Solar Carport Sizing When Weekend Demand Is Low

Separate weekends from the average day

Low weekend demand means an office carport should not be sized from annual bills or average daily consumption alone. Both solar output and office loads vary; weekday alignment does not describe weekends, holidays or closures. Collect time-resolved data suitable for the analysis and identify office hours, cooling schedules, shared services and events. Early studies may use explicit assumptions where detail is missing, but should remain provisional. Dividing annual energy by days does not create a measured profile. Define whether the objective is on-site use, charging support or evaluation of potential exports.

Compare candidate sizes on the same timeline

Align candidate PV output and site demand on a consistent timeline, disclosing weather, shading and equipment assumptions. Review working days, low-demand days and other important periods rather than only two similar annual bars. Surplus treatment depends on connection and local settlement arrangements. Identify storage or load shifting as separate options with their own assumptions. Do not assume all weekend surplus can be sold at a particular price, and do not introduce unnecessary consumption merely to absorb solar generation.

• Identify weekdays, weekends, holidays and closures.
• State assumptions for export, limits or storage.
• Compare timing across sizes, not only total production.

Test a weekend-closed office

Imagine an office busy during weekday daylight but retaining only small shared loads at weekends. A system sized around annual energy may create weekend surplus needing a separate arrangement. Compare a smaller configuration, reserved expansion interfaces or an assessed storage option, including operational tasks. This does not presume smaller is always better or batteries are economical. Proposed future weekend charging should distinguish confirmed demand from an idea; nonexistent users are not a stable load. Present measured data beside explicit scenarios so each option's dependencies are visible.

Explain whether baseline data comes from an unusual operating year. New occupants or changed remote-working patterns can make historical timing unrepresentative of the loads the future canopy will serve.

Record the conditions that should trigger review

The recommendation should identify the data period, treatment of unusual days, candidate capacities and assumptions driving the decision. PVWatts estimates grid-connected output but must be interpreted with demand and connection conditions; it does not guarantee self-consumption. Changes in office hours, tenants or charging equipment after TTH configuration selection should trigger review. Assign data retention, trend review and escalation to professionals. With the original baseline and assumptions preserved, the campus can determine whether the initial proposal still fits its changed operations.