Given the growing market share of Bifacial modules, consider moving the Module is bifacial option for PVWatts from the "Advanced Inputs" panel to the "System Parameters" group so that it is not hidden by default.
This suggestion is based on the Detailed PV defaults, which, as of SAM 2024.12.12 use bifacial modules for Commercial and front-of-meter (FOM) configurations. For now, default PVWatts Commercial and FOM configurations do not assume bifacial modules because the option is hidden in the collapsed Advanced Inputs panel, and users may not notice the option when they intend to model mono-facial modules.
Need to consider whether this change should also be made to online PVWatts Calculator so that the two implementations are consistent.
Given the growing market share of Bifacial modules, consider moving the Module is bifacial option for PVWatts from the "Advanced Inputs" panel to the "System Parameters" group so that it is not hidden by default.
This suggestion is based on the Detailed PV defaults, which, as of SAM 2024.12.12 use bifacial modules for Commercial and front-of-meter (FOM) configurations. For now, default PVWatts Commercial and FOM configurations do not assume bifacial modules because the option is hidden in the collapsed Advanced Inputs panel, and users may not notice the option when they intend to model mono-facial modules.
Need to consider whether this change should also be made to online PVWatts Calculator so that the two implementations are consistent.