoordinatesofonepointofthemodel.(Latitud,longitudeorUTMcoordinates).
2Moveallthemodel,settingthispointinSketchUporigin(0,0,0)
3 Geolocate the modelwith thereal position of thispoint. Inwindowmodelgeolocation we must set
latitudeandlongitude.
IfweknowUTMcoordinatesinsteadoflatitudeandlongitudewecanuse
geolocatethemodel.

Originandreferencepointindifferentplaces.

5.17

ChangeUTMoriginto

Equaloriginandreferencepoint

Drop

Thistoolletyoutodropaninstanceverticallyuntilfindaface.Itworksselectingagroupofcomponents
inside,orselectingsomecomponents.
Youmusthideallelementsbetweenthecomponentsyouwanttodropandthemesh.Thecomponents
willdropuntiltheirorigintouchtheface.

5.18

PVSYST EXPORTER

UsingthisfeatureyoucansaveinyourharddiskafilewithHelios3dformat.InPVSYSTyoucangoto
Near Shadings Consrtruction Perspective File Import Helios 3d, and select the Helios3d file you saved with
Skelion.(IncurrentversionofPVSYSTshadowsofobjectsimportedinthiswayarenotcalculated)

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Skelion

5.19

Export shading derate

To save month by hour beam irradiance shading factors. You can use this info to export to System
Advisor Model or other software.

5.20

Relief
Ifyouneedabigmeshofterrainyoucanusethistool.Beforeuseit,youmustgeolocatethemodel.

5.21

Skelion component
Whenyoumakeareport,SkelioncountallcomponentswithanSkelionattribute.

NormalcomponenttoSkelioncomponent

Skelioncomponenttonormalcomponent
Thistoolsletyouimportcomponentsfromautocad.
Alsoyoucaninsertcomponentswithdome:
Drawyourowncomponentwithdomeform.Thecomponentmusthave2componentsinside,
oneforeachpanel.
InsertwithSkelionthedomecomponent.

.
Selectoneinstance,converttonormalcomponentwith
EnterinsidetheinstanceselecteachpanelcomponentandconverttoSkelioncomponent.Now
Skelionwillcountallsolarpanelsandyouwillbeabletomakeareport.

Domesolarpanels.

5.22

Construction point
ThisisafeatureofSketchUpusedtomarkpointsinthemodel.

5.23

Sun Path Chart

Thisbuttonletusplotsunpathchartincartesianorpolarcoordenadesanydayoftheyear.Youcansee
verysimilarplotsin:
http://solardat.uoregon.edu/AboutSunCharts.html

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Skelion
5.24

Settings

5.24.1 Azimuth convention

WebdialogAzimuthconvention
Selecttheconventionyouwantandclosethewebdialog.
PVGYSandPVWATTSareexternalprogramstoSkelion,sowhentheyareopened,azimuthisconverted
totheconventiontheyuse.PVWATTSuse360conventionandPVGYSuse180conventionsinnorthhemisphere
butfortheentireworld.

5.24.2 Shading derate

Algorithmmakesashadingtestinsomepointsofthesolarpanel.Hereyoucanaddmorepointstothe
test.

5.24.3 Report
Usedtomakegroupswhenyouhaveseveralorientationsinamesh.Anglesinreportwillbeaveraged.

5.25

About
Clicktoinsertproversionserial.

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Skelion

6 Links:
LearningSketchUp:
http://help.SketchUp.com/en
SketchUpvideotutorials
http://www.SketchUp.com/learn/videos?playlist=58
Geomodeling
http://help.SketchUp.com/en/article/167458
Googleearthposition:
http://code.google.com/p/googleearthautohotkey/
3dwarehouse:
http://www.SketchUp.com/products/3Dwarehouse
Extensionswarehouse:
https://extensions.sketchup.com

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Skelion

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