The planning tool for PV systems and comprehensive energy systems

Sunny Design

Design PV systems quickly and conveniently

Sunny Design

With Sunny Design software, you can plan tailor-made PV systems for your customers. It could be a grid-connected PV system with or without a battery-storage system, smart energy management or e-mobility, an off-grid island or hybrid system - Sunny Design takes all technical specifications for the various components into account and provides you with relevant data for a cost-effective assessment of the system. That means that you can match your PV systems to suit the circumstances on-site.

It couldn't be easier. Simply open Sunny Design in your web browser or on your iPad or Android tablet and enter the necessary data in the user-friendly interface. In just a few minutes, Sunny Design will configure the ideal PV system for your customers on your behalf.

You can use Sunny Design free of charge.

Learn more about Sunny Design

Good to know

Make your planning even more efficient with our integrated Renusol planning tool.

New

Make your planning even more efficient with our integrated Renusol planning tool

Sunny Design 5.30, now including shading analysis and even more PV arrays

TIP

Sunny Design 5.30, now including shading analysis and even more PV arrays

Comprehensive

  • Plan grid-connected and off-grid PV systems

  • Receive customized design recommendations

  • Show potential for optimization

  • Visual roof planning including shading analysis

Good for customers

  • All common PV modules available

  • Incorporate high-resolution meteorological data

  • Energy-related and financial system assessment

  • Self-consumption forecast

Flexible

  • Choice of location worldwide

  • Import your own meteorological data and load profiles

  • Access via web browser, iPad or Android tablet

  • Integrate e-mobility for private homes

Comprehensive energy system planning and simulation

Sunny Design PRO

In addition to the PV system, Sunny Design PRO takes battery-storage systems and thermal components, such as combined heat and power plants and heat pumps, into account in system planning. That means that you can plan and simulate comprehensive sector-linked energy systems. Using customized purchase and feed-in tariffs as well as detailed project and capital costing, you can create reliable efficiency forecasts for the entire system. The extensive project documentation helps with field sales meetings and simplifies subsequent energy system implementation.

It's easy: you can give Sunny Design PRO a try with a month-long free trial. Enter your data to receive a comprehensive and professional visualization of the energy system in no time at all.

You can read more about what Sunny Design PRO has to offer in "Cross-Sector Energy System Planning".

 

Learn more about Sunny Design PRO

Comprehensive

  • All sectors in a single application

  • Simulation of the entire system

  • Integrated energy management for PV, battery-storage and thermal systems

  • Planning of electric vehicles and charging stations, including for commercial applications

Impressive

  • All important energy and efficiency key figures presented

  • Detailed consumption and load profile analysis

  • Advanced project documentation

  • Project templates for commercial energy systems and private homes

Practical

  • Data export for fast SMA Data Manager commissioning

  • Flexible management of purchase and feed-in tariffs

  • Battery-storage system simulation for peak load shaving applications

Overview of Sunny Design functions

FeatureSunny Design (anonymous)Sunny Design (registered)Sunny Design PRO
Design of on-grid PV systems
Visual roof planning including shading analysis
Design of off-grid & PV hybrid systems
Saving and managing projects
Own PV modules, locations and load profiles
Planning of energy systems with integrated energy
Import & export of 3D models
Tariff management
Consumption data and load profile analysis
Extended project documentation
Export of time series
Price per year (net) 600 €

Release Notes Sunny Design 5.61

New Functions

  • On the personal start page, the peak power and a roof planning symbol are displayed for the projects.
  • It is now possible to choose between a uniform charging tariff for all charging stations or different charging tariffs for each type of charging station.
  • The simulation of energy system projects with only PV and batteries is now carried out with the same calculation components as for the PV projects and is therefore significantly faster.
  • Deleting of own locations has been improved.
  • The project documentation page displays a note about the SMA certification service (for Germany only).

Roof Planning

  • In roof planning, the scene can be exported as a 3D model (Sunny Design Pro only)
  • Modules can be placed across two adjacent and equally inclined surfaces.
  • The string design now has the option to automatically determine the optimal string alignment and starting point.
  • When roof objects are moved, existing PV modules are automatically removed or added.
  • If the length of a hipped roof changes, the inclination of the hip roof is maintained. The inclination of the hip can be adjusted by means of an angle input.
  • Collision detection for large module fields has been optimized.

Release Notes Sunny Design 5.60

New Features (General)

  • New project type for large-scale systems incl. DC Combiner design
  • Tools for system parameterization according to VDE AR-N 4110 (Sunny Design Pro)
  • Alternative map data from Bing
  • Bifacial gain factor for bifacial PV modules
  • Warning if the maximum grid connection load is exceeded
  • Extension of location settings for Australia to overdimensioning of DC inputs (AS/NZS 5033)
  • Extended database of low-voltage batteries for Sunny Island
  • Numerous new electric vehicles and manufacturers

Visual roof planning

  • Support of façade systems
  • Roof areas with the same orientation and inclination can be grouped
  • A preferred string length can be set in the string settings
  • Improved selection of the position of the sun
  • In step 3, all roof areas can now be deselected
  • In the event of changes to the building, the PV modules will be retained if possible

Release Notes Sunny Design 5.50

New Features (General)

  • The Multi-Use operating mode of the STPS X has been integrated.
  • A device list of the planned SMA system components can now be downloaded.
  • The optimal row spacing of elevated PV modules can now be calculated.
  • On saddle, monopitch and hipped roofs, elevated PV modules are now possible.
  • Dimensions are now displayed on dormers and other objects.
  • The maximum system voltage of the PV modules is now taken into account per MPP tracker.
  • Additional hints in roof planning if user inputs cannot be used.
  • The filters in the "Add communication product" dialog have been optimized.


Sunny Design PRO

  • Imported 3D models can now also be scaled by measuring.
  • The display of the category of key figures has been optimized in the user interface as well as in the project documentation.

Release Notes Sunny Design 5.40

New Features (General)

  • New, improved project documentation
  • Electromobility also possible in quick planning mode
  • For charging stations and electric vehicles, differentiation between AC and DC charging
  • Battery systems now as separate items in the detailed project costs
  • Subsequent editing of own cost items possible
  • Management of a price list for battery systems
  • Roof plan as vector graphic in project documentation
  • Simplified deletion of load profiles and projects
  • PV arrays are not deleted when the visual roof plan is removed
  • Function for optimising PV module design in case of shading
  • Display of the ground coverage ratio (GCR)
  • Optimized dialogs for the selection of buildings & objects
  • Optimization of the naming of inverter inputs
  • Automatic polystring design for inverter selection
  • New result value for active power limitation
  • Start of roof planning in 2D possible
  • Progress indicator for visual string design
  • Configurable joint for east-west rack systems
  • Alignment of objects with dialog
  • Adjustable visibility and transparency of PV modules


Sunny Design PRO

  • Import of 3D models

Release Notes Sunny Design 5.30

New Features (General)

  • The visual roof planning was extended by the electrical design including string planning.
  • String assembly plans can be created.
  • Battery systems can now be configured for combined operation of peak load shaving and self-consumption optimization (Multi-Use).
  • A demand charge can be used in PV projects.
  • Sunny Design now also supports the energy cost calculation according to the capacity tariff for Belgium.
  • The energy management design has been optimized for inverters with integrated system manager.
  • In visual roof planning, the modules with east/west-oriented mounting can no longer be arranged only in pairs, but independently of each other.
  • Existing buildings can be copied.
  • Modules and roof objects are preserved when the building height is changed.
  • The loss of yield due to shading is now calculated at the string level, taking ShadeFix into account.
  • Swedish and Hungarian are available as new languages in the user interface.
  • Numerous other improvements.


Sunny Design PRO

  • In energy system projects, the hybrid inverters can now be simulated with battery system.
  • The export of the load profiles of heating rods is now possible.
  • The previous energy consumption of mobility can now be specified by a mileage.

Release Notes Sunny Design 5.22

New features (general)

  • In PV projects with self-consumption, up to 3 charging stations and electric vehicles can now be configured.
  • In the electromobility section of the detailed planning mode, a warning is now displayed if the energy consumption of the electric vehicles is not covered.
  • The calculation to prove compliance with the THD currents can now also be carried out for medium voltage in accordance with VDE-AR-N 4110.
  • For flat roofs, an attic can be added.
  • The display and information about our charging solutions have been optimized.
  • In the project data, the possibility was created to make specifications for the desired nominal power ratio or DC/AC ratio, respectively.
  • In the area of profitability, up to 10 special tariffs can now be defined.
  • The influence of shading is now also taken into account in the energy yield calculation.
  • When moving modules in the roof planning, they are aligned to a grid (snap-to-grid function).
  • Additional dimensions are now displayed in the roof planning.


Sunny Design PRO

  • In energy system projects, heating rods can now be taken into account to increase self-consumption.
  • The heat pumps now have the "SG-Ready" option for PV-optimized operation.

Release Notes Sunny Design 5.20

New features (general)

  • Shading analysis: Calculation of the annual shading of roofs
  • Display of the percentage of module shading
  • Display of the shadow course for a selected point in time
  • Any number of buildings possible in one roof plan
  • Extension of the roof planning to include external objects (trees, walls, chimneys)
  • Up to 6 PV generators in a sub-project
  • Improved design suggestions
  • Compatibility list of battery inverters and batteries
  • Key figures on self-consumption and self-sufficiency in a comparison of alternatives
  • Easier creation of own PV modules
  • Optimized net metering for PV projects
  • Extended calculation of maximum PV system voltage and circuit currents according to NEC 2017
  • Prepared for SMA JOIN


Sunny Design PRO

  • New key figure for self-consumption levy
  • Display of additional information on tariffs
  • CO2 credit also for direct marketing

Release Notes Sunny Design 5.10

New features (general)

  • PV module placement on dormers
  • Definition of maintenance walks/thermal separations in module arrays
  • Project documentation extended by a Roof plan
  • Creation of detailed offers
  • Use of Heat Pump tariffs
  • Assignment of a project status and life cycle
  • Optimized system design for inverters with many MPPT
  • Display of Sunny Design News
  • Extended customer management
  • Net-Metering for standard PV projects
  • Consideration of self-consumption deduction in projects with direct selling


Sunny Design PRO

  • Suggestion of Peak Load Shaving threshold
  • CO2 credits for PV energy export
  • Extended time series export
  • Selectable visibility of charging stations
  • Optimized usage of alternatives

Release Notes Sunny Design 5.0

More options for system planners: In the new version Sunny Design 5.0, the SMA planning software is now more application-oriented. Installers benefit from professional system planning that requires very little time and effort. All innovations at a glance:

Visual 2D/3D Roof Planning

  • Map based creation of building models
  • Numerous predefined building types and roof shapes
  • Simple insertion of obstacles (dormers, windows, chimneys, …)
  • Multiple PV arrays per building
  • Snapshot function
  • Undo/Redo
  • Easy to use


Optimized Workflows

  • Quick planning mode with system design in just a few steps
  • Just the most important inputs and results
  • Simple switchover between quick mode and detailed planning


Extended project data

  • Free text address entry and automated selection of the nearest meteorological data set
  • Map view (Google Maps)
  • Upload of multiple object photos
  • Customer management tool


Interfaces to SMA 360° App

  • Creation of Sunny Design Projects by the app
  • Management of PDF documents accessible within the app


Other Enhancements

  • New fact sheet for residential energy systems
  • Detailed calculation of project costs
  • Integrated P-Q analysis tool of Sunny Central Storage systems
  • Support of Sunny Boy Storage with multiple batteries
  • Export of load and generation time series (Sunny Design Pro)
  • Russian User interface

Sunny Design

Downloads

Operating manual

Operating manual

Now the operating manual is also available as

eManual

Sunny Design

Release Notes

With Sunny Design, you can plan your tailor-made PV system in just a few clicks.

Planning tool Sunny Design

With Sunny Design, you can plan your tailor-made PV system in just a few clicks.

Plan your system now

Do you have any questions?

If you have any questions, please contact SMA.

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