Connect plant design to network analysis
A plant design and an electrical network answer different questions. The plant model reconciles hourly energy and operating cost. The network model calculates voltages, currents, losses and fault behaviour from electrical data.
Use the handoff to connect those studies without treating one as proof of the other.
Choose the direction
| Starting point | Workflow |
|---|---|
| Saved standalone plant version | Materialize its components onto an existing bus or create a starter network. |
| Existing electrical network | Bind plant study components to the appropriate elements. |
| Designed distribution layout | Commit the layout, inspect its PF3 check, then complete the plant/network connections and equipment data. |
Materialize a plant version
- Save and inspect the intended plant design version.
- Open its materialization control.
- Choose An existing bus and select Target bus, or choose Create a starter network.
- Review the target. For a starter network, enter its known nominal line-to-line voltage in Nominal voltage (kV).
- Select Materialize this version.
- Review the generated-element summary and resulting network. Check component mappings, equipment ratings and units, then complete the required electrical data before a study.
The handoff converts hybrid kW/kWh values to network MW/MWh where required. Do not perform a second manual conversion. Check the equipment ratings in the resulting model.
A starter network is a starting model, not a complete distribution design or a fully specified plant connection study.
Bind an existing network
Select the relevant network elements in the plant binding controls: PV/inverter source, storage, synchronous generator, grid source and loads where applicable. Read every coupling blocker before submitting the study.
A coupled sizing run proposes equipment changes. Review each element, current value, proposed value and network unit. Apply the proposal against the same model revision that produced it. If the model changed, rerun the search. Apply the sizing proposal before promotion or another model write makes it stale.
Complete the electrical checks
Review bus voltage bases, connectivity, cable impedances, transformer data, phases, load power factors, source controls and generator machine parameters.
Then select the study needed for the decision:
- Power flow for operating voltage, current and loading.
- Short circuit for fault-current duties with the required source data.
- Protection for settings and coordination.
- A configured time-series network study when you need electrical behaviour across operating points.
An off-grid materialized genset can lack the sequence reactances needed for a network study. Supply actual machine data. A successful annual energy run cannot fill those gaps.
Compare on the same basis
Compare the same demand, weather, operating case and dispatch assumptions. A hybrid energy balance omits the detailed network impedance calculation. A network run can add losses and use different dispatch/control behaviour. Investigate those differences rather than forcing totals to agree.
For a distribution commit, read the saved demand snapshot and the operating case used by its cross-check. Independent branch sizing envelopes do not define one simultaneous load-flow state.
Recover safely
If materialization is refused, correct the named mapping or data issue before trying again. If a sizing proposal is stale, recompute it; do not re-enter its old numbers manually. If the network study fails, diagnose the electrical model rather than changing the annual energy result.
See Network design for routes and customer connections. This guide describes the inspected September 2026 development build.