Home

OnGrid Tool v5 User Manual

Contents

1. essssssssseeesssssssseeerssssssseeserrsssssssees 53 AY Crain Shade Datan the Tookensiarerenn a e A R A A eeeale eeates 54 Chapter 9 The Overview Sheet sssscescssssecccsosscosccososssececossscscsecocosscsccescsssesecssssese 55 Viewing the IRR Timeline with After Tax Numbers ccccccsseseseececeeceeeeeesseeceeseeeaeeeeeees 55 Chapter 10 Proposals cscssescsssssadesesvscessaetedscacssesscaasousentecdsanvevetedsenasesncsasascdesessseesce 57 Editino Proposal Templie Sarnese tae etna seuss Monee ie Pauses aoa Doane omeiate ensete 57 Adding amp Removing Proposal Templates nnennnsseessseeeresssssssecceresssssssccrerssssssseereessssssseeeeeos 59 PIU o Proposals sae a a T E 62 Creatine Proposa PDEs Om he C eeann tab intaes vitae 62 OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 Adjusting Print Resolution on the PC x issicucedncs assent tsetse rcetnsreten tessa pees 63 Creatine Proposal PDEs On the NIAC erranen a E puta ie teeadoces 65 Adjusting Print Resolution on the Maere i ah iehinnetncsaatahenianeees 66 Proposal Headers risna E wand axe iuedeeahaceanes satetareaadtaxmibuediins 66 Addins Content 10 ICAU CIS 5 asa caaciene eae se cates ceticcaus vaseenuv dad staa seen ea tieleit a seewin eden lstondessieeatntaues 68 E A OAT ca ated a Ren ntact E E A E eet a dees E A AAT E EE E ate E 69 Changing the Header Font Type amp Font SiZe nnneesessssseeeersssssssseeeressssssssereresssssseerressssss 70 Overnidmo Fage Maro iS
2. CustFullSiteAdar vO fe 117 So Mary Ave 30 EN D m E Vendorinfo Gustomerinfo MainRateinfo SystemVariables Sizihg Pricing Financial ironmrent RateDetail Date Added Name 7 Default Name Value CustSiteStateLong California CustSiteZip CustFullSiteAddr 117 So Mary Ave 30 CustFullSiteCityStZip Sunnyvale CA 94087 So when you type CustFullSiteAddr into a cell in a proposal page you re creating a formula that says the cell s value is equal to the content of the particular named cell on the OnGrid Names sheet There are two ways to refer to a name in a cell In either case you ll first need to select the referring cell The first way is to type the equal sign followed by the applicable name The second way is to type the equal sign and then click on the cell you re referring to after activating the referred to cell s sheet if it s on a different sheet than the referring cell 126 127 128 Utility 129 UtilityLong 130 UtilityState 131 UtilityTariffStarting 132 TariffStarting 133 UtilityTariffEnding 134 TariffEnding 135 RateCustType 136 RateEndCustlype 137 RateDescription 138 RateEndDescription m x OnGrid Proposals 2 Compatibility Mode E Te LB PG amp E Pacific Gas 4Electric 12 CA 13 Utility Company utilityLong PG amp E E1 14 E1 15 PG amp E E6 16 E6 17 Residential 18 Residential 19 Residential Tiered 20 Residential Tiered TOU 71 oo
3. If syncing data with OnGrid Sky takes an exceptionally long time on your computer due to a slow internet connection or some other reason it could be frustrating to accidentally click a related link and get stuck in a painfully slow sync process That s why by default the OnGrid Tool asks you to confirm before it starts any user initiated Sky sync refresh Under normal circumstances though Sky syncs will happen fast If this is the case for you you can allow all user initiated syncs without confirmation To do this select No for Confirm User Initiated Syncs in Settings amp Support sheet row 18 Settings sheet Row 10 What is OnGr rid d Sky Ky e Ln Go to OnGri rm d Sk y eT S OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 94 Frequently Asked Questions Q1 My customer s property is partially a residential space and partially a commercial space she has a home office How do I account for this in the OnGrid Tool The Tool s financial analysis approaches residential and commercial properties differently For the residential case electricity cost savings are treated on a pre tax basis in the IRR analysis while the commercial case is treated on an after tax basis see http www ongrid net papers PaybackOnSolarSERG pdf for pre tax vs after tax discussion Because of this fundamental distinction in the financial analysis the proportion of the solar system attributed to the residential portion of the prope
4. OK in the form you ll notice that the Pricing sheet is no longer visible At the same location on the Settings sheet click Show Pricing Sheet to enter your password and make the Pricing sheet visible again Ideally you shouldn t need to access the Pricing sheet very often after setting it up Be aware that even though you ve hidden the Pricing sheet pricing information still appears in the System Pricing amp Results section on the Inputs sheet which you may or may not consider Excel security is far from bullet proof If someone really wants to extract pricing data from your OnGrid file they will The only way to ensure the security of your OnGrid data is to make sure only trustworthy people have access to your OnGrid files OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 49 confidential To hide the info on the Inputs sheet as well click the Hide Pricing Info on Inputs Sheet link in the Pricing Sheet section on the Settings sheet Pricing Allowances Costs specific to a certain customer can be added directly to the System Pricing amp Results section on the Inputs sheet The benefits to putting this specific data on the Inputs sheet rather than the Pricing sheet 1 You can quickly see what costs are unique to a certain customer 2 You can keep the data on the Pricing sheet general and therefore applicable to all your customers 3 You can avoid unhiding the Pricing sheet if it s hidden SYSTEM PRICING amp R
5. A Home lt yout Tables left corner means you re l l in Excel 2011 Edit _ S Fill Calibri Body Paste CP Clear 7 B E U If not in Excel 2011 click on Excel in the Excel menu and then click on About Excel If the form s first line is Microsoft Excel 2004 for Mac then you re in Excel 2004 OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 2 About Excel Find out if you re using Excel 2004 by looking at the first line in the About Excel form Microsoft Excel 2004 for Mac Version 11 5 4 090302 2004 Microsoft Corporation All rights reserved System Requirements OnGrid files can be used on both the PC and the Mac All OnGrid files are Microsoft Excel workbooks They won t work in any program other than Microsoft Excel You don t need the entire Microsoft Office suite to run OnGrid files you only need Excel which can be purchased separately from the other Office programs On the PC OnGrid files are compatible with Excel 2003 Excel 2007 Excel 2010 and Excel 2013 The OnGrid Tool won t run in earlier Excel versions notification provided at start up On the Mac OnGrid files are compatible with Excel 2004 and Excel 2011 OnGrid files don t work in Excel 2008 for Mac because the VBA programming language is omitted in this version of Excel OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 3 OnGrid Tool User Precautions and Security OnGrid Disclaimer Pl
6. In the form that appears select the option for Trust all documents from this publisher and click OK assuming you re comfortable with trusting OnGrid OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 10 Microsoft Office Security Options Security Alert Macro Macro Macros have been disabled Macros might contain viruses or other security hazards Do not enable this content unless you trust the source of this file Note The digital signature ts valid but the signature ts from a publisher whom you have not yet chosen to trust More information File Path C Users Bishop Desktop OnGridTool_2009 11 25 xls Signature Signed by OnGrid Solar Energy Systems Certificate expiration 5 2 2011 Certificate issued by VeriSign Class 3 Code Signing 2004 CA Show Signature Details Help protect me from unknown content recommended Trust all documents from this publisher Open the Trust Center In Excel 2003 Expect to see a Security Warning form when opening the OnGrid Installer Key file for the first time Security Warning C Users Bishop Desktop OnGridT ool_2009 11 25 xls contain cros fee OnGrid Solar Energy Systems Macros may contain viruses It is usually safe to disable functionality Always trust macros from this publisher In the warning prompt make OnGrid Solar a trusted publisher by checking the box for Always trust macros from this publisher and clicking Enable Macros assuming you
7. Ship Full User Acme Solar 123 123 1234 123 123 3456 cell The information in the header style s print preview matches what s on the form Salesperson Cell Phone Salesperson Name Required Vendor Name Required Salesperson Work Phone Ship Full User Acme Solar 123 123 1234 To remove the cell phone label or any other label from the header or footer double click it Once you ve got the header s content right you ll probably want to adjust the header s formatting This is where the multipage to the right of the Label Options listbox comes in Label Options Salesperson Name Required ip Full User Vendor Name Required Acme Solar Current Selection po fT Copyright Vendor and or OnG Acme Solar and or O Info Page 1 Font Margins Left Right Auto Align Align 2 Logo Copyright Vendor and or OnGi Acme Solar and or O Copyright OnGrid Solar OnGrid Solar Copyright OnGrid All Rights Re OnGrid Solar All Right Overall Font Name Header Font Size Footer Font Size Company Logo image Arial 25 19 C Verdana afe afe Calibri Page Number 1of5 x Personalized Caption Bold Header Font Bold Footer Font fo The Header Form s multipage shows different options based on what tab is selected at the top of the multipage OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 69 Changing the Header Font Type amp Font Size Under the Font
8. Tropased iyase Cort pared wae pa tees ame ae woes bamer Padena Tus rector 20x namens Latip Rae me we hgh ae pet Lyman B Car Weve S Keeney CRS AL Ara A Aw acer 1 Dam Camerman NEDO etre tant EMA Arne TDBB BETA memene 5 3 Sen Pours Chaneed Uata Bate Arevnge Fetus 10 Bow CEE AC Wan Dve Z5 poate n wil preside sonal seswa of 6710 799 dep he orama HEM OET merman 8 reese hat Koi pag ioi kost i 3 pee nunnumunun ii f iana aia a S Bsa w rimened oneen ma wan sasea aatas be INR tans of COD owes 25 pome Compar Areal Sam of Ritam Ostal Reeders Pa a Maiba Ap Ti mati ot ASI d Pia gaats Pee wng Lee Aga Dach Partam iana Samp EL ow Tag ee Sypee Coe 6 ecortnes Spader Lapta Cont ath Fem oven Attn ene 4 am Setorani Bevel wete isep itere ve pem Loreng Eran Syden Uareaec a l 21 of pon ryen caet pa yas Dete Ainet a DIO per a Yow E um TW Os Fe ed ae rime ue frd n a Sate To Catt Teel Dap Bast Fet Tan Cond Dosa mines 1I he Pt Ripe Jap Cape Syren Cont se a WES yar Kote Seed Dapena A re ocean Feira Ceres ann ws IA I Genk e ae Recs A epee Trt wi Denet oe Sea Qeitactow ien of Aah eoet Document Workbook The Document Workbook is structured similarly to the Proposal Workbook but without charts and financial timelines It contains documents both for the customer herself e g sales contract introductory letter and for third parties such as utilities net metering agreement reba
9. allowing you to incorporate more shading data without loosing data already incorporated To transfer the shading data for a site location back into the Active Shading Table click on the related A Spot button A B C 0 E F G H J K L ed Y Ww A Y Z AA AB AC 40 AE AF Shading Inputs Store Shading Data Reset Active Shade Tabi Load Shading Data Load Shading Avera Jump to User Defined Insolation Transfer SunEge or Return to Inputs Pathfinder Data _vSpott _7Spot2 via Deppa i All 4 Select HK Spot Ml Spot z 7 Spot 3 FSpot 4 4 Spot 3 4 Spot 4 Spots Spots spots O Spot4 Shading sheet Row 1 OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 53 Averaging Shade Data in the Tool Rather than loading an property average file from the SolMetric or Pathfinder software you may want to bring data for the four corners of the array into the OnGrid Tool separately and then average them here This way you ll see which corners have the biggest shading issues To do this first load your four corners storing each in a Spot before loading a new one into the Active Table Once you have all four corners stored in the OnGrid Tool hit the All 4 Spots averaging button at cell Z3 to load them into the Active Shade Table You may want to take an average for less than four spots at the property In which case select the storage spots to be included at cell AD3 and then hit the Select Spots button If you d like to learn mor
10. kWh in 2nd contract S REC 2nd contract length 2014 2016 Viewing the IRR Timeline with After Tax Numbers Converting dollars to pre tax equivalents is appropriate for a residential customer s IRR analysis However looking at pre tax numbers isn t particularly convenient if you re trying to follow the basic logic of rate and incentive calculations This is why you might want select the option button for View Analysis w o Adjustment above the 25 year timeline on the Overview sheet Doing this will only affect the numbers in the Overview sheet timeline It has no bearing on the actual customer proposal Overview sheet Row 14 After Tax Only Payback Analysis Operating Savings OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 55 To learn more about the pre tax versus after tax distinction refer to the OnGrid financial article http www ongrid net papers PaybackOnSolarSERG pdf OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 56 Chapter 10 Proposals After entering and reviewing your customer s data you can print out a proposal that s tailored specifically to that customer By default the Tool is loaded with several proposal templates Proposal templates contain the following 1 A template has a list of printable proposal pages in the order with which they Il be printed 2 A template has a name that will help you identify it 3 A template has a particular header and footer that contains information such as your
11. t want to load if any Then click the button labeled Load 9 Now OnGrid Tool Transfer Too Data Backup File to Load From OnGrid Tool_BACKUP_ 2009 12 27 02 44PM xls Cancel Load Data to Load v File amp Folder Data Settings sheet Load Now M Custom Inputs last 15 rows of each Inputs sheet section v Pricing sheet data Select All lv Custom Sheets Blanki amp Blank2 Unselect All Logo User Keys V Don t remove User Keys already in this Tool copy User Defined Rate Schedules Don t remove UD rate schedules already in this Tool copy lv User Defined Incentives amp Tax Related Schedules Don t remove UD incentive data already in this Tool copy lv Module amp Inverter data Don t remove component data already in this Tool copy v Proposal Page Lists Don t remove proposal page lists already in this Tool copy lv Header amp Footer Styles Don t remove header styles already in this Tool copy V Document Page Lists Don t remove document page lists already in this Tool copy You can load all data or specific data from a Tool backup file Recovering Customer Data With a Backup File If your Customer Database gets lost or corrupted you can replace it with a Customer Database backup located in your backup folder assuming that you re using the automatic backup feature discussed in Automatic Backups in this chapter The customer database backup 1s a full duplicate of the customer database so it s r
12. tab in the Header Form s multipage located to the right of the Label Options listbox you can change the header content s font type and font size As you re adjusting the font size we recommend you toggle between the Header Form and the Template Form double clicking the appropriate proposal template in the Template Form to see if the header font size seems right relative to the template page s other content When going between the forms it s quicker to use the GoTo buttons at the top of the forms rather than closing the form and clicking the other form s link on the Settings sheet Overriding Page Margins Page margin settings encompassed in Microsoft Excel s page setup properties determine how the header and footer is positioned relative to the page s main content and its edges Page margins also determine how close the page s content gets to the page s edges Another useful feature of the page setup properties is the page scaling The scaling percentage determines how much content will fit on a single page and how big the content and the header appears sort of like the zoom feature for the spreadsheet itself To get your proposals formatted properly you might find it necessary to adjust one or more of the page setup properties You can either adjust these properties directly from the Header Form under the multipage s Margins tab or from within the Proposal Workbook discussed in Page Set
13. Customer Database Then navigate to the folder where you d like to keep the new database and click Save OnGrid Too Add or remove a customer database X Download New Customer Database p File Name Location on Computer or Server D 1 OnGrid CustData xls OnGrid Files Solar Desktop Bishop Users C Select a Customer Database Change Wkb Name or Location Remove the Selected Wkb Close If the Tool can t find one of the files on the Settings sheet it will let you know by painting the row pink When you see pink click on the Add or Remove link and re select the file Customer Databases Settings sheet Row 296 File Name Location on Computer or Server 1 OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 19 At least when you re starting out you ll probably want to work with a single Customer Database Proposal Workbook and Document Workbook As you become more experienced you might have good reasons to work simultaneously with more than one five is the Tool s limit Automatic Backups Automatic backups are useful in rare cases when things go wrong This can include e Excel crashes while you re working in the Tool e you forget to save Tool data when closing e you accidentally delete your latest Master File copy or Customer Database copy e your latest Master File or Customer Database has become corrupt To avoid major loss of data we strongly recommend you take advantage of OnGrid s automatic backup feature It
14. Fitto 1 page s wide n by 1 page s tall vi Show Quick Preview Scaling options change how the active document is printed and Page Setup displayed in page layout view Preview Supplies Save as PDF ave PDF as PostScript OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 65 Adjusting Print Resolution on the Mac On the Mac High or 300 dpi resolution is optimal for printing and creating pdf files of OnGrid proposals To adjust the resolution click the Page Setup button in the lower left corner of the print dialog box In the Page Setup dialog box that appears make sure the print quality is set to High or 300 dp Page Setup Margins Header Footer Sheet Orientation t sl t 1 Ei Portrait 2e Landscape Options Scaling On the Mac make sure the P print resolution is set to high Fit to 1 page s wide by 1 BE when printing and creating Adjustto 54 normal size Lae pdf files of OnGrid proposals First page number amp Normal Print quality 300 dpi P E Cancel Proposal Headers The proposal s header and footer contain specific information like your name and company name Unlike the rest of the proposal page s content headers and footers are designed from within the Tool A benefit to applying them from the Tool is that your proposal can include pages from multiple sheets or even multiple Proposal Work
15. Flow 276 017 NPV The Inputs sheet summary pane is the dashboard for your job so to speak Along with the customer s name it provides the most critical information about the job such as the system size the old electric bill versus the bill with solar estimated annual kWh usage and on site production It also provides a breakdown of the financial benefits As you re adjusting variables notice how the numbers change in the summary pane We hope that continued observation of these relationships will help you gain a better understanding of how the nuances of electric rates and system design impact the overall status of the system There are two charts in the summary pane To the left is the cash flow chart In the chart the tan slope in the background represents the customer s inflation adjusted electricity expenditures should she decide not to install a system The gray slope in the foreground represents the solar powered customer s loan cost over its term The spike in the middle reflects expected inverter replacement To the right of the loan chart is the tiers chart By default this chart is only visible 1f your customer is on or will go to a tiered rate after solar The green represents the portion of the customer s tiered charges that will be offset by solar the avoided amount of tiered electricity Note that electricity in the highest tiers the most expensive is offset first See the manual s FAQs for a more detailed ex
16. List Update 1 19 2010 SAVE Changes amp Close CANCEL Changes amp Close Select Modules Select Inverters Module Dimensions Atlantis Energy AES SS 100 W Full Module List Your Short Module List Aavid Thermalloy BP Solar BP3220N Abound Solar Sharp ND 208U1 Advanced Renewable Energy aleo solar Alps Technology Andalay Solar Apollo Solar Energy Applied Solar ASUN Energy Atlantis Energy AES SS 100 C Drag Module Auxin Solar to Right BP Solar Brightwatts CA Solar Canadian Solar CEEG Shanghai Solar Science and Technology Centrosolar America Changzhou Nesl Solartech Changzhou Trina Solar Energy Chi Mei Energy China Sunergy Chinalight Haoyu Photovoltaic Technology Beijir Chint Solar Zhejiang CSG Pvtech v To remove a module from the list click it and hit Delete on your keyboard The module amp inverter form as it appears on the PC there s an arrow button between the lists on the Mac To add a module from the full list to your short list On the PC gt Option 1 Select the module and press the right arrow key on your keyboard gt Option 2 Click and drag the module from the left list to the right list On the Mac gt Option 1 Select the module and press the right arrow key on your keyboard gt Option 2 Click the right arrow button between the two lists after selecting the module To delete a mo
17. Tool and look forward to helping you master it Determining Your Excel Version Because we occasionally refer to specific Excel versions in the user manual it 1l help to know which version of Microsoft Excel is on your computer To find out which Excel version you have On the PC Open your copy of Microsoft Excel Look at the upper left corner of the Excel window OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 1 If it says File followed by Home you re in Excel 2010 or Excel 2013 File followed by Home in Excel s upper left r corner means you re in a Excel 2010 or Excel 2013 A circle in the Excel window s upper left corner means you re in Excel 2007 Otherwise you re in Excel 2003 or earlier If you re in Excel 2003 or earlier click on Help in the Excel menu and then click on About Microsoft Office Excel If the Excel form s first line is Microsoft Office Excel 2003 you re in Excel 2003 otherwise you re in an earlier version of Excel About Microsoft Excel Find out if you re using Excel 2003 by looking at BI Microsoft Office Excel 2003 41 8302 8221 SP3 the first line in the About Microsoft Excel form On the Mac Open your copy of Microsoft Excel If it says Home in the upper left corner of the Excel window you re in Excel 2011 1 Oba o amp OL Calibri Body 12 wji B I Home in Excel s upper
18. aa a 91 Other Sky Related Thehhehts amp Prompts erreren nina E lone aeons 93 Frequently Asked Questions ssseeseecccsccccccccscccccccccsccecccccsccccccccsscccecososcceccecsssceeeeoo 95 Q1 My customer s property is partially a residential space and partially a commercial space she has a home office How do I account for this in the OnGrid Tool ee 95 Q2 Pd like to use a time period other than the Tool s default twenty five year timeline Is ENNIS DOSS DE cdecuatncsantacacusectts saenandaichvbewastsnedtiuca Reese tusancaaaeesucteacwarcedate suetet eeancndatanneruccewaecdatosamnees 95 Q3 I m practically offsetting my customer s entire bill but the tier graphic in the header says the customer is in tier two or higher after solar Why cccccccssssseeeeeceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees 95 Q4 Why can t I just enter the annual available sunlight after shading as a percentage of the COAL WILMOUL Sade h cece sitet a ctacitovide a tose tecmscante dese a E S 96 Q5 The smart financing line of credit timeline doesn t make sense to me What are your NSod B18 80 C0 ho 6 it a na a aa a eT eT 96 OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 Chapter 1 Introduction Solar energy systems have many positive benefits for the environment and local communities It s becoming increasingly obvious that for many situations solar also has good or oftentimes outstanding financial benefits These financial benefits are not yet obvious to many people
19. are several reasons you might want to periodically sync your OnGrid Tool customer data with OnGrid Sky e Quick Data Access Quickly access your latest customer data revisions on any internet connected computer either through the OnGrid Tool or through a web browser e Data Consolidation Keep your customer data organized and consolidated e Data Sharing Easily share customer data with specific colleagues or all colleagues at your company e Backup Security Keep a secure backup of your customer data with quick and easy restore in case of local data loss e Staff s Project Overview Monitor the activity and customer data of salespeople under your supervision if applicable e Lead Management Track important lead details like status and probability in a streamlined browser based interface e Smart Customer Viewing See all your customer scenarios clearly in the Sky interface e Customer Site Mapping See your customer locations as thumbnails on a Google map with easy zooming and other mapping tools e Much more to come Licensed users are those who have signed and faxed in the signature page of the OnGrid Tool license agreement found here http www ongrid net index php page signup OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 90 Who Can Sync Customer Data Any currently valid licensed user of the OnGrid Tool can sync customer data with OnGrid Sky Your First Customer Data Sync Once you ve completed the basic setup
20. around the Tool and accessing Tool forms Your proficient use of shortcut keys will save you the tediousness of scrolling up and down on the Inputs sheet And in general will make you much less dependent on the mouse for you keyboard people We ve tried to make the shortcuts easy to remember To see the available Tool keyboard shortcuts click on the no mouse icon in the upper left corner of the Inputs sheet header Inputs sheet Row 2 Click to see useful Excel shortcuts GO TO SECTION Press Control and the following letter not case sensitive to go the applicable Inputs sheet section A Customer Information Mnemonic enter the customer A ddress in this section E Electric Rates amp Usage Mnemonic E lectric rates T Solar System amp Site Variables Mnemonic enter the array T ilt in this section System Sizing Mnemonic select the M odule type in this section Incentives Mnemonic I ncentives System Pricing amp Results Mnemonic D ollars TOGGLE SECTION LEVEL Press Control and the applicable letter above TWICE to change the level of the Inputs sheet section This toggles the section between level 2 where you ll usually want to be and level 0 minimized SET LEVEL OF ALL SECTIONS Press Control and the number key 1 2 or 3 to open all Inputs sheet sections to level 1 2 or 3 respectively Press Control and the number key 0 or the grave accent to minimize all Inpu
21. data Another reason is that you might want to have all variables visible all the time it can be helpful to know what s not applicable to your customer To turn off the view filter click on the Sheet Settings link in the first row of the Settings sheet Then in the Inputs Sheet section select Off for the view filter Settings sheet Row 403 Inputs View Filter OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 30 Selecting Rates amp Adding User Defined Rates Your Tool copy has pre loaded rates for many utilities across the United States However there may be times when your customer s rate isn t in our database In which case you can add it directly to the Inputs sheet as a user defined rate Before we get into user defined rates let s talk about selecting utilities and rates in general The first step is to make sure you ve entered your customer s state in the Customer Information section The state you enter determines the utilities available below CUSTOMER INFORMATION 4 2 3 inputs sheet Row 21 SITE INFO Customer Site Street Address1 Customer Site Street Address2 Customer Site City Customer Site State Customer Site Zip Junsdiction Once you ve confirmed that the right state is selected scroll to the Electric Rates amp Usage section in row 142 Click on the Utility Name cell and activate its drop down list In the list look for a utility that you intend to work wi
22. default customer data Use the Template Form for quick previewing Printing proposals with actual customer data is discussed in Printing Proposals in this chapter Adding amp Removing Proposal Templates To create a new proposal template select lt new template gt in the Template Form s upper right listbox After selecting lt new template gt notice that there are no pages listed in the lower right listbox Select a page in the lower left listbox that you d like to add to your new proposal Then press the right arrow key on your keyboard to move it from the lower left to lower right listbox Another option to move pages from the lower left listbox to the lower right listbox On the PC Click and drag the page over to the lower right list box On the Mac Select the page and click the right arrow button located between the two listboxes OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 59 After adding pages to a new template you might want to change the order with which they print After selecting the page you d like to move press the Control key and the up or down arrow on your keyboard Another option to move pages up or down 1n the list On the PC Click and drag the page up or down On the Mac Select the page and click the up or down button to the right of the listbox Proposal Templates Long Medium Short Commercial Short Residential Timelines lt new template gt Pages in Selected Template iol On your ke
23. emai eta Oe ee 70 Header Ane MICU esna war telutenivalad sab eaecunniated uantien alata eousacawnents 71 PNG LO Oea E tals aaeiedsashesn lasapaaucia antec iysond eucinanetarwsadiauiaaeteed I2 Chapter Eis Documeni Soira EEEE Eeoae 73 Chapter 12 Designing Custom Proposal Pages cccccceceeesecccccccceccccecsesesceesesse 74 Ond Names Excel Cell ReterencecN ames nissin n E 75 Ond Timen S iori a E E E a Goss 77 10 Gaia CNAS ern E E E E 78 Edino Proposal Formuli zarre a E E tue tmeecadiounes 81 MO SC A WMC TL ONNS sictie tanh elect barn E ciao iene A TTA S 82 Adding amp Removing Printable Pages 20 0 0 ccecccccccccccceseseseeceeceeeeaeeeseeeceseeesaeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaeaenees 83 Redemning the Page SATiro nd vdereteinad brane te ead ede elaeteiead nade eens 86 Removm o Proposal Pan eS ror E T aban 86 HALE eA 0 e E merece E ee cea nse tr E D ee E A ee nr E E re E A A E 87 Pace SetuP Properties inasa a a a a ee Shee aan 87 VIE WINS New Pao E Soane e e ENE 88 Chapter 13 Designing Custom Document Pages ccccccccsssssssccccccsssssssccoees 89 Chapter 14 Syncing with OnGrid SKY sssccccccsssssssssscccccssssssccccccsssssssccsees 90 Whats ONGA od Si haepere ne Metre ke ce eM TSEC UD Tr ree a eer veL eo NNT CTOs Re rrmN et Minna 90 Why Sync Customer Data with OnGrid Sky i cececcsccccccceeceeseeeeeceeeeeeeeeeeseececeeeeeaaaeeeses 90 Who Can Sync Customer Data eede eerie a a a saait 91 Your Firs Customer Dala S VNC rasanea
24. i Click and drag a chart to moveit The maximum resale value of 141 014 based on estomated remaining savings to 74 years Lt To resize a chart hover your cursor over the chart s corner until the cursor turns into a white two sided arrow Once you get the two sided arrow click and drag towards the chart s center to make it smaller or away from the chart s center to make it larger 50 000 00 0 00 Years 1 ame fje Resale Value J m p A Click and drag the chart s corner tip to resize it The formatting for charts tends to vary from one computer to the next If a chart you ve pasted into your proposals doesn t look quite right we encourage you to reformat it Reformatting OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 79 would mostly involve selecting an overlapping component within the chart and dragging its edge away from the interfering component Accumulated Savings Accumulated Savings 30 000 00cGumulated Net Savings 25 000 00 20 000 00 15 000 00 When Financed diir Click and drag the edge of a chart s 5 000 00 l interior component to make it look right 1 5 000 00 10 000 00 Years 30 000 00 25 000 00 20 000 00 15 000 00 10 000 00 5 000 00 0 00 5 000 00 10 000 00 Years 0 00 on your computer mAccumulated Net Annual Savings with Loan Accumulated Net Savings When Financed 19 21 23 25 m Accumu
25. in the Proposal Workbooks section of the Tool s Settings sheet or you can open it from outside the Tool as you would any other Excel workbook In the Proposal Workbook go to the Short sheet In the upper left corner of the sheet you ll see the page that was just print previewed in the Tool Any changes you make to this page will be reflected in the print preview back in the Tool so long as you save your changes before closing the Proposal Workbook Proposal Workbooks File Name Quickly open a Proposal Workbook by clicking on its name osals xls 1 OnGrd Pr Settings sheet Row 312 OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 74 OnGrid Names amp Excel Cell Reference Names In the Proposal Workbook you can set up custom proposal pages that will automatically incorporate the data of whatever customer you print a proposal for Once the custom proposal pages are created they can be used over and over again with no extra effort on your part To see how this automation works consider the following The customer s site address is shown on the top of OnGrid s short commercial page While the text on the sheet says an actual address 117 S Mary Ave the Excel formula bar says CustFullSiteAddr site Location 117 50 Mary Ave 30 sunnyvale CA 94087 CustFullSiteAddr is called an Excel cell reference name or name The cell doesn t actually contain the customer s site
26. just won t be available for printing from the Tool any longer OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 6 The Generic Header Your page s header and footer will be added from within the Tool So there s no need to include your name your company s name and a copyright notice on the page itself nor any other information that you prefer to show in the header or footer such as page numbers It will be easier to account for the header during the page design process if you have a header actually appear when previewing pages from within the Proposal Workbook To have a generic header show up at the top of all pages go to the Settings section on the Proposal Workbook s Settings amp Support sheet Click the link Generic Print Preview Header to toggle the generic header on and off This setting has no impact on your proposal s appearance when printed from the Tool its only purpose is to aid you in the design process should you find it helpful Settings Ci Ganenc Pit Proview Header ts ON gt ie aa SR RE m Number of Lines in Header im Number of Lines in Footer Proposal Workbook Settings sheet Row 14 Page Setup Properties In Overriding Page Margins chapter 10 we discussed how to override page setup properties from within the Tool s Header Form You d do this to adjust the gap between the page s content the page s header and the page s edge You d also do this to make the page s conte
27. name company name copyright notice proposal page numbers logo etc You can use OnGrid proposal templates as they are modify OnGrid templates or create your own custom templates In this chapter we ll discuss e How to add or remove pages to from a proposal template and change the page order How to create your own proposal templates How to print proposals How to modify the header amp footer of your proposal templates How to create your own header styles In a separate chapter we ll discuss how to modify current printable proposal pages and how to create new ones within an OnGrid Proposal Workbook Editing Proposal Templates To modify current proposal templates or create new ones you ll need to access the Template Form Do this by clicking Proposal Template Design amp Review in the Proposal Workbooks section of the Settings sheet Proposal Workbooks Settings sheet FileName Location on Computer or Server Row 312 4 OnGrid Proposalsxis OnGrid Files Solar Desktop Bishop Users C ax knn Pr IT Pr OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 57 OnGrid Tool Proposal Template Design amp Review x Info Hidden gt Go To Header Form Change Name or Header Style of Selected Template CLOSE Proposal Workbooks Proposal Templates Header Style OnGrid Proposals xls Header Style 1 Medium Header Style 2 Short Commercial Header Style 3 Short Residential Header Style 3 Timelines Head
28. process outlined below syncing customer data with OnGrid Sky will be as simple as clicking an OnGrid Tool link and entering your OnGrid Sky credentials Sync Setup Steps see sections below for details Confirm OnGrid Sky Account Assign Customers to Salespeople in the OnGrid Tool Click Confirm My Sky Account in the OnGrid Tool to activate your OnGrid Sky account Only applicable for customers last saved in OnGrid Tool version 4 Sync Customer Data with OnGrid Sky Click the OnGrid Tool link Sync Customer Database with OnGrid Sky to complete the process Confirm your OnGrid Sky Account If you haven t confirmed your OnGrid Sky account yet a highlighted Confirm My Sky Account link will appear in row 19 of the OnGrid Tool s Inputs sheet Click the link to confirm your OnGrid Sky account On the Sky confirmation webpage enter New Feature i Learn About OnGrid sky yOUr preferred login name or use the default and a private personal Confirm My Sky Account password Then click Activate Account OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 91 Choose a login name billy wilder bike com 4 100 characters not case sensitive Choose a password eeeveee 6 20 characters case sensitive Password confirmation eoccee OnGrid Sky Confirmation Webpage When syncing your customer data in the OnGrid Tool you ll be prompted for your Sky login name and password the OnGrid T
29. re comfortable with trusting OnGrid OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 11 Enabling Macros in Excel 2004 Mac and Excel 2011 Mac This section only applies to those using Microsoft Excel 2004 or Excel 2011 for Macintosh Every time you open an OnGrid file in Excel you ll be asked whether to enable or disable macros Always select Enable Macros Microsoft Excel The workbook you are opening contains macros Some macros may contain viruses that could be harmful to your computer If you are sure this workbook is from a trusted source Tell Me More J click Enable Macros If you are not sure and want to prevent any macros from running click Disable erates Macros When opening an OnGrid file always select Enable Macros when Enable Macros Do Not Open Open E sable Macros prompted You have the option to allow all macros to run automatically but it isn t recommended Be aware that malicious and or poorly written macros can do serious damage to your computer Enable macros for non OnGrid workbooks at your own risk OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 12 Completing Installation The Installer Key file will download a new OnGrid folder to a location of your choosing After the Tool is downloaded a prompt will ask you to either install the OnGrid suite or select OnGrid files already on your computer Assuming you re using the OnGrid Tool for the first time click the Install but
30. u NUn eee eee g M _ y ae n 7 M 4 gt OnGrid Names Short Medium Lon A M 4 Long Timelines Sheetl A3 COU One way to refer to a named cell is by typing the sign and then clicking directly on the named cell This is easier if you have a second window for the Proposal Workbook as shown in this graphic see the following tip OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 76 Tip You might want to use a second window for the Proposal Workbook when creating custom proposals With a second window you can simultaneously see your custom proposal page on a proposal sheet and the list of OnGrid names on the Names sheet This makes adding names to your proposals much easier since you won t have to constantly go back and forth between the sheets To create a second window in Excel 2007 PC Excel 2010 PC and Excel 2013 PC click on View and then New Window in the blue ribbon To create a second window in Excel 2003 PC and Excel 2004 Mac click on Window and then New Window in the menu After clicking Window you might need to click the menu list s down arrow to get the New Window option Once the new window is created resize and position the windows for optimal viewing OnGrid Timelines In your proposals you may want to demonstrate the status of your customer s solar investment over the twenty five years of the analysis For this look at the OnGrid Timeli
31. users of each scenario version OnGrid Sky Customer List Webpage Name City Company Y Type Y Lead Status Y Sales Rep Modified Y History rl Cooper Bill 2 Denver Residential Proposal Follow Up 83 Billy Wilder May 13 2012 1 44 PM User History Scenario System Size STC System Gross Price Watt STC Utility Modified w discount 1 98 kW 12 741 6 43 Xcel May 13 2012 1 44 PM no name 1 98 kW 11 583 5 85 Xcel May 13 2012 1 44 PM i Assign New Customers to Salespeople New to OnGrid Tool version 5 each customer can be assigned to a specific salesperson at your company To assign yourself or another salesperson at your company to a new customer select the salesperson in Inputs sheet row 15 before saving the new customer to your local customer database The salespeople available for assignment depends on your permission status at your company which can be set by eligible users in OnGrid Sky For more on this see the OnGrid Sky guide http www ongrid net ongrid sky support text guides ongrid sky guide pdf OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 93 OnGrid Tool Beta v5 17 2012 OnGrid Solar All Rights Reserved Active User Inputs sheet Row 10 Active User Company Date of Analysis Note in the image above that the active user isn t necessarily the salesperson assigned to the loaded customer The active user can enter and modify customer data on behalf of other salespeople Sync Confirmation Prompts
32. will run in the background you ll barely notice when backups are created The Backups section starts on row 343 of the Settings sheet Backups Settings sheet Row 343 Location on Computer OnGrid Backups OnGrid Files Solar Desktop Bishop UsersiC Change Backup Folder 30 minutes Tool User Data Automatic Backup Schedule 30 minutes Customer Databases Automatic Backup Schedule Keep latest 5 backups only Backup Folder Cleaning applies to each backup type Yes Disable Excel AutoRecover for this workbook All backup files are stored in the backup folder indicated on the Settings sheet If you selected Auto Set Up for the Tool installation a backup folder was created for you and put in the OnGrid Files folder As with the OnGrid files you can change the backup folder s location at any time Just be sure to indicate the new location on the Settings sheet If you re taking advantage of OnGrid s backup feature we recommend you keep Excel s standard auto recover feature disabled for the Tool But if you d like to enable it select No in row 355 of the Settings sheet OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 20 Recovering User Data With a Backup File To load a Tool backup file click on Load Tool Info from Backup File in the Backups section of the Settings sheet In the backup form that appears select a Tool backup file on your computer and uncheck the types of data you don
33. 2013 5 Chapter 2 OnGrid Tool Suite Overview Document Wkb Master File Proposal Wkb settings print documents save user data print proposals save amp load customer data Customer Database OnGrid sky OnGrid Tool The OnGrid Tool file is where you l be most of the time It s where you enter customer data review results and print proposals amp documents It contains the engine that performs all the production and financial calculations The OnGrid Tool will be referred to as the Tool hereafter Although you ll have at least six different OnGrid files on your computer after installation the only file that you ll normally need to open is the Tool The Tool is the interface with which you can access all other OnGrid files From within the Tool you ll be able to enter your customer data and print out automatically complied proposals and documents immediately upon completing the installation OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 We d recommend that you get acquainted with the Tool before opening other OnGrid files Default file name OnGrid Tool xls Master File Your user data is saved into the Master File User data is all data you enter into the Tool that isn t specific to a customer see Saving Tool Data in chapter 4 for elaboration The Master File also contains OnGrid data such as rates and incentives You ll never need to open the Master File directl
34. ESULTS 4 2 3 Inputs sheet Row 479 Base Cost per CEC rated watt Base Cost 7 05 per STC watt Base Cost 8 15 per PTC watt Base Cost 8 53 per CEC watt 331 System Base Cost 5 000 service entrance upgrade OV 4 hb f Allowance 3 edit this text Allowance 4 edit this text Allowance 5 edit this text 31 System Total Cost OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 50 Chapter 8 The Shading Sheet If any features of your customer s property have the potential to shade the array it s very important to conduct a shading analysis and incorporate the results into the Tool This data should account for variations in available sunlight between different times of the day and year Go to the Shading sheet for the first array named Shading Array 1 You ll see a data table at the top of the Shading sheet surrounded by a white border Data entered into this table is applied to the Tool s system design and financial analysis Let s disregard the additional data tables below it for now The data table is designed to mimic the layout of the Solar Pathfinder a popular analog shading device December the month in which the sun is lowest in the sky is at the top of the table June the month in which the sun is highest in the sky is at the bottom Where each row represents a month of the year each column represents a half hour increment of an average day for each month The Solar Pathfinder will indicate the times of day wh
35. Fs on the PC Apart from printing out a hardcopy of a proposal for a customer you can create a pdf file to send her electronically In order to create pdf files you ll need to have a pdf maker writer on your computer Along with the industry standard Adobe Acrobat there are several free pdf makers available Free pdf makes used successfully with the OnGrid Tool include gt CutePDF http www cutepdf com gt Bullzip PDF http www bullzip com products pdf info php gt PrimoPDF http www primopdf com Excel 2007 Excel 2010 and Excel 2013 users The OnGrid Tool isn t currently compatible with the free Adobe pdf add in So your only option for creating pdf files of OnGrid proposals is to use a separate pdf maker as discussed above OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 62 Once a pdf maker is installer on your computer you can select it as your printer when printing a proposal within the Tool Print Printer Name Er CutePDF Writer Status 3 Type i Where i Comment m a as Print range All CutePDF Writer Fax HP Deskjet 3820 HP Photosmart C7200 series HP Photosmart C7200 series fax 5 Microsoft Office Document Image C Page s From Print what Selection Entire workbook Active sheet s Table E Ignore print areas Preview Find Printer _ Print to file Copies Number of copies Collate The pdf makers instal
36. General Utility Utility Name 17 0 gkWh Starting Current Rate Schedule Taniff 17 0 kWh _ Ending Future Solar Rate Schedule Tariff You can enter a k Wh amount directly in the starting amp ending rate cells Another option is to create a formal user defined rate 1 e UD rate Not only does the UD rate feature facilitate complicated rate schedules but will also allow you to use your UD rates for future customers UD rates are saved into the Master File To access the UD rate form put the Electric Rates amp Usage section in level 2 or 3 and click on Add or Review User Defined Rates ELECTRIC RATES amp USAGE Arizona Public Service Utility Name e a Startng Currert Rate Schedule Tariff Residential Tiered kWh ET 2 Ending Future Solar Rate Schedule Tar Residertial TOU EE View Utiity Info dd of Review User Defined Rates In the UD rate form you can enter six types of rates The button you click determines the types of data you ll be entering next Before clicking a button be sure to check the box for Same Rates Annually if your customer s rate schedule has the same rate charges year around with no distinction made between summer and winter For any rate type other than feed in you ll be able to enter a customer meter charge and a minimum charge These charges are both monthly By checking the box for demand charges you ll be able to enter demand charges after clicking a button OnGri
37. Header Form you can change the name of a header style at any time by typing the new name over the old name in the upper left box As with proposal templates use a short descriptive name rather than naming them for a particular customer Adding Content to Headers Take a look at the Label Options listbox in the middle of the Header Form All the items in this listbox are available for use in your header styles However you might prefer to keep your header footer designs minimal and put this additional information within the proposal page itself proposal design is discussed in chapter 12 As an example let s see how to add the salesperson s cell phone number to the currently loaded header In the form s Label Options listbox Salesperson Cell Phone is the 23 label By clicking directly on Salesperson Cell Phone the label will appear in the Current Selection box over to the right Label Options Current Selection 22 Salesperson Work Phone 123 123 1234 pos Salesperson Cell Phone x 23 Salesperson Cell Phone 123 123 3456 cell 24 Salesnersoan Faw 193 174 4547 Once it s selected the cell phone label can be added to the header by clicking a blank box in one of its five rows To see the revised header you d click the Print Preview button at the top of the form OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 68 Salesperson Name Required Vendor Name Required Salesperson Work Phone
38. Info The Settings sheet s Viewable Salespeople section lists all salespeople at your company whose customer data you have access to in your OnGrid Tool copy Who has access to whose data is controlled by your company in OnGrid Sky to learn more about this see the Sky guide http www ongrid net ongrid sky support text guides ongrid sky guide pdf To update your contact information or the contact information of a salesperson working under you click Edit Salesperson Contact Info in Settings sheet row 292 Notice in the contact info form that your user name vendor name and city aren t editable If you d like to change one of these things please fill out our online sign up form with your new information http www ongrid net payback signup html and send us an email letting us know you d like a new key accountsupport ongrid net If you re changing your user name or vendor name please also fax a signed license agreement with your new information available through the cited link Vendor Information Installer Information if different than vendor Ship Full User Authorized User Name 123 123 1234 Salesperson s work phone 123 123 3456 Salesperson s cell phone 123 123 4567 Salesperson s fax E fulluser acmesolar com Salesperson s email Salesperson s website Acme Solar Vendor Company Name 123 Ship Drive Bldg 3 Vendor street address 1 Vendor street address 2 Sunnyvale
39. OnGrid Solar ri ae OnGrid sanais SOLAR info ongrid net OnGrid Tool v5 User Manual Table of Contents Chapter 1 Introduction oo eccesccasscsanscececctscekeecncacevecsavcenceescechs lt tevetasstenceenceevevenscseeseasies 1 ete riven Your Excel VY CtStO 0d concdec sian tiensceaesisdseuicewahmepandanutinncetamide dae uitueedGadies denuienctoaabdodaease l SR re O ar penton E A E E EE E 3 OnGrid Tool User Precautions and Security cccccccccsssssesecceceeeceeeeeseeecceeeeseaeeeseeeeeeeeesaaaeenees 4 HONO Oe TiS A a S E E E E J Chapter 2 OnGrid Tool Suite Overview ssssssccceccssscccccccsseccecccossecccccosseececccsssseee 6 OE TOON E N E E E O E E A E E 6 WAE EE a E T A T TA AA TE TEES N O ET E E E E A E 7 Cartone NACA OS e A S T E 7 Proposal Work DOOM rasne e R E EEE T E 7 PO UNS EN OR OO rs terete cceratyc eee E E EE 8 Toe Mis aiek y P oes sate ees cree nvane S desea sashes sseeucuiunteaai E 9 Chapter 3 Installing OnGrid Filles cccsssssscccccsssssscsccccccsssssccccccccssscsscccees 10 Enabling Microsoft Excel Macros ccccccccccccceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees 10 Making OnGrid Solar a Trusted Publisher for PC cece ccccccssssseseeeeeeeceeeeeeeseeeeeeseeenaas 10 Enabling Macros in Excel 2004 Mac and Excel 2011 Mac cecececcecceccsssseeeeeeeeeeeeeaes 12 COTTE Le TS tA ac acne ccisna eee cececooestaa E N asaencanctesncceasaaneaesaecnece
40. Sections To make entering customer job information easier we ve divided the Inputs sheet into different sections Each section has a different focus but all sections are tied together in many ways CUSTOMER INFORMATION a 2 3 ELECTRIC RATES amp USAGE a es A SOLAR SYSTEM amp SITE VARIABLES 1 2 3 SYSTEM SIZING amp SPECIFICATIONS 1 2 3 INCENTIVES a a a e SYSTEM PRICING amp RESULTS a a a SALES CONTRACT INPUTS 1 gt Customer Information This section includes your customer s basic contact info and classification info customer type tax bracket etc gt Electric Rates and Usage Here you ll tell the Tool which utility company and rate schedules apply to your customer You ll enter the customer s monthly usage over the previous twelve months If your customer is currently on or will be on a Time of Use rate you ll specify her peak period usage percentage This section also covers demand quantities and charges efficiency and changes in expected usage gt Solar System and Site Variables In the third section you Il enter information relating to the solar array s This includes expected annual sunlight 1 e insolation at the site shading property and array features and system loss factors gt Incentives Your customer s federal state and local incentives Possible incentives to incorporate here are rebates performance based incentives tax credit
41. The Tool assumes that as a solar system owner receives tax benefits tax credits and depreciation if applicable those benefits will be put towards paying down principal on the line of credit Given our expectation that extra principal payments will happen we make the monthly line of credit payments lower than they d otherwise be for a standard loan in which additional pay downs of principal are not expected So in the first month of the line of credit term the interest costs may be higher than the monthly payment causing the overall amount due to increase rather than decrease called negative amortization Notice that if we didn t negatively amortize the line of credit and a ten year term was selected for example the effective line of credit term might be more like five or six years since so much extra principal is reduced through the tax benefit payments We want to spread the fixed monthly payments out over the intended time period specified in the Inputs sheet while still putting received tax benefits towards the principal thus negative amortization at the outset The impact for commercial is even more complicated because of depreciation which is assumed to be put towards principal as the benefits are received OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 96 Other things to consider when reviewing the Tool s line of credit timeline 1 the loss of annual tax deductions for electricity no longer purchased their bill drops so their busine
42. The primary purpose of the OnGrid Tool is to help solar representatives accurately demonstrate the financial benefits a customer can expect for her particular solar energy system The OnGrid Tool is designed to do as many of the calculations as possible and automatically prepare the related proposals so that the Tool user can spend more of her time getting leads doing site visits and getting contracts signed Another purpose of the OnGrid Tool is to help solar representatives design the optimal system for the customer whether it be a system that offsets the customer s entire electric bill or a system that fits a limited roof space or meets a customer s budget etc As you ll see the design process is inherently linked with the development of accurate financial analyses We hope you ll find other benefits to using the OnGrid Tool many of which will be discussed below While we have tried to make the OnGrid Tool as straightforward and intuitive as possible it takes time and effort to learn how to get the most out of it There are a substantial number of variables that go into designing and pricing a solar energy system Proper use of the OnGrid Tool requires the ability to recognize assess and accurately reflect these numerous variables Hopefully with the use of this manual and the OnGrid Tool conference calls you ll quickly gain the understanding you need to master the OnGrid Tool We greatly appreciate your interest in the OnGrid
43. Vendor City CA Vendor state 94086 Vendor zip 123 1231234 Vendor main phone Vendor alternate phone 123 123 4567 Vendor fax Vendor main email Vendor website Cont Lic Vendar state license Cont Lic Type Vendor state license types Vendor CEC ID if applicable Vendor certifications OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 18 Managing OnGrid Files The Tool is constantly accessing the Customer Database to load and save customers And it s constantly accessing the Proposal Workbook and Document Workbook to print proposals and documents The Tool refers to the Settings sheet to get the names of the files and where they re located on your computer If you ever change the name of an OnGrid file or move it to a different folder you ll need to indicate the change on the Settings sheet This can be done through a form accessed by clicking the Add or Remove link in the applicable section located below the list of files In this form you can also make OnGrid files available for use in the Tool by either selecting them from a location on your computer or downloading them from the internet Customer Databases Settings sheet Row 296 File Name Location on Computer or Server 1 OnGrid CustData xls OnGnid Files SolariDesktop Bishop Users C A Add or Remove Customer Database S p To download a new customer database for example click the form button labeled Download New
44. Workbook we re either updating the data resources you can reference in your custom pages or we re updating the features that OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 24 will help you build those pages OnGrid updates will not affect the content and format of your custom proposals custom proposal design discussed in chapter 12 As with Tool updates we strongly recommend that you update non Tool files whenever possible Your cooperation in using the most current file versions will help facilitate faster development of new OnGrid suite features Settings Sheet Setup Conclusion If you ve been adjusting your Tool s settings while reading through the user manual now would be a good time to save your user data As with other Microsoft Office files save often to ensure your latest data won t be lost should there be a problem This section covered the different OnGrid files and how they relate to each other It discussed the different between user data customer data and OnGrid data If you change the name or location of a Customer Database Proposal Workbook Document Workbook the Master File or the backup folder you ll need to indicate the change on the Settings sheet and resave user data OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 25 Chapter 6 The Inputs Sheet This chapter will cover setting up the Inputs sheet and entering your customer s data Lite View As you may have already noticed there are a lot of details you might consid
45. a of sheet content gt Settings amp Support This sheet has the settings for your viewing file updating and backup preferences It also lists the names and locations of your OnGrid files You ll find your OnGrid support options lower down on the sheet including a link to this manual The Settings amp Support sheet is referred to as the Settings sheet hereafter gt Inputs The Inputs sheet is where you enter most of your customer s data It s where you ll spend most of your OnGrid time gt Pricing On this sheet you can set up an automatic pricing system With your pricing system in place project costs will be calculated automatically based on the variables you enter on the Inputs sheet gt Shading This is where you enter shading data from the Solmetric SunEye Solar Pathfinder or another shading device gt Overview This sheet shows your customer s financials over the twenty five year analysis gt Blank 1 amp Blank 2 These sheets are completely blank The blank sheets can be used for intermediate calculations that assist you in entering Inputs sheet data or any other custom calculations They re NOT for custom proposals and documents which should be incorporated into the respective workbooks discussed in chapter 12 OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 14 Adjusting Sheet Zoom Levels A sheet s zoom level determines how much of the sheet is currently visib
46. address Instead it has a reference to another cell that does contain the site address The idea here is that instead of typing 117 S Mary Ave throughout your proposal templates it can be entered in a single cell by the Tool with your templates automatically reflecting the entered data wherever CustFullSiteAddr appears The actual CustFullSiteAddr cell is in the Proposal Workbook s OnGrid Names sheet In this sheet you ll find over 950 pieces of Tool derived data The data is organized loosely along the lines of the Inputs sheet sections in the Tool customer info rate info etc Youll find the label CustFullSiteAddr in the OnGrid Names sheet s second section titled Customer Info The actual data is one cell to the right of the label If you select the cell containing the data by default 117 S Mary Ave and look at the name box which is above the sheet to the left of the formula bar you ll see that the cell is named CustFullSiteAddr If your formula bar isn t visible Excel 2007 PC Excel 2010 PC and Excel 2013 PC In the ribbon click View and then check the box for Formula Bar in the Show Hide section Excel 2003 PC amp Excel 2004 Mac In the menu click View and then select Formula Bar you might need to click the down arrow at the bottom of the list to see the Formula Bar option OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 75
47. ade Tiles es a x OnGrid Tool gO OnGrid Shading Reports Gordo Report ExportedFiles v Search Organize Views gt iy New Folder Name Type me SkyO2FullFishEye JPEG Image Documents I a SkyO2Insolation Microsoft Office Excel Comma Separated Values File Recently Changed Sky02MonthlySolarAccess JPEG Image Desktop i a SkyO2ObstructionElevations Microsoft Office Excel Comma Separated Values File Recent Places Sky02ObstructionElevations XML Document a SkyO2Shading Microsoft Office Excel Comma Separated Values File SkyO3AnnualAccess JPEG Image im SkyO3AnnualAccessFullyAnnotated JPEG Image Music i a SkyO3DailySolarAccess Microsoft Office Excel Comma Separated Values File Searches Sky03FullFishEye JPEG Image Public a SkyO3Insolation Microsoft Office Excel Comma Separated Values File SkyO3MonthlySolarAccess JPEG Image Folders A 1 p File name Sky02Shading vy All Files v Tools v Open v Cancel vorite Links Computer Pictures Bear in mind that you can incorporate data for specific points at your client s property or averages of multiple points at the property When you export a customer file from the SunEye software you re not only exporting files for the separate SunEye pictures you took you re also exporting a file in which the data from all those pictures has been averaged So if you take a picture for each corner of an array you can use the spec
48. after selecting the program Overview sheet reviewed in chapter 9 OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 37 Resetting the Inputs Sheet Before you begin entering data for a new customer you ll probably want to reset the Inputs sheet This will ensure a clean analysis without relic customer information from whatever customer you were previously working with To reset the entire Inputs sheet scroll to the top of the sheet and then scroll over to column I After clicking on a link in column I labeled RESET INPUTS you ll get a message box explaining what gets reset along with the opportunity to cancel Lower down in column I on the Inputs sheet you ll find reset links for each section as well H Resets the entire Took _ _ gt RESET INPUTS Inputs sheet Row 8 Resets a specific section on the Inputs sheet _ __ _ p SRR st Customer Info There might be times when rather than resetting the entire Tool or even an entire Inputs sheet section you want to just reset a single line item For many data entry cells a bullet will appear to the left of the cell if its default has been overridden Click on the bullet to reset the line Long Term Electric Rate Inflation Inputs sheet Row 163 Long Term Electric Rate Inflation OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 38 Data Entry Restrictions the Color Legend COLOR LEGEND Enter Customer Data Enter Data or Use Defaul
49. anual 2013 5 Redefining the Page s Area As you re adding data and charts to a new page you might run out of room and want to add a few more rows or columns One way to do this is to insert the necessary rows or columns as you would with any other Excel workbook you ll need to turn off the page maker first Control t But inserting entire rows or columns might mess up other pages on the sheet A better option is to redefine the page s area To redefine a page s area select a few cells at once within the page s border with the page maker on select multiple cells by click and drag A form will appear asking if you d like to remove the page i e print area or just rename it Click the Remove Print Area button Now back in the sheet select the page s new area Double click on a single cell within the orange border to get the print preview Finally give the page the name it had before or any other name OnGrid Custom Proposals Delete or Rename The new print area overlaps with the page Basic Info What would you like to do Rename Page Do Nothing Removing Proposal Pages To remove a page select a few cells at once within the page s border with the page maker on select multiple cells by click and drag A form will appear asking if you d like to remove the page 1 e print area or just rename it Click Remove When you remove a page your data will still be on the sheet it
50. books while having an identical header throughout The circled items in this graphic are part Ship Full User of the proposal s Acme Solar iy header rather than 123 123 1234 Ri i part of its main content Solar Electric Investment Incentive and Energy Savings Analysis OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 66 Although the header design is up to you you ll always need to include three pieces of information e Your name e Your company s name e One of the Tool s four standard copyright notices Optional header info includes but isn t limited to e Page numbers Logo Date amp time Customer contact info Solar electric system info Customizable text you choose To open the Header Form go to the Proposal Workbooks section on the Settings sheet Click on Proposal Header Design amp Review which is right below the Template Form link Two areas in the Header Form loosely resembles a printed page with five lines in the left center right header and three lines in the left center right footer When a proposal using this header style is printed information appearing in the header and footer lines on this form will appear in the same place on the actual print out OnGrid Tool Proposal Header amp Footer For Long 4 gt Delete This Header Go to Template Form Print Preview CLOSE up to 20 Header Salesperson Name Required Vendor Name Required Salesperson Work Phone Label Op
51. c is Annual Bill After Solar Annual Bill After Solar x Combined Tax Rate Annual Bill After Solar x State Tax Rate x Federal Tax Rate REC Income PBI Income Maintenance Inverter Replacement Maintenance Inverter Replacement x Combined Tax Rate Maintenance Inverter Replacement x State Tax Rate x Federal Tax Rate In this equation Maintenance and Inverter Replacement costs are negative numbers Please also refer to the IRR timeline since the IRR timeline delineates income and expenses from year to year For residential customers consider looking at after tax numbers see Viewing the IRR Timeline with After Tax Numbers in chapter 9 We hope this brings clarity to a complicated solar loan analysis Please join our free web conference calls if you have further questions OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 97
52. cel 2010 PC and Excel 2013 PC Click on the little tab to the right of the current sheet tabs at the bottom of the window In Excel 2003 PC and Excel 2004 Mac Click Insert in the menu and then click Worksheet View Insert Format Tools Data Columns Consider giving new sheets a more distinct name such as Acme Proposal 1 1f your company was named Acme Solar You can change the sheet s name by double clicking its tab at the bottom of the window OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 3 The Proposal Workbook has a feature that will help you quickly create new proposal pages It s called the Page Maker Before we can add a new proposal page to the sheet we need to confirm that the Page Maker is on To do this go to the Proposal Workbook s Settings amp Support sheet Under Settings youll see the link Print Area Maker If it says Print Area Maker is OFF click it to turn the page maker on Keyboard Shortcut Turn the Page Maker on and off from anywhere in the proposal wkb Control t toggle atti Proposal Workbook Settings Settings sheet Row 8 Print Area Makeris OFF control t t for Toggle To add a new proposal page first identify the sheet s area you d like to include in the page Then click on the upper left cell in that area and drag down to the lower right cell you drag by holding down your mouse s left click button and movin
53. checked doesn t mean there are no incentives for that customer type It means that in the If you use an incentive program made available by OnGrid the rebate rating type STC watts PTC watts CEC watts is automatically set If row 412 says no default program and you enter incentive info directly into cells the rebate rating type is based on the rating type entered in row 362 of the System Sizing section If you create a user defined incentive program the rebate type is selected on the incentive program form OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 36 case of non profit and municipal customers the commercial incentives you enter would apply And in the case of affordable housing the residential incentives you enter would apply The idea is to prevent you from entering the exact same data more than once Incentive Program Customer Types Residential w Commercial Non Profit E Municipal Gov t M Affordable Housing Detailed Incentive Program Commercial incentives wil apply if left unchecked Residential incentives wil apply if left unchecked Close the form after saving your new UD incentive program Back in the Incentives section you ll now have the new UD incentive program as an option in the Incentive Program cell If you re ever confused on how the data you enter in the UD incentive form is actually applied go over the numbers in the twenty five year timeline on the Overview sheet
54. d Tool User Manual 2013 32 Rate Types Tiered Rate non TOU Time of Use Rate non Tiered Tiered Time of Use Rate Feed In Tariff non TOU TOU Feed In Tariff gt Basic A basic rate has a flat kWh charge gt Tiered By saying a rate is tiered we mean that as your customer uses more and more electricity over a month the marginal electricity used will get more or less expensive So the utility might say that the first 5 00kWh cost 0 10 each and all remaining kWh cost 0 20 each If your customer used 1 000 kWh in a month her total bill under the tiered rate structure would be 150 500 x 0 10 500 x 0 20 gt Time of Use Under a time of use rate electricity 1s more or less expensive depending on the time of day in which it s used Typically the day is broken up into three periods called peak part peak and off peak The peak period is usually in the afternoon and has the highest electricity rate In the off peak period typically at night electricity is least expensive gt Feed In Feed in tariffs aren t currently common in the U S Under a feed in tariff the solar system owner is not trying to offset an electric bill but rather is generating electricity to sell to the utility Once you ve created a new rate in the form the rate s utility will be available in the utility drop down list in the Electric Rates amp Usage section After closing the form select the new ut
55. ding analysis device Shading output from the SunEye s computer software can be transferred directly into the OnGrid Tool Data can also be exported digitally from the Pathfinder Assistant a software tool that complements the analog Pathfinder The output of these two software programs like the output entered manually from the Pathfinder is broken down by month and time of day To incorporate SunEye or Pathfinder data export the data folder from the shading software to your computer Once the data has been exported go back to the Tool s Shading sheet and click on the header button labeled Transfer SunEye or Pathfinder Data After clicking the button read the message that pops up before hitting OK This message tells you the type of file to look for as well as the format of the file name In the window that opens after you hit OK navigate to the folder that your shading data was exported to this folder will be indicated during your shading software s export process OnGrid Tool Please select a SunEye or Pathfinder shade file For SunEye look for AverageShadina csv or Sky Shading csv For the Pathfinder Assistant lt ANameYouChose csv It can be for a solar array average or for a specific point at the property This shade file must first be manually exported from the SolMetric or Pathfinder software Refer to the SolMetric or Pathfinder user manual if you dont know how to export sh
56. dule from your short list select it and press Delete on your keyboard This same logic applies to adding inverters Access the inverter page on this form by clicking the Select Inverters tab at the top of the form Also in this form click the Module Dimensions tab to enter the height width and weight of the modules on your short list This is optional With the correct dimensions entered the surface area needed for the array is calculated and shown in the System Sizing section of the Inputs sheet level 3 in full view Youv ll also want to have the correct dimensions entered if you intend to relay dimension info to customers in custom proposal template pages custom template page design discussed in chapter 12 OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 35 Adding User Defined Incentive Programs Before looking at incentives make sure you ve entered your customer s utility in the Electric Rates amp Usage section In the Tool the selected utility determines the default incentive program Now scroll down to the Incentives section on the Inputs sheet If you selected a utility in the Electric Rates section that was made available by OnGrid as opposed to a user defined utility you should see the right program in the Incentive Program cell If you selected a user defined utility or a state average above you ll see no default program in the cell If you see no default program for the incentive program you hav
57. e Rem mmeg Sebar reee mwereine SF ANO tewie Tatera E FIS ewmcenee tees to eboteba sename e bimi vate oeoo mto im oin Additional Contrats Provisions LAbeareret ser doe Mat Pese merma per manth sarema darer Smrtna Cometetans prea seee hatban as she sten darrian reoat heed aBer aroe enina trpiet Anta bay ohus peanda ipnatt J batane semmr tr Au Groth howm ett A Duete Carte mahalar she sase VERo Foar bast pirm isas S Tha PP yee impete Pebe Drosu ote eewer Is thy Cot amie oreas The tame metres on ape ithe priem 40 deat d ote leak tin the coar art at bin a Hinman aas Mee semte pene eh ihe vate dhuria vind emeas other han ortam d ements bessa Asana C a w Tha ever eter osis Watters M derr teem he thane Hane pedi che tile y ebhe darr OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 Fetoreves eeu dors The Installer Key File The Installer Key is an Excel workbook that contains your primary information necessary to validate your OnGrid Tool copy your name vendor company name and vendor city The Installer Key is the only OnGrid file you ll receive directly from OnGrid by email By opening the Installer Key in Microsoft Excel and following the file s steps the aforementioned files will be downloaded to your computer Default file name OnGrid Installer Key lt your name gt xls OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 Chapter 3 Installing OnGrid Files To install the OnGrid Tool and related files open the In
58. e about the Solmetric SunEye visit the website http www solmetric com To learn more about the Pathfinder shading device and Pathfinder Assistant software visit http www solarpathfinder com OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 54 Chapter 9 The Overview Sheet The Overview sheet has timelines displaying system income costs and other projections over the twenty five year analysis The timelines will give you a clear view of OnGrid calculations that can be presented in countless ways in OnGrid proposals Looking over the timelines before printing out proposals is a good way to catch outliers i e data that s unexpected given surrounding data For example notice in the following graphic that REC income jumps from 6 664 to 88 412 between years 3 and 4 REC renewable energy credit Something must be wrong here Residential Pre Tax Analysis Overview sheet Row 17 Operating Savings Avoided Electricity Purchases Annual Savings 4 428 3 743 3912 REC Green Tag Income 6654 a7 972 87 535 In our example when checking the REC cells in the Incentives section on the Inputs sheet we notice that 400 was entered as the REC kWh amount for the 2 contract We accidentally entered 400 when we meant 40 After entering the right amount in the cell more reasonable numbers appear in the timeline S REC Green Tag kWh in 1st contract Inputs sheet Row 432 S REC tst contract length S REC
59. e effort and precautions are required from your crew As with the main pricing section it s up to you what your adder dollar amounts are Your adder costs will be determined by all sorts of vendor specific factors including your company s experience with different installation scenarios and the tricks you ve got for handling those scenarios Once you ve refined the adder costs you can go to the System Pricing amp Results section on the Inputs sheet to see the total adder costs applied to the system s base cost Adjustments to the variables in the Solar System amp Site Variables section affect the adders Some Tool users prefer not to use the pricing adder system If that s you click the Clear Adders link at the top of the Adders section and adder charges won t be applied refer to the previous graphic Hiding amp Password Protecting the Pricing Sheet Once the Pricing sheet is set up you can keep it from prying eyes by hiding and password protecting it To do this go to the Sheet Settings section on the Settings sheet Under Pricing Sheet click on Hide amp Password Protect Pricing Sheet Sheet Settings Pricing Sheet Hide amp Password Protect Pricing Sheet how Pri info onl Sheet Settings sheet Row 420 In the password form that appears enter a private password twice and a secret question amp answer the latter because OnGrid won t recover lost passwords After clicking
60. e two options Similar to the Electric Rates section you can enter incentive information directly into cells in the Incentives section So if you know your customer will get a 2 per STC watt rebate and no other state incentives you might want to just type 2 into the rebate cell 2 00 per Watt Rebate per STC Watt Inputs sheet Row 430 This customer would receive 2 per STC Watt the rating type basis can be adjusted in the Tool Another option is to create a user defined incentive program i e UD incentive program As with UD rates a major benefit to creating a formal program is that it will be available for future customers To create a UD incentive program click Add or Review User Defined Incentives at the top of the Incentives section level 2 or 3 in full view INCENTIVES 1 2 3 Inputs sheet AZ APS incentna Program apip Installation Year Row 416 Contractor installer STC DC Incentive Rating Type View neeme Programi Detail Aid or Reves User Defined intenines In the form that appears you ll have two incentive program options Basic and Detailed If your customer s incentive program offers a different rebate amount depending on the system size or if the program offers multiple performance based incentive periods you ll want to click the Detailed Incentive Program Notice that you can also select applicable customer types on the form Leaving a customer check box un
61. eady to be used in the Tool By default the backup file s name will be the original Customer Database s name followed by BACKUP lt date gt lt time gt Copy and paste the backup file into the folder where you keep your customer databases and remove the backup indication to avoid confusion Then make the recovered customer database available in the Tool see Managing OnGrid Files in this chapter OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 21 Manually Loading OnGrid Data We ve discussed user data and customer data which are both types of data you ll create and save The third and last type of data dealt with in the Tool is OnGrid data which is automatically available and can t be modified OnGrid data includes e Rates e Utility info e Incentive programs e CSI modules amp inverters the long list as opposed to your short list of preferred modules When new OnGrid data is available the new data is loaded into your Tool copy automatically There might come a time when you want to work with an older set of data To load older data scroll to the OnGrid Data section on the Settings sheet In row 376 click on Load OnGrid Data OnGrid Data Settings sheet Row 373 12 30 2009 up to date Currently Loaded Data Load OnGrid Data m Yes Automatically Update OnGrid Data on Start Up In that form that appears click the Load Data button for the data set you d like to load Notice that
62. ease note that the license and user agreement contain specific language that limits OnGrid s liability relating to the use of the OnGrid Tool The OnGrid Tool is designed to provide an illustration of the possible benefits of owning a solar system but makes no guarantee of performance All estimates and calculations should be confirmed with other sources All information relating to tax benefits should be discussed with a qualified tax professional relating to the appropriateness and applicability of any of the information provided to a particular situation Neither the OnGrid Tool nor OnGrid Solar provide any tax advice and we are not qualified tax professionals Tool Data Accuracy We recognize that without accurate data the OnGrid Tool will serve limited value We take the accuracy of data very seriously However factors such as tax rulings and treatment product ratings and specifications state incentives and utility rates are constantly changing sometimes without notice If you notice something that appears out of date please notify us at ratesupport ongrid net so that we can update the data as quickly as possible Tool Confidentiality and Security Use of the OnGrid Tool requires adherence to the terms of the Content License Agreement signed by a representative of your company One of the important terms of that agreement is that you not share copies of the OnGrid Tool with anyone not covered by the Content License Agreement coveri
63. en the solar array is shaded as an average for each month D No Sun DT Partial Sun TY Full Sun South at Hour t hlonth f Eam k30 fam Esso f Tam T20 im 550 f iam 3 30 fidam 10 20 diam 1130 f 2nes 12 301 ipm 130 2pm 2 30 Som S30 dpm 20 f Epm 8 30 bom 8 30 Latitude Tilt December 100 January November February Feb Ochober Cet larch September Seph e es aeaea Aug TE August Shading sheet Row 8 In this data table 1 represents full sunlight where represents full shade So if there s a lt in the December row at the column labeled 11 30 the array will be shaded at 11 30 each day in the month of December In the Tool s default numbers there are more 1 s in the summer months of the table than in winter months because the days are longer As areference you can look at the percentage figures to the right of the table to see how much full sunlight is available for each month throughout the year for your customer s array The first column gives percentages for the particular orientation and tilt you indicated on the Inputs sheet The second column gives percentages as if the array were facing south at latitude tilt For those using the Tool in California note that the CSI EPPB calculator requires shading percentages for the system s actual tilt and orientation OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 51 Loading Shade Data Automatically The Solmetric SunEye is a digital sha
64. er Style 4 lt new template gt Header Style 1 Proposal Pages in Selected Workbook Pages in Selected Template Short worksheet Medium worksheet Long worksheet Timelines worksheet L1 01 Cover OnGrid Proposals xls L1 02 Letter OnGrid Proposals xls L1 03 Usage OnGrid Proposals xls L1 04 Escalation and Site OnGrid Proposals xls L1 05 Efficiency OnGrid Proposals xls L1 06 How Solar Works OnGrid Proposals xls L1 07 Recommended System OnGrid Proposals xls L1 08 Usage with Solar OnGrid Proposals xls L1 09 Costs and Incentives OnGrid Proposals xls L1 10 Payback OnGrid Proposals xls L1 11 Resale Value OnGrid Proposals xls L1 12 Cash Flow OnGrid Proposals xls L1 13 Cash Flow Graphics OnGrid Proposals xls L1 14 IRR OnGrid Proposals xls Drag Page to Right OOmAN DAUD O NES The Template Form accessed by clicking Proposal Template Design amp Review on the Settings sheet In the Template Form notice that the Proposal Workbook listed on the Settings sheet is in the form s upper left listbox In the lower left box you ll see a list of all the sheets in the Proposal Workbook that contain printable pages To see the printable pages on a sheet double click the sheet s name You can double click the sheet name again to rehide the sheet s pages Proposal Pages in Selected Workbook Short worksheet Medium worksheet Long worksheet Timelines worksheet Proposal Pag
65. er when sizing and pricing a solar electric system in the OnGrid Tool But some details are more important than others You have the option of using the Tool in Lite View this hides the less relevant variables and brings key variables to the foreground Once you ve become familiar with these basic entry points you ll want to go to the full view Your Tool copy might already be in the lite view You can find this out by looking at the header of the Inputs sheet If it says OnGrid Tool LITE in row 2 your Tool is currently in the lite view OnGrid Tool LITE You can toggle back and forth between the lite view and the full view by clicking the link at the top of the Inputs sheet that says either Convert to Full View or Convert to Lite View Your data isn t affected when you switch views Convert to Full View Inputs sheet Row 8 Ontsrid Tool v4 2009 OnGrid Solar Ship Full User Acme Solar If you intend to use the Tool in the lite view when preparing actual bids we strongly recommend you first put the Tool into the full view and expand all sections to level 3 explained in the next section Take some time to consider the different variables Then once back 1n the lite view you ll have a better idea of what variables you re not adjusting from one project to the next Make sure your Tool is in the full view before continuing with this user manual OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 26 Inputs Sheet
66. es in Selected Workbook Short worksheet Medium worksheet M1 1 Usage and System M1 2 Bills Costs and Incentives Double clicked on Medium to see printable pages on the sheet M1 3 Environmental and Investmer M1 4 Cash Flow Mi 5 Resale Value and Payback Long worksheet Timelines worksheet The listbox in the upper right corner of the form shows the proposals currently available for printing To the right of the proposal s name is the OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 58 number of pages and the header style currently selected for that proposal header designs discussed in Proposal Headers in this chapter The lower right listbox shows the pages within the proposal selected in the upper right listbox in the order with which they ll print In this form you can see what the different proposal pages look like To see a print preview for all the pages in a proposal double click the proposal s name in the upper right listbox To see a print preview for a single page double click the page name in the lower right listbox Proposal Templates Short Commercial Double click to see a print preview of the entire proposal Short Residential Timelines lt new template gt Pages in Selected Template 1 1 Commercial Double click to see a print preview of the single page Bear in mind that you won t be using this form to print proposals for your customers since templates viewed from here only have
67. es will be lost unless you save during the Switch Master File Settings sheet Row 382 File Name Location on Computer or Server OnGrid MasterFile xls OnGrid Files Solar Desktop Bishop Users C Cha Master File Name or Folder 12 22 09 8 38 PM Last User Data Save Save User Data to Master File The Tool will not work without a Master File Tool Updating When you open the Tool you ll be notified if a Tool update is available If you d like to update click Yes in the prompt After clicking Yes wait for the new Tool copy to download and a confirmation message to appear We strongly recommend that you update the Tool whenever prompted All of your data wil be preserved in the update process If there s an issue with the new Tool version and you d like to revert to the previous version until the issue is resolved you can recover the old version from the backup folder listed on the Settings sheet In the backup folder you re looking for the file with your Tool copy s name followed by FULL BACKUP FULL BACKUP means the entire Tool was copied into the backup folder whereas BACKUP without FULL_ proceeding it means the file only contains raw data and thus can only be loaded into an open Tool copy OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 23 OnGrid Tool_FULL_BACKUP_2012 09 27_03 15PM _ An actual Tool copy that can be opened OnGrid Tool BACKUP_2012 09 27_03 15PM lt W User da
68. g section will show up in this module pricing form In the list of modules select a module to adjust its cost Looking in the upper left corner of the form you ll see you have the option of changing the module s cost per watt or the cost per OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 44 module unit Change one and the other will change accordingly do whatever s more convenient Along with entering your cost you can enter your markup for this module markup being the amount above your cost you re selling it to your customer for The module specific markup is optional You might prefer to enter 0 for the markup and instead enter your total system profit and overhead directly on the Pricing sheet OnGrid Tool Module amp Inverter Pricing Pricing Defaults Module Pricing Inverter Pricing BP Solar BP3220N Close 3 50 Cost per STC Watt Module Specific Adders optional Module Rating i 9 0 770 Cost per Unit 220 STC Watts Labor STC Watt Materials STC Watt 0 Labor Unit 0 Materials Unit 5 00 Markup as Your Short Module List per STC Watt per Unit Markup Adders STC Watt BP Solar BP3220N 3 50 770 5 00 0 0 Sharp ND 208U1 3 50 728 5 00 0 0 Some of the modules you work with might be significantly more time consuming to install than other modules This could be because they re very small and tedious to attach or are very big and require more people to move around etc With these m
69. g the cursor towards the lower right cell not letting go until your cursor is over the target cell You ll see an orange border appear around the selected area This shows the prospective perimeter of the new page Only data within the border would appear in the print preview for this page If you re happy with the perimeter as it is double click on any cell inside the border to see a print preview consider adding some data to the page before showing the print preview OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 4 f CustLastName G H After the print preview of a proposal page is closed a small form will appear asking if you d like to save the page just previewed To be able to print this page from the Tool give it a name and click Save Page The page s name is completely up to you We recommend you give it a name that clearly distinguishes it from your other pages since you ll need to know which page is which when working in the Tool s template design form OnGrid Custom Proposals Save Print Area Ex If you d like to save the page just seen in the Print Preview window enter a name and click Save Page Otherwise click Don t Save Basic Info New Page Name E G Environmental Pg 01 Save Page Don t Save Once the page is given a name the page s border color goes from orange to blue This means the new page is official and can now be printed from within the Tool OnGrid Tool User M
70. go Past a Note This logo applies to all applicable header Your Logo Here styles Logo Size in Header Changing the logo s size on the Mac To change the logo s size in the print preview you ll need to change the logo s size in the actual logo file itself using a graphics editor outside of Excel In the graphics editor open the logo file make it bigger or smaller save and close the file and reselect it from within the Tool s header One popular and free Mac graphics editor is Paintbrush OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 72 Header gt feta tage Gage Salesperson Name Required Company Logo image Vendor Name Required Company Logo image l Salesperson Work Phone Ship Full User Acme Solar 123 123 1234 As with other header labels you can remove the logo from the header by double clicking any of the Company Logo image labels Chapter 11 Documents Document setup and printing in the Tool is similar to that of proposals The major difference is that your documents don t have headers and footers To access the document Template Form scroll to the Document Workbooks section on the Settings sheet and click Document Template Design amp Review in row 330 To print a document with your customer s data click on Print Document in row 11 of the Inputs sheet To better understand how to add new documents or reorganize the pages
71. gy to vasious areas in the State of Colorado under the Antos Rules and Requiations of the Compang s Electnc Tarfts Electric Turit which ore om Ide wth and abject 1o the jaridan d the Public Lalties Commision of the Strate d Colorato Commission or PUC and WHEREAS Customer is interconmeoted with and receives electio service from Company s electric dittribution system under the terms and conditions of Company s Electric Taritis and WHEREAS Customer owns operates and maintains on its premises a SmallGeneration System vith a design capacity rating of 10 kW ahermating current AC or lers by which it generates oloctric onmrgytiom renewable resources of ii a TERC Quaified F aabt Of for thee Customer s exclusive use and WHEREAS Customer desires to operate such Small Generation F ac iy in parallel wth the Company s electric dstnbution system NOW THEREFORE in consideration of the premises and the mutual covenants and promises of ths parties hareto il is agreed s follows L Definitions Commission means the Public LUintities Commission of the State of Colorado Electric Tarilis means the Compary s electric tants as inellect and on fle vith and approved by the Commission as the same may be changed from bene to time POE BarlTeer ay bet Beet Cees ar i areairnered motema af Boel Eueran ime IP uhit Ser aice Canetas af Color ade Abs Bool Caesar Page lof 5 Quotation amp Contract for a Renewable E
72. have the option of adding your logo to the header from within the Header Form or inserting it directly into the pages from within the Proposal Workbook OnGrid recommends the former as this will ensure consistent logo placement from one proposal page to the next To add a logo to your header click on the Logo tab in the Header Form s multipage Click the Select Logo button and then navigate to your company s logo file on your computer The file needs to be in a recognizable picture format such as jpeg gif or bmp the Tool won t extract a logo from a pdf file or Microsoft Office document To add the logo to the currently active header select Company Logo in the Label Options listbox and then click a line in the header or footer section you d like to add it to The logo takes up all five lines of a header section or all three lines of a footer section so you l need to clear labels from the section first double click a label to remove it Once your logo has been added take a look at it in the print preview You might want to adjust its Size Changing the logo s size on the PC To change the logo s size click the arrow button in the middle of the Logo tab on the Header Form s multipage The size options are Very Small Small Normal Large and Very Large Info Page 1 Font Margins Left Righ to Align Align 2 Logo Change Logo Normal 4 gt Delete Lo
73. ific data for one of those corners or take the combined data for all four corners Either way the data will be plugged into the same shading table in the Tool Below we ll discuss loading multiple files and averaging in the Tool When you incorporate shading data into the Tool from the shading software the Tool collects other information as well This includes 1 The name of the skyline or the number of skylines if it s an average 2 The date and time the picture was taken not applicable for averages and 3 The latitude and magnetic declination at the property Skyline Info Optional Shading sheet Row 23 Sky02 skyline Name 10 16 2007 Date of Creation 1 44 PM Time of Creation af Latitude 14 Magnetic Declination Comparing Shading for Different Sites on a Property You can store shading data for up to four different points at your client s property or up to four shading averages for different locations around the property Notice that there are four shading data tables below the main data table Although only the data in the upper white bordered table impacts the performance estimate and the financial analysis the lower tables can be used to store different shading data To store data in the lower tables click on one of the Spot buttons The Y Spot 1 button stores the Active Table s data in the first storage spot W Spot 2 for the second storage spot and so on Now this data will be safely stored
74. ility and then select your new rate as the starting rate or ending rate or both OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 33 Adding Preferred Modules amp Inverters You can add modules and inverters to the Tool in the System Sizing section located in row 359 of the Inputs sheet The section will need to be in level 2 or 3 in full view When activating the drop down list for the Module Type cell you Il notice that only a few modules are available by default To add your preferred modules to this list click on Add Modules Inverters to Drop Down Lists Inputs sheet Row 365 Serer Type inverters e On the left side of the form you ll see a list of all module manufacturers accepted for the California Solar Initiative On the right side is your short list Notice that the Inputs sheet module drop down list mirrors the short list on this form To see the available modules for a particular manufacturer double click on the manufacturer s name in the left listbox Alternatively you can select the manufacturer and press Enter on your keyboard to see the manufacturer s modules For those using the Tool outside of California the CSI module amp inverter list is extensive The modules and inverters eligible for your state s incentives should be on the list Please let OnGrid know if they aren t OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 34 OnGrid Tool Module amp Inverter Selection Last OnGrid Component
75. in current documents refer to the chapter 10 discussion regarding proposals Keyboard Shortcut To print documents from anywhere in the Tool Control p print OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 73 Chapter 12 Designing Custom Proposal Pages We ve added functionality that will help you incorporate custom template pages into an OnGrid Proposal Workbook and utilize the OnGrid Tool s wide variety of calculated data In this chapter we ll review that functionality as well as some basic Excel concepts that apply when creating custom proposal pages Specifically we ll discuss e How to refer to OnGrid data in custom proposal pages How to incorporate OnGrid charts into custom proposal pages How to make pages more engaging with Excel text formulas How to make pages printable from within the Tool How to modify page margins within the Proposal Workbook as opposed to in the Tool s Header Form To get a better understanding of the connection between the Tool and the Proposal Workbook create a print preview of the short commercial page recall that you can preview a single page by clicking on Proposal Template Design amp Review in the Proposal Workbooks section of the Tool s Settings sheet and then double clicking on the page you want to view After looking at the short commercial page in the preview window find it in the actual Proposal Workbook You can quickly open the Proposal Workbook by clicking directly on its name
76. ion and is labeled Base Cost per watt If you d prefer to calculate your system s base cost outside of the Tool you can override the automated pricing by entering a cost per watt directly into this Base Cost per XXX rated watt cell Or you can directly enter the System Base Cost four rows below the cost per watt cell SYSTEM PRICING amp RESULTS 1 2 3 Inputs sheet Row 479 8 55 per Watt Base Cost per CEC rated watt Base Cost 7 07 per STC watt Base Cost 8 17 per PTC watt Base Cost 8 55 per CEC watt 72 062 System Base Cost Of course we encourage you to use the Tool s pricing system The idea being that after you ve set up the Pricing sheet your customer s system cost will calculate automatically based on system variables you enter on the Inputs sheet such as module amp inverter type number of inverters and number of array sections Module amp Inverter Pricing In the main table at the top of the Pricing sheet you can separately price the variety of physical components and other elements that constitute a solar electric system As a first step in setting up your automated pricing let s consider adjusting module and inverter costs In the header of the Pricing sheet click on Module Inverter Pricing Pricing sheet Row 2 In the form that appears you ll notice your preferred modules any module you add to your preferred list in the Inputs sheet System Sizin
77. l instead of cutting it on your keyboard press Control and the letter c Attention Mac Users When copying and pasting line items be sure to use the Control key not the Apple key Pricing Adders To complement line item costing you might also want to cost your systems based on how they differ from the norm For example let s say your company typically installs on composite roofs but occasionally installs on spanish tile roofs Assuming composite roofs are easier to install on than tile roofs you ll probably want to charge extra for tile roof installations By default the Tool is set up so that if you select spanish tile as the roof type on the Inputs sheet an extra 1 w is added to the system cost We call these additional costs adders Adders Load Adder Defaults Clear Adders Pricing sheet Row 106 Description ROOF TYPE Composite Composite w Flashings EPDM Membrane Flat Roof no Penetrations Flat Roof with Penetrations Foam Ground Mount HardiShake HardiSlate Metal Corrugated Metal Standing Seam Metal Tile Rolled Roofing Torchdown Tar amp Gravel Tile Concrete Tile Spanish Trellis Vinyl Membrane Wood Shake OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 48 Another adder example involves the slope of the array You might want to set it up so that if the array is sloped more than y an extra amount per watt is added to the system cost where y is the slope threshold where mor
78. l probably want to have their company name show up in the proposal The decision making process looks like this If the test is a true statement do this otherwise do that The above intention is represented in a logical formula of the following format IF TEST result if test is true result if test is false GG 99 where the commas break up the returned values An example Excel formula is I f CustType Commercial CustCompany ae In the above formula we re testing to see if the CustType is Commercial If it is the result of this formula will be the company name CustCompany If not it will be blank or no text See http office microsoft com en us excel HP052011411033 aspx for more information on Excel s logical functions OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 2 Tip When using logical functions you can simplify your formulas by using boolean values true or false Example In the Boolean section on the Names sheet look for the name Commercial If the customer type is commercial the cell will equal true and will otherwise equal 0 false Using the boolean name we can say F Commercial GuceCompamy Instead of eae lmiGusulhyoc Commercial CustCompany Adding amp Removing Printable Pages You can add and remove sheets and printable pages from the Proposal Workbook To add a sheet to an Excel workbook In Excel 2007 PC Ex
79. lable in the OnGrid Charts sheet 1 e Chart sheet in the Proposal Workbook Sprinkling charts throughout your proposals is a great way to keep your customers engaged You ll see a wide variety of available charts on the Chart sheet depicting data ranging from annual savings to equivalent area of trees planted To add a chart from the Chart sheet to a proposal page click on an empty space in one of the chart s corners to select it and then copy it either through the menu or by the keyboard shortcut OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 78 Control c You re clicking an empty space because you want to select the entire chart frame rather than the interior chart or an interior label Once the chart is copied click a cell on your proposal page close to where you want the chart to go and then paste keyboard shortcut Control v After the chart is on your proposal page you ll probably want to move it a little bit and adjust its size To move it click just to the inside of any corner and drag it to the preferred location While you re dragging you ll see the chart s outline Drag it to where you want it to be 5 F RJ H i Because savings Increase over time due to electric rate escalation the mcrease m resale val as ell However the tml to this mecrease will be the aniicmated remamineg savings left m be Reeale Value Over Time at 23 years the module w Th aiiai well use this shorter time Sd Ge
80. lated Net Annual Savings with Loan OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 80 Editing Proposal Formulas The previous sections in this chapter showed how to refer to data on the Names sheet and Timelines sheet in your custom proposals This section discusses how to build formula in Excel so you can seamlessly incorporate raw data into grammatically correct prose This way you can make the data more personal and engaging Instead of your proposal text displaying Solar electric system slope 22 Solar electric system orientation South Roof type Composition Shingle You might want something like The anticipated orientation of your PV Array is 22 up from horizontal and facing south It will be mounted on your Composition Shingle roof If you prefer the latter option you d type the formula The anticipated orientation of your PV Array is SysArraySlope amp up from horizontal and facing amp amp It will be mounted on your amp SysRoofTypeText Notice in the formula that static text is enclosed in quotes and that the static text is separated from dynamic text cell reference names with ampersands Suppose you came across the previous formula in one of our template proposals and want to modify the verbiage If you prefer We intend to install your array at the same orientation as your roof which is 22 up from horizontal We d mount it on the roof side facing south We ll use the optimal mounting
81. lations you ve successfully created your own custom proposal template g y y y prop p Chapter 13 Designing Custom Document Pages The process for designing new documents and modifying current ones is exactly as it is for OnGrid proposals The major difference is that in the Document Workbook the data available to you is much more limited The Document Workbook has no charts no timelines and fewer names available on the Names sheet Also the generic header feature isn t available in the Document Workbook since the documents have no headers As with the Proposal Workbooks you can quickly open a Document Workbook by clicking its name in the Document Workbooks section of the Tool s Settings sheet OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 9 Chapter 14 Syncing with OnGrid Sky What is OnGrid Sky OnGrid Sky 1 e Sky is the online companion to OnGrid Tool Amongst other things Sky facilitates quick sharing of customer data between different computers and users at your company If your company has one or more currently valid licensed users of the OnGrid Tool your company has a private company account in OnGrid Sky Your company account consists of user accounts for each licensed OnGrid Tool user at your company Although user accounts exist for expired users at your company as well as currently valid users only currently valid users are able to access OnGrid Sky Why Sync Customer Data with OnGrid Sky There
82. le to you and how big the text will appear Think of a high zoom level e g 100 or more as looking at your sheet with a magnifying glass To adjust a sheet s zoom level In Excel 2007 PC Excel 2010 PC and Excel 2013 PC Use the little zoom bar in the lower right corner of the Excel window In Excel 2003 PC Excel 2004 Mac and Excel 2011 Mac Click on the Excel menu s View option followed by Zoom Select a zoom level or enter a custom zoom level Saving Tool Data Now that we ve made some changes in the Tool sheet zoom levels we ll want to save them so we won t have to do it again the next the time the Tool 1s opened Data is saved differently in the Tool than in conventional Excel workbooks Rather than being saved into the Tool itself all data is saved into one of two files the Master File or the Customer Database Data saved into the Master File is referred to as user data and data saved into the Customer Database is referred to as customer data User Data User Keys for active user validation Salesperson profiles The names of your non Tool OnGrid files and where they re located on your computer Viewing and setup preferences sheet zoom levels file backup schedules etc Inputs sheet defaults Custom data on the Inputs sheet and blank sheets Custom proposals documents and proposal header styles OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 15 e User defined rates amp ince
83. led on your computer show up as printers in the print dialog box Adjusting Print Resolution on the PC On the PC print outs and pdf files of OnGrid proposals look best at Normal or 300 dpi resolution With a resolution higher than this the edges of proposal pages might get cut off or extra blank sheets and or sections show up here and there within the proposal Also with a higher resolution printing can be dramatically slowed With a lower resolution qualify suffers To adjust the selected printer s or pdf maker s resolution first create a print preview of an OnGrid proposal In the print preview window click Print to access the print dialog box Select your preferred printer or pdf maker and then click Properties Print Printer Name CutePDF Writer B Properties Status Idle Type CutePDF Writer Where CPW Comment Find Printer _ Print to file OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 Click Properties to adjust the active printer s or pdf maker s print resolution 63 After clicking Properties a dialog box specific to your printer or pdf maker will appear Somewhere in that box you ll have the option of adjusting the print resolution The following example of this process is specific to the CutePDF Writer dialog boxes for other printers and pdf makers will look a little different To adjust the print resolution for the CutePDF Writer click Adva
84. mer By filling in level 1 information throughout the Inputs sheet you ll get a rough sense of the appropriate system and price range for your customer If she s still interested in going forward after hearing your initial feedback you can begin entering more nuanced information in the higher levels CUSTOMER INFORMATION a 2 El Level 3 All section mfo hidden Everything visible Level 1 Only basic call screen mfo visible Level 2 Most nfo visible A good placeto be most of the time Levels 2 and 3 show more variables Even if you intend to be in level 1 most of the time we recommend that you get familiar with the information available in level 2 and in level 3 Rather than working your way up from level 1 to level 2 to level 3 you may find it more convenient to start right at level 3 Information relevant to your customer that s only available in level 2 will eventually need to be entered to get an accurate financial analysis Most default settings in level 3 will be appropriate for all your customers and only needs to be changed in special circumstances OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 28 The Summary Pane D OnGrid Tool Loan Cash Flow Jack Sun and Jill Sky n a 8 77 KW CEC 51 Sharp ND 208U1 2 SMA SB5000US 240V Old 462 mo New 16 97 Offset Use 18 000 kWh yr Prod 14 294 yr 74 651 Gross 51 930 Net w Rebate Fed Tax Credit 21 4 IRR 9yrs 103 298 Resale 195 031 Lifecycle 219 1st Mo Cash
85. mp Zip Code Customer Information section State Income Tax Rate amp Sales Tax Rate Customer Information section Utility amp Rate Schedules Electric Rates section NREL Location Solar System amp Site Variables section Active Module amp Active Inverter System Sizing section After entering some of your own defaults make them permanent by clicking the link Make Current Inputs Defaults in Inputs sheet row 13 over to the right in column I Inputs sheet Row 13 Make Current Inputs Defaults 1 Reset Custom Inputs to OnGrid Defaults Clear All Custom Data Sections To test out what you just did override one of your new defaults Then reset the section to see your default repopulate the cell Like other Tool settings you ll need to save user data before closing the Tool or else your new defaults will be lost If at some point you want to restore the Inputs sheet defaults to what OnGrid originally had click Reset Custom Inputs to OnGrid Defaults in row 14 of the Inputs sheet OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 40 Customer Job Notepad Along with customer information necessary for creating a solid financial analysis there s other customer info that will help you better understand where your customer is coming from and what her motivations are for getting solar The latter info isn t easy to select from drop down lists but is critical to getting your customer excited about purchasing a solar elect
86. nced Then under Print Quality set the print resolution to 300 dpi for optimal printing results CutePDF Writer Document Properties Layout Paper Quality Tray Selection Paper Source Automatically Select Black amp White Color For the CutePDF Writer you ll need to click Advanced to adjust the print resolution ma CutePDF Writer Advanced Options a CutePDF Writer Advanced Document Settings d Paper Output vm Paper Size Letter is Copy Count 1 Copy fin Graphic i cae 300d pi 5 Image Color Nfi 72dpi ICM Metho sj 144dpi ICM Intent eo Sealing 34 E 600dpi TrueType Font F 1200dpi SF Document Optio fF 2400dpi e Advanced Frir 3600dpi Pages per She F 4000dpi a PostScript Options OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 64 Creating Proposal PDFs on the Mac Apart from printing out a hardcopy of a proposal for a customer you can create a pdf file to send her electronically To create a pdf file of an OnGrid proposal open a print preview for that proposal At the top of the print preview window click the printer icon Then click the PDF button in the lower right corner of the print dialog box and select Save as PDF in the drop down list Print Presets Standard H Copies B M Collated Pages All 1 page From 1 to 1 Print What Selection Active Sheets Entire Workbook fu Scaling E
87. nced across computers To learn more about OnGrid Sky syncing with Sky and adjusting Sky settings see Chapter 14 Adding User Keys A User Key is the unique set of info that distinguishes a valid OnGrid Tool user The User Key is truly your key to using the Tool Without a valid User Key the Tool wouldn t work The User Key info is contained in the Installer Key file emailed to you by OnGrid Solar Although you can store up to fifty user keys simultaneously only one can be active at any time You can see and change the active key in row 10 of the Inputs sheet OnGrid Tool v4 2009 OnGrid Solar All Rights Reserved Ship Full User Active User Inputs sheet Row 10 Acme Solar User Company To load additional user keys into your Tool or edit information for an already loaded key activate the Settings sheet In row 76 click on Add or Remove User Key Loaded User Keys Settings sheet Row 76 User Name Company Name City 1 Debbie Holiday Bicycle Solar Oakland 2 Jad Murs Bicycle Solar Oakland You might currently be accessing the OnGrid Tool with the user key of another member of your team For various reasons we strongly recommend that you use your own user key to access the OnGrid Tool If you re a manager at your company consider requesting that your salespeople remove all additional user keys from the OnGrid Tool copies loaded onto their computers OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 17 Editing Salesperson Profile
88. nergy Power System Ace e Soler 123 hy Orton Bg banet CAMMY Faerpecren Thy Fries Phone EI US SM CUTE Lard tebe re Premera im Comte nonar y Linens Member Came Lie 8 hassas t o Oem emeneny Leewe Troe euu Jack Sue sad JN Sty See Wes ee LOHE PTT eee BEL AEDS few IID EDI ratte om Cet a Tree Fee Adtran TH Set tery Mowe 090 Bangas CB Sent Medw eB dtreer TH Sentens Ane 00 Erango CA OnI PROJECT DESCRIPTION sed MAJOR COMPONDAMS Size kW DC STC sesei 21 CAMPY Somon ah taedas haranie a catene tin sh Rptaaiine DW AC CEC epe bw Merten atone Samea te reat Moyer Egrtee Components Si Skarp Carper ation ND FO8UT medetee Matas ETC rosae DOW 2 EHA Americe SRAOOOU 2409 inwoetone ertas eehm a CY cea Standard Components ates ad meena srepet da oet an Coe ee el eel a tk mete nt mer eneeed entatns pes Mines Cowie Cate Beet ae tiet m habag netes AdGnionsl Components Menit esi ee or Standard Leber Derren retire wm terrae bare bwdtm ee rirstessi rarat Beddu chanel planame cmmmaevtnn er ether ro masa ass HE he he ttm a paed urime De wanes Cee edt tty whip meee tae deren ys Cas nets bedi ole strisa and stir arpe stan Adamant Werk ALLOW ANCES ing bedeni losia ee ed Lained Dup Oon Propran Rebare wt fosy aa be pord ds the pmechoser Corsinct Price Wet to Customer uc inais Deport ht er SUC KOPO hsrt ome Upon ordering of materindof347q DISO tt eie 1100 eee ee Boonie w
89. nes sheet 1 e Timelines sheet in the Proposal Workbook As with the Names sheet you can make references to data in the Timelines sheet by typing the equal sign in a cell in your custom proposal page and then clicking on the Timelines sheet cell you want to refer to Be aware that no cells are named on the Timelines sheet so instead of having a resulting formula like CustFullSiteAddr the formula will look more like OnGrid Timelines E12 OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 77 Tip Excel s AutoFill feature will be particularly helpful when referring to the Timelines sheet Let s say you want to show your customer s avoided electricity costs throughout the twenty five year analysis avoided costs change over time because of rate inflation and module degradation It would be woefully tedious to add reference formulas to your proposal for each year of the analysis Instead enter the formula for the first year something like OnGrid Timelines 12 and click enter to exit edit mode Then take your cursor to the lower right corner of the modified cell Once the cursor turns into a black cross click and drag to the right formulas will automatically fill in with OnGrid Timelines F12 OnGrid Timelines H12 and so on through the twenty five years of the analysis 8 078 Take advantage of Excel s AutoFill feature 8 078 8 361 8 654 8 956 OnGrid Charts All OnGrid charts are avai
90. new OnGrid feature OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 92 Customers Bicycle Solar Staff Bicycle Solar Customers Map It lt 4 Filters Any Sales Rep Any Type v Any City v County Showing All Customers Lead Status v Probability x First Name Last Name or Company Expand All Collapse All Check All Uncheck All Transfer Checked Customers to Jad Murs v Name City A Company Type Vv Lead Status Sales Rep Y Modified History Cooper Bill Denver Residential Proposal Follow Up 83 Billy Wilder May 13 2012 1 44 PM User History Eubanks Floyd Denver Residential Site Surveyed 85 Joey House May 13 2012 1 40 PM User History _ Henderson Todd Denver Residential New Lead 90 Fox Tree May 13 2012 1 37 PM User History a Hoover Jenny Denver Residential 195 Fox Tree May 13 2012 1 42 PM User History Marino Janet Denver Residential New Lead 90 Fox Tree May 13 2012 1 39 PM User History OnGrid Sky Customer List Webpage Other Sky Related Highlights amp Prompts The Customer Sync amp Conflict Resolution OnGrid Sky has full conflict resolution In other words Sky ensures that customer data won t be overwritten if more than one user at your company modifies the same customer between OnGrid Sky syncs When there s a conflict Sky will automatically create a second scenario for the conflicting customer scenario version To differentiate refer to the different dates and last modifying
91. ng users within your company Each sales representative using the OnGrid Tool is to be a registered and licensed user You may print hard copies or make PDF files for people not covered by the Content License Agreement but please DO NOT GIVE THE ACTUAL TOOL OR OTHER ONGRID FILES TO CUSTOMERS OR OTHERS NOT COVERED BY THE CONTENT LICENSE AGREEMENT Each copy of the OnGrid Tool is uniquely marked visibly and invisibly linking it to its original authorized user It is part of the license agreement that these marks not be removed OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 4 How to Use This Manual This user manual can be used as a reference or as a beginning to end walkthrough of the OnGrid Tool and other OnGrid files Although the user manual s graphics make it unnecessary we think you ll get a lot more out of the manual if you have the OnGrid Tool open and apply the manual s examples while reading no worries if you haven t installed the OnGrid Tool yet installation will be discussed below Because of the table of contents links and other links throughout we recommend that you view this user manual electronically Also we re very liberal with spacing to add clarity please don t print a hardcopy of this user manual unless necessary This manual is oriented towards the fully licensed user of the OnGrid Tool The free OnGrid Tool trial is fully functional so this manual is applicable to trial users OnGrid Tool User Manual
92. nment of the page s main content If your header isn t lining up right in the print preview you can add spaces until it does line up properly Ship Full U ser Acme Solar 123 123 1234 Jack Sun and Jill Sky Solar User Inc 4008 111 1111H 408 222 22720 405 333 39359330 Cush bu yercom 4 Left Right Auto Align l Align 2 l Logo l 0 spaces To the Right of Right Footer Ship Full User Acme Solar 123 123 1234 Jack Sun and Jill Sky Sober User Ine 403 111 1111H 408 222 22790 408 333 33331333W cust buyercom Mailing Add ress She Address When designing your header you might want information in the right header to be left aligned Excel doesn t have a left aligned right header capability built in so it will need to be incrementally tweaked to make it look right If you d like a left aligned right header click on the Auto Align tab in the Header Form s multipage Make sure you have at least two labels in the current header style s right header Under the Auto Align tab select left aligned for the right header Doing this will get the right header s separate lines almost aligned Finish the job by adding spaces to the individual lines in the Align 2 tab on the multipage You ll need to click the Print Preview button often in this process to see the results of your tweaks OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 71 Adding a Logo You
93. not as many kilowatt hours need to be produced to offset the customer s bill down to 0 or the minimum charge If less kilowatt hours are produced than used the net consumption will still be positive even with a 0 bill or minimum OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 95 bill So the customer might still be in tier two or higher This is common among very large residential consumers with large PV systems The tier graphic considers 1 The net usage after solar 2 Where the client is in the tiers after solar based on average net monthly usage Net metering is typically valued on a dollar basis not a kWh basis Q4 Why can t I just enter the annual available sunlight after shading as a percentage of the total without shade Plugging in an average percentage would make for an inaccurate financial analysis in any case where e A utility charges and pays a different amount for electricity during different seasons or times of day or both e The customer is on a tiered rate tiered electricity charges are applied monthly not annually e Your customer wants to see the estimated production on a month by month basis and wants to compare those estimates with actual monthly production after the system is installed In general properly accounting for shading variance over the entire year is critical to a sound analysis Q5 The smart financing line of credit timeline doesn t make sense to me What are your assumptions for it
94. nt and header appear larger or smaller by using the scaling feature an alternative is to increase or decrease cell font sizes But you might prefer to adjust the page setup properties of your proposals directly from the Proposal Workbook To access these properties double click a cell in a page to show the print preview window make sure the page maker is on first At the top of the window click Page Setup or Setup From here you can adjust the properties that will affect how the pages on this sheet appear when printed from the Tool so long as these properties aren t overridden in the Tool s Header Form OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 7 Viewing New Pages When a new proposal page is added to a Proposal Workbook it s available for printing within the Tool assuming that the Proposal Workbook is listed on the Tool s Settings sheet You can access the new page in the Template Form for a review of the Template Form see Editing Proposal Templates in chapter 10 The following steps walk you through the process of printing out a new proposal page from within the Tool 1 Close the Proposal Workbook save if necessary 2 Inthe Tool go to the Proposal Workbooks section on the Settings sheet and click Proposal Template Design amp Review 3 Inthe Template Form make sure the Proposal Workbook we just edited is selected in the upper left listbox 4 Find the Proposal Workbook sheet you added in
95. ntives e Preferred modules amp inverters e Pricing data entered on the Pricing sheet Customer Data e Inputs sheet data customer contact info electric usage site variables etc e Shading sheet data e Customer notes entered on the customer notepad Whenever you save Tool data you ll be asked whether to save user data Master File or customer data Customer Database or both To access the save form In Excel 2007 PC Click the circle in the upper left corner of the Excel window and then click Save In All Other Excel Versions Click File and then Save in the Excel menu OnGrid Tool Save Options Ex Save User amp Customer Data Save Customer Data Cancel Do Nothing A form with multiple save options appears when the user clicks Save If you re ever in doubt as to whether you ve changed user data or customer data or both click Save User amp Customer Data on the form And you might find it more practical to always save both types of data although this takes a little extra time and gives you less control over what s saved a Keyboard Shortcut To save Tool data Control s save OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 16 Chapter 5 The Settings Sheet The options on the Settings sheet make a big impact on how the Tool looks and operates Let s go through the sheet s different sections Adjust OnGrid Sky Settings With OnGrid Sky you can keep your customer data sy
96. odules consider adding a module specific labor adder in the upper right corner of the form If the small modules requires extra rails and clips or other components you might want to add a module specific material adder as well As with the general module cost you have the option of entering module adder costs on a per watt basis or per unit basis If you ve changed the cost of the currently active module or inverter in the form you ll see that change reflected in the module line item or inverter line item on the Pricing sheet Note that unlike other costs module and inverter costs can t be adjusted directly on the sheet only in the form Line Item Description Pricing sheet Row 5 STC W The active module s cost Modules entered in the form is Array 1 Sharp ND 208U1 33 6 reflected on the Pricing sheet Array 2 Sharp ND 208U1 OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 45 Main Pricing Section Below the module and inverter line items you should see a variety of other costing line items if you don t see anything here click Load Main Pricing Defaults in the Pricing sheet header Bear in mind that the pricing defaults are only meant as a starting point for you to set up your own pricing system You can add many things that aren t currently included and remove many things that are Default line item costs are placeholders and should be adjusted Adding Line Items To add a new line item click on an empty de
97. ool is expecting the credentials you chose on this Sky confirmation webpage Sync Customer Data To sync customer data with Sky click Sync Customer Data with OnGrid Sky in Inputs sheet row 17 Then click Yes when asked whether to continue the customer sync this prompt will be explained in the Sync Confirmation Prompts section below Shortly after clicking the link you ll be prompted for your OnGrid Sky credentials Enter the OnGrid Sky Log In w credentials you chose when confirming your OnGrid Sky account Geto oncrid sky Since this is your first time syncing customer data you ll be asked to Active User Login Name accept the OnGrid Sky Terms of Service The Terms of Service can be billy_wilder bike com accessed anytime through this webpage Password http www onerid net index php page tool legal FRR RK ARK r Remember OnGrid Sky Log In Info If you re syncing a large set of customers for the first time the process while the Tool is Open will take longer than subsequent syncs This is because all customers OK Cancel are sent to OnGrid Sky the first time whereas only modified customer data is transferred in follow up syncs The sync time will vary across computers Excel versions and internet connections but the initial sync shouldn t take more than 15 minutes Follow up syncs shouldn t take more than a few minutes Congratulations you re now utilizing a powerful
98. planation of this chart Inputs Sheet View Filter Having the Inputs sheet in lite view is an excellent way for new users to ease their way into the Tool And the lite view can also be useful for veteran users running initial call screens However don t expect to create a solid analysis for your customer if you don t consider the variables available only in the full view While we encourage the full view we understand that many of the full view variables aren t applicable to particular customers For example if you only intend to install one array there s no need to have data entry cells for a second array Unless you specify two arrays the second array info is useless clutter This is where the Inputs sheet view filter comes in The view filter hides information irrelevant to your customer while allowing you to stay in the full view making a robust analysis possible OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 29 Inputs sheet Row 2 With the view filter A Number of Arrays 1 or 2 Inputs sheet Row 295 slope of Array up from horizontal Without the view filter A Number of Arrays 1 or 2 slope of Array up from honzontal SECOND ARRAY array Orientation Slope of Array up from horizontal Jump to Shading You do have the option of turning the view filter off One reason to keep it off is that it might cause a noticeable lag time on older computers it s constantly refreshing the screen as you enter
99. ric system from you For this more verbose information consider using the customer notepad Access the notepad by clicking Customer Job Notepad in the Inputs sheet Customer Information section Or access it from anywhere in the Tool by pressing Control and the letter n on your keyboard Keyboard Shortcut To access the customer notepad from anywhere in the Tool Control n notepad OnGrid Tool Customer Job Notepad General Notes Customer Profile shading Data Notes Customer quotes to pick up key words and motivations for them Why Solar Rank their motivations Save Financial excited about locking in today s rates Environmental curious about energy payback include info in proposal Techno Coolness neighbor has solar seems jealous husband tried making solar thermal once Profession owns restaurant Hobbies goes to Costa Rica every year include solar vs tree info in proposal Other Green Purchases interested in electric cars Demeanor pleasant Attitude Disposition seems to really care Who else is part of this decision husband Do you want Batteries UPS or other option pemaen Do you want Monitoring What kind What you type in the notepad is specific to the current customer and will be saved with that customer in the Customer Database OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 41 Keyboard Shortcut Keys We strongly recommend that you take advantage of keyboard shortcuts for navigating
100. rty should be treated separately than the commercial proportion We recommend that you run the analysis as if the whole property and system were commercial then rerun it as if it were entirely residential If she s happy with the financial results for each version she will likely be happy with the blended overall result To learn more about the correct legal approach for proportioning the solar system between residential and commercial and related solar tax issues please see SEIA s Federal Tax Guide http www seia org Q2 Pd like to use a time period other than the Tool s default twenty five year timeline Is this possible The Tool s only timeline option is the twenty five year timeline While we recognize that a well installed system is likely to last much longer than twenty five years we re unwilling to be aggressive with the Tool s figures We will only provide reasonably conservative figures If enough users request a shorter timeline we ll consider making it an option Only if warranties beyond twenty five years become common will we consider a longer timeline Beyond twenty years it makes relatively little difference in the results but going too long would diminish credibility Q3 I m practically offsetting my customer s entire bill but the tier graphic in the header says the customer is in tier two or higher after solar Why The sale of TOU electricity on peak allows proportionately greater credit so
101. s grants and RECs In California if your customer qualifies for a CSI rebate you ll add the EPBB design factor and expected annual production in this section taken from the EPBB Calculator website gt System Sizing and Specifications Use this section to enter a system size or fine tune the Tool s automatically calculated system size You ll also select the module and inverter types from your list of preferred modules and inverters This section includes physical specs for the array gt System Pricing and Results This section shows the base system cost and various system cost increases and decreases You can enter your base cost directly in the section or on the Pricing sheet discussed in chapter 7 If the customer intends to finance the system or if you d OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 27 like to illustrate the benefits of financing to the customer specific terms for her line of credit can also be incorporated here Inputs Section Levels By default in full view you ll only see the section headings without section details To open one of these sections you have the option of clicking on the 1 2 or 3 button next to the heading By clicking on 1 only the most basic variables are shown While you ll eventually need to go into higher levels of section detail to perform an accurate analysis you may find it more practical to work from level 1 during the initial discussion with a custo
102. s xls L1 05 Efficiency OnGrid Proposals xls To delete a template page select it and press Delete on your keyboard Pages in Selected Template L1 01 Cover OnGrid Proposals xls 11 02 Letter OnGrid Proposals xls 11 03 Usage OnGrid Proposals xls L1 05 Efficiency OnGrid Proposals xls Close the Template Form by clicking Close in the upper right corner Your changes are applied automatically but you ll still need to save user data before closing the OnGrid Tool OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 61 Printing Proposals To print a proposal with actual customer data click Print Proposal in row 10 on the Inputs sheet The form that appears lists the proposals available to print without the extra detail shown in the Template Form For a print preview of one of the listed proposals double click it or using your keyboard press the down arrow until the desired proposal is selected and then press Enter If you re happy with how the proposal looks in the print preview window click Print or the printer icon to print it out X OnGrid Tool Proposal Printing Print Preview CLOSE Proposal Name Header Style For Long Medium For Medium Short Commercial For Short Short Residential For Short Timelines For Timelines Change Name or Header Style of Selected Proposal Keyboard Shortcut To print proposals from anywhere in the Tool Control p print Creating Proposal PD
103. scription cell in column D and then activate the drop down list The item you want to add might be available in this drop down list If it isn t disregard the list and type your item s description directly into the cell Whether you select from the drop down list or type something in directly the row will fill with data automatically after you enter the description Line Item Description Line Item Description MAIN COMPONENTS MAIN COMPONENTS shipping on Modules shipping on Modules shipping on Inverters Shipping on Inverters Module Shippi MAN COMPONENTS Shipping on Array 1 Modules Shipping on Array 2 Modules shipping on Modules ae ee Shipping on Inverters Select a line item description from the drop down list or type your own description Pricing sheet Row 17 Adjusting Line Item Costs As with module and inverter pricing you have the option of pricing the line item by cost per watt or cost per unit Or you can enter the line item s total cost Just remember that the major benefit of this Pricing sheet is that it keeps your pricing automated So if you know your module shipping cost for a particular system is 750 you don t necessarily want to enter 750 because doing so means the module shipping cost is stuck at 750 for all future systems Instead you might take 750 and divide it by the number of watts in the system to derive an approximate module shipping cost per watt Then if the system size is doubled the
104. seaeseenemnte E 13 Chapter 4 Getting Started amp Basic Setup cccccccssssssssccccsssssssscccccccssssssccoees 14 PACES ITE SIMCOE ZOO Mt CY esen EEE E AEE EIS 15 OWS OO AA oye cate tec asset ca deen ea snen tee dee en ceca eset ot eetaeecassesdvalecuscncedacsisaeeusmeceseseteateeneet 15 Chapter 5 The Settings Sheet sce cacscccosec sscessccvesecsccescencesscecseccscesssccuvcscectsccsecsevecens 16 PROVES COGIC Sky SENE Seir E E E E EERS 17 Addin User Tye stiches dercau cen rere wiacaiccnte cecttieae seine see eet vee acuincosnanentecascanesaeet nessa neaeuniney eens 17 Editing Salesperson Prone MUO ssns nnne nenn eri srusmateceeenseh a OES 18 WE OET A a Ul or E E OE T OA E E 19 PN OMA Ba S er E E E E E cease 20 Recovering User Data With a Backup File ceccsseccccceeeeeeeseeeeceeeeeeaeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaeeenees 21 Recovering Customer Data With a Backup File ecccccccccccnsssseeeeceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaeaeeeees 21 OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 Manually Loadins OnGrid Data spcctiscecst tudes n A E E din 22 Cligime rine Master Fes aenn E E N N 23 Toor Upda UNE ea E r E E 23 Non ool Fle Updating seeriana a EA E E ies 24 Settings Sheet Setup C On CMISION s aain E 25 Chapter 6 The Inputs Sheet s ssssssssssrcsossscccssnosssccsscsssscsnccsasssscssrsssscssressssscssesessssce 26 EVIE W opr nE r r AN 26 INPUTS o heot SECON a E E nnd a tone eiones 21 MSS COLE CIS e T A EE E A ay aeniehucnonaden 28 Tiesimme nerens a a aa a a E 29 Inp
105. shipping cost will become 1 500 Which is much more accurate than 750 for the larger system Notice that by default the cost basis for most line items is watt We know this because the unit cells and the total cells are green and recall from the Inputs sheet color legend that green cells can t be modified this rule applies throughout the Tool OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 46 There are cases where it makes more sense to cost a line item by unit than by watt As an example let s say the line item we ve added is for two fake owls we re putting on the roof to ensure birds steer clear of the array an unlikely solution to bird splats We don t intend for the number of fake owls to vary from system to system always two And we know the owls cost 60 each In the fake owl case we don t want cost per watt because the cost doesn t vary by watt To change the cost basis for the new line item double click on the preferable basis cell this is the only case where double clicking a green cell makes something happen s Fake Owls 0 00 S Fake Owls 0 01 60 00 Double click a green cell to change the line item s pricing basis After accounting for the material cost of the fake owls you ll want to consider the labor cost In the example let s say the fake owls take an hour each to be installed and programmed to give off ear piercing shrieks every twenty minutes We d account for this 1i
106. ss expenses drop so their net profit increases causing increased taxes on the difference 2 the expected income tax expense on certain solar incentive income For commercial In the line of credit timeline s Annual Electric Bill Without Solar line we include the actual electric bill before solar less the deduction taken at the federal and state level plus the income tax paid at the federal level on the state tax deduction which is considered income at the federal level The equation logic for the first year before inflation effects Annual Bill Before Solar Annual Bill Before Solar x Combined Tax Rate Annual Bill Before Solar x State Tax Rate x Federal Tax Rate The New Annual Energy Cost line includes the average monthly electric bill after solar as well as the grid electricity expense deduction for the grid electricity still purchased after solar This amount is reduced by PBI Performance Based Incentive income and REC Renewable Energy Credit income received in that year With the OnGrid Tool defaults the PBI income is after federal tax and the REC income is after federal and state tax and after the deduction taken at the federal level for the expense of state income tax tax assumptions can be modified on the Inputs sheet The New Annual Energy Cost line 1s increased by the maintenance cost and inverter replacement cost if applicable for that year after tax effects The equation logi
107. staller Key file that was sent to you in an email from OnGrid Solar You ll be opening this Installer Key file in Microsoft Excel all OnGrid files are Excel workbooks and won t run in any program but Excel Enabling Microsoft Excel Macros OnGrid files use Microsoft Office VBA macros VBA Visual Basic for Applications Without this underlying code many of the more advanced features of the Tool couldn t be implemented We need to make sure macros are always enabled for OnGrid files In Excel versions for PC you have the option of making OnGrid Solar a trusted publisher By doing this you re allowing all OnGrid Solar workbook macros to run automatically on your computer We recommend this gt Attention Mac Users Unfortunately the trusted publisher feature isn t available in Excel for Mac Skip a section to Enabling Macros for Excel 2004 amp Excel 2011 for Mac Making OnGrid Solar a Trusted Publisher for PC This section only applies to those using Excel for PC as opposed to a Mac In Excel 2007 Excel 2010 and Excel 2013 With the default Excel settings you should see a security warning between the blue ribbon and the spreadsheet itself when opening the OnGrid Installer Key file for the first time Click the Options button Da A g7 M General 3 3l B Gh lF Home Insert Page Layout Formulas Data Review Security Warning Macros have been disabled Options
108. strategy for your Composition Shingle roof Then your revised formula would be We intend to install your array at the same orientation as your roof which is amp amp up from horizontal We d mount it on the roof side facing amp amp We ll use the optimal mounting strategy for your Gog ae You can find these three names and hundreds of related names on the Names sheet OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 1 A great way to learn more about creating formulas is to peruse the formulas in the OnGrid template proposals Feel free to copy and paste the formulas you like into your own custom proposal pages If you re really enthusiastic about creating your own proposals consider getting a book We like books written by John Walkenbach such as Excel 2010 Formulas To see all of Mr Walkenbach s books visit his Spreadsheet Page at http spreadsheetpage com Logical Functions Logical functions in Excel such as IF AND and OR allow your formulas and therefore your proposal text to incorporate decision making logic the ability to choose one bit of text or another based on some other condition Regarding the IF function Ideally you d want to be able to use a single proposal for all of your customers So your formulas might need to return different information for different customer scenarios For example if your customer is a business rather than a homeowner you l
109. t Calculated Result Don t Edit You ll notice that cells on the Inputs sheet are colored either yellow tan or green The Inputs Sheet Color Scheme gt Yellow Cells Yellow cells contain data that s very specific to your customer such as the customer s site address For each new customer you ll want to override the yellow cell defaults or at least seriously consider doing so gt Tan Cells If a cell is colored tan it means one of three things 1 The cell s default is based on industry norms and OnGrid Solar s experience in the industry 2 The cell is blank and should be typed over at some point but doing this at the outset isn t necessary if you re only looking for a general estimate of system size and price 3 The cell has a default specific to your customer it s linked by formula to other cells Use you re discretion on whether to override tan cell defaults gt Green Cells Green cells can t be modified Their purpose is to provide you with feedback based on data you ve entered in yellow and tan cells If you think a green cell shows the wrong data you can almost always adjust a related yellow or tan cell to get the green cell right gt Pink Cells There isn t necessarily a problem when a cell turns pink A pink cell is a warning It means that the data entered is outside OnGrid Solar s range of expected input for that cell If you decide that your data is appropriate disregard the pink C
110. ta only which can only be loaded into an open Tool copy In your Tool folder delete the latest Tool copy you want to replace with the older version Then copy the FULL BACKUP file from the backup folder and paste it into the Tool s folder Finally rename it to its original name by getting rid of the FULL BACKUP lt date gt lt time gt indication When opening the Tool in the future click No in the Tool s update available prompt until you ve confirmed that the issue is resolved and please notify OnGrid if you come across an issue that prevents you from using the latest Tool version Non Tool File Updating By default you re prompted when non Tool file updates are available Customer Database Proposal Workbook Document Workbook As with the Tool your data will be preserved in the update process If you d prefer to not be notified when non Tool file updates are available select No for update notification in the File Updating section of the Tool Settings sheet If you select No you ll be able to manually update files by clicking File Updates Available in the File Updating section if they re available File Updating Settings sheet Row 334 No File Updates Available Yes Notify if File Updates are Available Versus File Updating File Updates Available No Notify if File Updates are Available Regarding updates for the Proposal Workbook and Document
111. te application Like with the Proposal Workbook documents can be modified directly in the Document Workbook but can only be printed out from within the Tool Default file name OnGrid Documents xls Cafifomia Solar Initative Program ol nenw tha ctes Pese contre pau are ating De Current A papnator Resvett Form ay ong E ros Progam Acmemiatatort eeo rto Rater te eB Mogen Merhors Mo morose eed mse pi RETIRE SIRON MON e imr bode HEE Dem OTe Metervetes fea cost em prot m p retoew es mesost on ammen teers gree ena in mon os rer Peraro ces coreo Onc rammene eneee me ma raer Be eoma n aa eremana ty oyee P gemar Over Oso Pesce _ J ramer ssar AT Downer CO taD SMALL GENERATION SYSTEM INTERCONNEC TION AGREEMENT 10 kW OR LESS Interconnection Agreement Terms and Conditions Ths Small Generation System interconnection Agreement 1D kW o less Ageemert is mad and entered no thii d y ol 20 by and bemeen PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY OF COLORADO didla Xcel Energy a Cokeado Comeoration having a mang address of P O Box 840 Denver Colorado 80201 hereinafter referred to as Company and Jack Sun Custorner whose service address is 117 So Mary Ave 830 Sunnyvale Colorado Customer s mailing address is 117 So Mary Ave 30 Sunnyvale CA 94087 WITNE SSE TH WHEREAS Compary it a public unity engaged in the business of generating transmitting and distributing electric power and enee
112. tem specific labor cost in the labor columns to the right of the material columns The extra labor cost can be based on watt hour as opposed to unit for the related material column or total In the fake owl case we d double click on the hour cell because we know the required hours to install program won t change from one system to the next Then we d enter the hourly cost wage of whoever s doing the work in the hour cell and 2 in the Hours cell Pricing sheet Row 5 STCW Hr Hours Alternatively we might find it more practical to keep the line item s labor at 0 and have the lead installer s labor line item encompass the fake owl labor there are many ways to approach system pricing Other possible custom line items include pyrometers monitoring boxes weather stations etc OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 47 Moving Copying amp Removing Line Items If you want to remove an item from a row click the item s description in column D and press Delete on your keyboard To move a line item from one row to another first select the line item s description cell in column D Then cut the cell select the blank description cell of the row you want to paste it to and paste on your keyboard press Control and the letter x to cut press Control and the letter v to paste If you d like to copy the line item rather than move it copy the line item s description cel
113. th Upon selecting that utility you Il see the default electric rates change as well ELECTRIC RATES amp USAGE o EH 2 3 Inputs sheet Row 146 Utility Name Starting Current Rate Schedule Tariff _Ending Future Solar Rate Schedule Tariff cic RATES amp USAGE perce 2 3 If your utility isn t in the list you have a few options The Tool includes state specific rate averages for residential commercial and industrial utility customers This data comes from the U S Energy Information Administration Selecting the state OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 31 average works if you re trying to get a basic idea of whether the solar investment makes financial sense but it isn t recommended for an in depth analysis Another option is to select General Utility and then enter the cents per kWh amount directly into the starting and ending rate cells If your customer s utility or rate schedule isn t on the list and you know your customer is paying a flat rate of 0 17 per kWh for example type in 0 17 for the starting and ending rate Be aware that most rates are more complicated than this they might include customer charges minimum charges time differentiated rates demand charges etc If your customer s rate involves any of these complications and your goal is an in depth analysis we recommend that you avoid entering a kWh amount directly ELECTRIC RATES amp USAGE E Ee Ee EP none
114. the lower left listbox and double click it to see the printable page you created on that sheet 5 In the upper right listbox click on lt new template gt If you only see lt new template rename me gt rename or delete that proposal to make the option lt new template gt available 6 After selecting lt new template gt add the new page to the empty proposal by copying it from the lower left listbox to the lower right listbox select the page and press the right arrow key on your keyboard 7 Give the proposal a brief descriptive name Use a labeling system that you ll be able to make sense of six months from now Now that the Tool knows about our new page we re ready to see a print preview Instead of looking at the Template Form s print preview with default customer info let s see a preview with real data 8 Close the Template Form and click the link Print Proposal at the top of the Inputs sheet or press Control and the letter p on your keyboard the latter is an OnGrid shortcut for quick proposal printing See Printing Proposals in chapter 10 for a review of proposal printing 9 Double click the new proposal template to see a proposal preview loaded with the customer data currently in the Tool Unlike the Tool file the Proposal Workbook is saved as a standard Excel file with the data contained in the workbook itself OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 8 Congratu
115. tions Current Selection Info Pagei Font Margins Left Right Auto Align Align 2 Logo Salesperson Name Required Vendor Name Required Acme Solar Copyright Vendor and or OnGi Acme Solar and or O Copyright Vendor and or OnG Acme Solar and or O Copyright OnGrid Solar OnGrid Solar Copyright OnGrid All Rights Re OnGrid Solar All Right Company Logo image Page Number 1 of 5 Personalized Caption Overall Font Name Header Font Size Footer Font Size Arial 25 19 Verdana afe afe Calibri Bold Header Font Bold Footer Font The Header Form Copyright Vendor and or OnGrid Sok Footer Clicked Box Expanded Salesperson Work Phone OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 Two Header Form areas loosely resemble the header and footer of a printed page 67 The header style s name is in the upper left corner of the Header Form You can quickly see which proposals are using this header style by clicking the Go to TF button TF Template Form at the top of the Header Form the Template Form is discussed in Editing Proposal Templates at the beginning of this chapter In the Template Form the header style is listed to the right of the proposal template name Click the GoTo HF HF Header Form button at the top of the Template Form to return to the Header Form In the
116. ton Upon selecting Install all necessary OnGrid files are downloaded into a new OnGrid Files sub folder of the new OnGrid folder You can change the location of these files at any time but you might need to specify the new location within the Tool discussed in Managing OnGrid Files OnGrid Tool It looks like you haven t used the OnGrid Tool yet on this computer What would you like to do Computer Transfer Select Files Cancel amp Close If you click the Computer Transfer button you ll deal with the different OnGrid files one at a time With this option you ll be able to select OnGrid files already on your computer rather than automatically downloading new files from the internet Once installed there are further steps necessary to tailor the Tool to your situation This process will be discussed in the following sections OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 13 Chapter 4 Getting Started amp Basic Setup The first thing you ll want to do in the Tool is take a cursory glace at the different worksheets i e sheets As with other Excel workbooks you can select a sheet by clicking its tab at the bottom of the window IP M Settings amp Support Inputs Pricng Shading Array 1 Shading Array 2_ Overview Blanki Blank2 3 A rid Tool To activate a sheet click its tab at the bottom of the Excel window The sheet names are meant to give you a general ide
117. ts sheet sections ACTIVATE LINK Press Control and the letter l to activate the link in the selected cell s row Mnemonic L ink RESET LINE ITEM Press Control and the letter r to reset the line item Mnemonic R eset CUSTOMER NOTEPAD Press Control and the letter n to open the customer notepad from anywhere in the Tool Mnemonic N otepad OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 42 While the Tool is active many of your standard Excel keyboard shortcut combinations are overridden by OnGrid For example while pressing Control and the letter 1 ordinarily italicizes the active cell s contents this key combo takes you to the Incentives section in the Tool The shortcut combinations are reset to Excel defaults when the Tool is deactivated If you don t want the Tool interfering with your own OnKey events or you want the standard Excel shortcuts while using the Tool you can turn off Tool shortcuts on the Settings sheet In the Inputs Sheet section select Off for Inputs Shortcut Keys Inputs sheet Settings sheet Row 403 Inputs Shortcut Keys Attention Mac Users In OnGrid shortcut key combos be sure to use the Control key not the Apple key OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 43 Chapter 7 The Pricing Sheet All the data on the Pricing sheet s main table is combined into a single cell of data on the Inputs sheet This cell is at the top of the System Pricing amp Results sect
118. up Properties in chapter 12 By default page setup properties for your proposals aren t overridden in the Tool That is to say the print preview uses the page setup properties as they are within the Proposal Workbook If you d like to override page setup properties for all pages in a proposal check the box for Override Sheet Margin Settings Info l Page 1 l Font Margins Left Right l Auto Align l Align 2 l Logo l Top 1 30 4 d Header 0 50 z Left 0 25 q d Right 0 85 1 d Scaling 54 i Bottom 1 10 d Footer 0 50 d Override Sheet Margin Settings a The upsides to adjusting the page setup properties from within the Header Form is that you can ensure consistent margins and scaling from one proposal page to the next and you can quickly see the print preview with your tweaked settings applied by going to the Template Form and double clicking an applicable proposal The downsides are that the print preview will take a little longer to prepare and the optimal page setup properties won t be saved into the Proposal Workbook s sheets themselves instead the data is saved into the Master File OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 70 Header Alignment Unfortunately every printer driver handles Excel content a little differently so what looks perfect on one computer might not look right on the next This issue is especially evident with the alignment of the header compared to the alig
119. ustomizing the Default Inputs When scrolling through the Inputs sheet you ll notice that virtually all data entry cells have default data Some of these defaults probably won t apply to your typical customer For example perhaps most of your systems are installed in an area where spanish tile roofs are the norm It would be a hassle to enter the roof type Tile Spanish for almost every new customer We want it set up so every time you open or reset the Tool the default roof type will be Tile Spanish OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 39 BUILDING INFO comp Roof Ground or other Mounting Type Inputs sheet Row 309 BUILDING INFO l Tile Spanist Roof Ground or other Mounting Type Consider scrolling through the Inputs sheet and checking the defaults now First you ll want to put all sections in level 3 in full view with the view filter turned off view filter discussed in Inputs Sheet View Filter in this chapter Adjust a few of the obvious defaults As you use the Tool more you ll be able to make more nuanced adjustments to the Inputs sheet defaults If you ve entered some random defaults on the Inputs sheet while getting familiar you ll want to reset the Tool first see Resetting the Inputs Sheet in this chapter A few obvious changes you might want to make e Customer Type Customer Information section change it to commercial if you only do commercial systems Customer Site State a
120. uts Sheet View PIET uscsiisinetn aa E ane tealtalorsene lucerne 29 Selecting Rates amp Adding User Defined Rates nnosssesoenesssssssseeerrssssssseeeerssssssseeeersssssssees 31 Addins Preicrred NMiodules cc InvorleSe E S 34 Adding User Defined Incentive Programs nnsssssssseeeressssssseseersssssssscceeessssssssereessssssseeeeees 36 Resetting the Inputs Shee ticcesesdecesiaindivedas a E a aaa 38 Data Entry Restrictions the Color Legend oreren n a Sauer ada 39 Customizing ne Det aut In puts sasn E E E 39 US UOT POD NO C AG tae eete case ace atte a chaeercettere tse eater arctan et ee etetaetenceeue eee 4 Keyboard Shortt keys ernieren aee E EE ced E E Seems eeaiareees 42 Chapter 7 The Pricin SW CO ccesccciciscshceasesccacceccascoesccsteedeessacesueacasesucesscctsaasseccnnaese 44 Module yore PACA a E N E 44 MaN PC He O sea E A A E aanhatseacaaee 46 Addins Line Te MS er E E a T 46 PEE E E R aa E EE T EE T E T EE T E T EE E 46 ALC IUSUING Line Menr COSS enea a E a 46 Moving Copying amp Removing Line ltemMmsS essre EE 48 Prici Adder Sonne N E A E O 48 Hiding amp Password Protecting the Pricing Sheet cc ccccccccccccccesseseeeeeceeeceeaeenseeceeeeeeeaaaeeeees 49 Picmeo AIG Wal COS aaraa R T R 50 Chapter 8 The Shading Sheet sssscssescssscsosossossscscsecssscscsssesscsserososscscessssscsssossessst 51 Loads Shade Data Automatically enaena a a R 52 Comparing Shading for Different Sites on a Property
121. y think of it as a black box Default file name OnGrid MasterFile xls Customer Database All customer data is stored in an Excel workbook called the Customer Database There s no need to open the Customer Database directly it s accessed from within the Tool Default file name OnGrid CustData xls Proposal Workbook When you ve finished entering your customer s data in the Tool you ll probably want to print out a proposal The Proposal Workbook contains a variety of proposal pages that can make up a proposal It s accessed from the Tool within the print process You can open the Proposal Workbook directly to modify pages and add new pages covered in chapter 12 Default file name OnGrid Proposals xls OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 7 OnGrid Solaris privieged to present A personalized solar electric analy sis for Jack Sun and Jill Sky Solat User inc 408 111 1111H 608 222 2222C 406 333 3332x333 cust duyer com Sie Arres 117 So Mary Ave 30 Sunnyvale CA 94087 ota 2 6 kW Residential PV System Jak Sun an JA Shy Solar Electric Investment Incentive and Energy Savings Analysis Wreereete ad eneg irg HEENA On beret i aono aat ran nice be aparaadi rhat ha Ararat e e rare Pend went tate aps peed ee iebaes Acme Soia ee en Ao ma haas Argan Laa lie a o rari Uey POA Oasu Rane Sheda CHXD FRsedeasi Ted Fev Soke Rae Shedde D5 XD Pendenas Test TOJ Cot bedatse
122. yboard press Control and the up or down arrow to move a page L1 01 Cover up or down in the page order 11 035 Usage L1 07 Recommended System L1 05 Efficiency L1 14 IRR L1 15 Environmental After adding template pages and putting them in your preferred order you might want to change the template s name to something more distinct To do this click on the button at the top of the form labeled Change Name or Header Style of Selected Template In the small form that appears type your preferred name in the upper left box and click Close This proposal template may apply to many of your customers so don t give it a particular customer s name Instead consider using a short descriptive name based on the template s type or style OnGrid Tool Proposal Template Details Non Profits Basid Template Name OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 60 If you don t intend to use a template in the Template Form s upper right listbox you can remove it by selecting it and pressing Delete on your keyboard If you d like to remove a page from a template select the page in the lower right listbox and press Delete When removing a template or a single page you re only removing it from the list the actual Proposal Workbook isn t affected Pages in Selected Template L1 01 Cover OnGrid Proposals xls 11 02 Letter OnGrid Proposals xls 11 03 Usage OnGrid Proposals xls L1 04 Escalation and Site OnGrid Proposal
123. you can scroll over the different data set release dates to see the updates OnGrid made for that release OnGrid Tool Load Data Manually Scroll over date to see updates Date Version 12 30 2009 1 Updated PGE SCE SDGE LADWP Burbank rates Updated SCE baseline quanties UUJ aU dla 12 15 12 14 2009 Load Data 11 21 2009 Load Data OnGrid Tool User Manual 2013 22 If you d like the Tool to keep the older data set the next time it s opened select No for automatic updating in the OnGrid Data section of the Settings sheet Changing Master Files The Master File contains user data and OnGrid data Unlike with the Customer Database Proposal Workbook and Document Workbook you can only have one Master File loaded into the Tool at a time Ideally you Il want all your user data consolidated in a single Master File so having only one loaded shouldn t be a problem At any time you can switch from one Master File to another Do this by clicking Change Master File Name or Folder in the Master File section starting in row 382 of the Settings sheet You ll be asked if you d like to save the Tool s user data into the replaced Master File before replacing it You ll also have the opportunity to save it into the new Master File or load user data from the new Master File In any case be aware that if you ve made changes to user data in the Tool since saving to a Master File those chang

Download Pdf Manuals

Related Search

Related Contents

Samsung LTM1575W manual do usuário  Samsung SGH-X200B دليل المستخدم  SM 3 User Guide - Extron Electronics  TP-Link TD-W8968 V1 Application Guide  Garmin STC for Bell 206/407 Rotorcraft Flight Manual Supplement  TM8723 User`s Manual (Ver 1.0) (*)  USER`S MANUAL  Herbicide Credit Xtreme  ご利用ガイド Ver.13.0  USB Mixing Audio Interface D01160001A. 取扱説明書  

Copyright © All rights reserved. Failed to retrieve file