1. Create a new generation design

1. Navigate to the Generation Design module of a project
   
2. Select the Create button
   
3. Choose one of the following option:
   

1. New Design
   

1. Select this option to create a new system from scratch. 
   

2. Create From Library
   

1. Choose this option if you would like to use a saved generation design from any of your projects in Odyssey. See information on how to save a generation design in Step 11.
   

2. Turn HOMER on/off

1. Click the Enable HOMER Optimization toggle 
   

1. HOMER Enabled
   

1. If you want to optimize your design, you can have HOMER calculate the least cost sizing of your components based on your pricing and load demand. 
   
2. If you already know your system design, you can use HOMER to verify that your system will serve your expected load, simulate the generator’s run time, and calculate your diesel fuel cost and generator O&M for your financial model.
   

2. HOMER Disabled
   

1. You can disable HOMER if you would prefer to enter data directly from your own modeling method.
   
2. If you choose this option, you will need to provide the load availability your system will provide.
   

3. Choose a system type

1. Click Design Components
   
2. Select an AC-Coupled System or DC-Coupled System design
   

4. Add components to your generation design

1. Navigate to the Design Components section
   
2. Drag and drop each system component into the area below to include it in your design 
   
1. You must include a generation source and charge controllers/inverters at minimum to run HOMER.
   
2. A traditional hybrid solar-diesel system includes all components included in the System Components diagram.
   
3. You can choose whether you would like to include a generator in your design.
   
3. Choose whether you would like to include a Grid component
   
1. If you are planning to interconnect your system to the main grid, include the grid component from the schematic.
   
2. If you are planning to sell electricity to the grid, select a Net-metering Payment Frequency
   
1. Electricity revenues are calculated using a net-metering scheme, which calculates the grid electricity expenditure at the end of the net-metering payment frequency (monthly or annually). 
   
2. This figure can be negative if your revenues from selling electricity are higher than the costs from consuming electricity. 
   
3. Select whether The grid is always available by checking the box.
   
1. If the grid is unreliable, specify how many hours it is on during the daytime (6:00 - 18:00) and nighttime (18:00 - 6:00). The availability of these hours are randomly distributed through each 12 hour period.
   
4. Read more about the options for modeling an interconnected mini-grid in the FAQ article: What are my options for modeling an interconnected mini-grid?
   

5. Enable/disable HOMER Optimization 

1. Use the HOMER Optimize toggle to Enable/Disable HOMER optimization
   

1. Enabled
   

1. HOMER will calculate the optimal capacity of the component based on your Odyssey load, component pricing, and Input Constraints
   

2. Disabled
   

1. HOMER will constrain simulations to the specific component size you have entered and calculate the Model Outputs based on the sizing specified. 
   

Note: Within the HOMER software, the sizing of Solar PV and Charge Controllers are linked. Manually changing the sizing of your charge controller to will not verify your charge controller’s sizing.

6. Enter your Component Data

1. Specify the the Make of each component 
   
1. If you don’t know the Make or Model of your component, you can enter "Generic".
   
2. Choose a Model
   
1. If you are modeling your generation design with HOMER, you can specify the model of your Solar PV, Storage, or Inverter by choosing from the dropdown menu of HOMER library components. 
   
2. Your selected Model's specifications will be used in the HOMER optimization.
   
3. Update the Scaling Cost
   
1. Scaling costs are all generation costs that scale directly with the size of your component. Two examples are foundations and racking.
   
2. It is important to include the total scaling cost so HOMER can accurately calculate the least cost optimization.
   
4. Check the Specific Costs box to provide detailed scaling costs
   
5. Check the Replacement Needed box to provide component replacement information
   
1. You should include a replacement if your component requires replacement within your project lifetime.
   
2. The replacement cost will be factored into the HOMER Optimization as well as the Financials module cash flow.
   
6. Update your Scaling Cost, Make, Model and Capacity as you get finalized information from quotations. 
   

7. Run HOMER

1. Click the Run HOMER section
   
2. Enter the Input Constraints
   

1. Min. Renewable Fraction
   

1. The minimum percentage of your load to be met by renewable sources.
   
2. Ex. Entering 90 (%) would discard any HOMER optimized systems where the generator has been designed to meet greater than 10% of the load annually. 
   

The Min. Renewable Fraction acts as a filter after HOMER has run the dispatch schedule for each component.

If your generator pricing is inexpensive, HOMER will optimize your system with the generator dispatching to meet a majority of the load, which could result in all systems filtering out the generator. HOMER would therefore return a result with no generator, even if it may be cheaper to meet some of your load with the generator. 

Reach out to support or see the HOMER manual for more information.

1. Min. Load Availability
   

1. The minimum percentage of load that must be met during the year.
   
2. Entering a value slightly less than 100% (i.e. 97%-99%) could help prevent your system from being oversized for a few cloudy days in the year. 
   

if you want to meet less than 90% of the annual load, this should be done using the load scaler on the Load module.

1. System Oversizing Factor
   

1. The percentage you would like to scale up your daily load for the HOMER optimization.
   
2. Entering a value of "50" scales up the load by 50%. This allows you to size the system to meet future loads.
   

2. System Losses
   

1. Enter the expected distribution system losses in System Losses.
   
2. Entering a value of "10" will model a system with 10% losses.
   

3. Discount Rate
   

1. The rate used to calculate the present value of future expenditures in the HOMER discounted cash flow. 
   
2. This impacts the net present cost of component replacements.
   

3. Press the Run HOMER button

1. You will see the status of your HOMER run updating, and a modal will pop up when your run is complete.
   

8. Check your Results

1. View optimization results in the Design components section
   
2. View Model Output results in the Run HOMER section
   

1. Excess Electricity
   

1. The percentage of electricity that your system is producing that is not being consumed. If your excess electricity is too high, consider decreasing your Min. Renewable Fraction input constraint and running HOMER again. 
   

2. Cost of Energy
   

1. The generation-related Cost of Energy is the cost of each kWh produced by the system.
   
2. The cost of energy only includes generation-related costs. If you want the cost of energy related to all project Capex, view the Cost of Energy in the Excel financial model download.
   
3. Click the View Results button in the Run HOMER section to download results
   
1. Click the Download arrow next to your HOMER run to download information about your run, including a PDF of the results and your HOMER file.
   

If your Model Output is displaying Not Calculated, your HOMER run was infeasible. Please verify your component costing is correct and that all required components have been included. Please contact Odyssey support via the chat box if you need additional help. It is required that you have a successful HOMER run in order to be able to run your financial model successfully. 

9. Additional Options with HOMER

1. Iterating with HOMER
   

1. You may use HOMER Optimize to get a rough sense of the component size, and then further refine your design (for example, to account for discrete component sizes offered by a specific manufacturer).
   
1. Disable the HOMER Optimize toggle on the component
   
2. Manually edit the Capacity
   
3. Click Run HOMER to see how the outputs change. You may use Optimize Sizing to get a rough sense of the component size, and then further refine your design by entering discrete component sizes offered by a specific manufacturer. 
   

2. Changing the load and resizing with HOMER
   

1. Return to the Load module to adjust your load or change the load scaler to quickly see how a change in load would impact your generation system sizing. Rerun HOMER to model your system with the load updates. 
   

10. Add Balance of System Fixed Costs

1. Click Enter Balance of System and Fixed Costs
   
2. Click the Add button
   
3. Fill out each line item
   
4. View the Total Cost
   

11. Activating a Generation Design

12. Saving a generation design to your library (optional)

1. Navigate to the Generation Design List
   
2. Select the ellipsis to the right of your generation design name
   
3. Click Save to Library