The single-line diagram of your PV plant, drawn from the design
pvSpline draws the one-line diagram of the whole plant from the project: modules, strings, combiner boxes, inverters, disconnects, the meter and the grid. You edit the design and the drawing follows, ready to export for the permit set and the Consuel file.
Drawn from the design, never by hand
The diagram is built from the project: the panels and strings on the Map, the inverters and combiner boxes of the design, the parts in the catalogue. Change any of them and it redraws a fraction of a second later. Read left to right, it runs from the modules through the optimisers, if fitted, the strings, the combiner boxes and the DC disconnect to the inverters and their MPPT inputs, then the AC disconnect, a transformer from 100 kVA, the meter and the grid.
Every kind of plant
- Batteries: a physical battery hangs from the hybrid inverter when it is DC-coupled, from the AC disconnect when it is AC-coupled, with its name and its capacity.
- Microinverters: the drawing switches to their layout, with no strings, combiner boxes or DC disconnect, since each module feeds its own inverter.
- Large plants: past 12 strings, the strings fold into groups; from 100 kVA a medium-voltage transformer is drawn, shared or one per inverter.
- Two symbol sets: IEC, the European default, or IEEE for North American readers.
A drawing you can work on
Click a card to edit it beside the drawing: an inverter picked from your favourites or read from its .OND datasheet, a combiner box, a string. Drag a string card to another MPPT input, or pick its route and its input; the strings left on Auto are spread by the engine. Click a cable label to size that cable, and its gauge and protection appear on the drawing.
Checks on every redraw
Each redraw runs the design checks: strings over the voltage limit, MPPT inputs given too many strings, combiner inputs exceeded, an inverter too large or too small for the array. A finding that names a card selects it on the drawing, and the Consuel checks run at the same time.
Exports for the permit set and the Consuel file
- One-line diagram (PDF): the drawing on an A4 landscape page, the form a permit set takes.
- One-line diagram (SVG): the same drawing as a vector file, for CAD.
- Bill of materials, as CSV or XLSX: every component and every sized cable run, headed with the electrical code.
- The Consuel technical file attaches the same drawing, and the PDF report prints it on a page of its own.
The files are drawn from the project as it stands, so they are ready before the first simulation.
A single-line diagram in four steps
- Draw the array on the Map, then open Diagram.
- Click Create initial design: a starter inverter sized for the array appears, with its strings.
- Select the inverter, choose yours in Pick from favourites or import its .OND file, and move strings between MPPT inputs if you need to.
- On Results, open the menu beside Download PDF and choose One-line diagram (PDF) or One-line diagram (SVG).
Questions
Can I draw the diagram by hand?
There is nothing to draw: you edit the design (strings, combiner boxes, inverters, cable runs) and the picture redraws itself. The diagram and the simulation describe the same plant.
Does it show a battery?
Yes, while the project simulates a physical battery: on the hybrid inverter for a DC-coupled bank, on the AC disconnect for an AC-coupled one, with its capacity in kWh.
Which symbols does it use?
IEC symbols by default, the European convention, or IEEE symbols; the choice changes only how the symbols are drawn. The labels follow your interface language.
The fastest way to judge a simulation tool is to run it on a project you already know.