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Getting Started Guide Version 2.0 DRAFT May 2003

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About this Getting Started Guide
This Getting Started guide introduces you to HOMER by walking you through eleven steps. You will start byproviding HOMER with information, or inputs, about power system designs that you want to consider. HOMER will simulate system configurations, create a list of feasible system designs, and sort the list by cost-effectiveness. In the final step, you will use HOMER to perform a sensitivity analysis. By going through each step in the guide, you should become familiar with the software, and develop enoughexperience to start using the model on your own. It should take about an hour to complete this exercise. The online version of this guide You can open an online version of this guide by choosing Getting Started on HOMER's Help menu. Checking your work as you go Throughout the guide are illustrations that show how HOMER should look as you use the software. Be sure to compare what appears on yourcomputer screen to the illustrations to make sure that you have correctly completed each step. About Tips and Notes: Throughout this guide, tips and notes provide additional information to help you better understand how HOMER works. A note is important information that you should read to better understand the step of the exercise that you are completing. A tip is supplementary information that youmay find useful for your future work with HOMER, but is not essential to understand to complete the exercise.

Table of Contents
Welcome to HOMER ................................................................................................ 3 Step one: Formulate a question that HOMER can help answer........................... 5 Step two: Create a new HOMER file....................................................................... 6 Step three: Build the schematic ............................................................................. 7 Step four: Enter load details................................................................................... 9 Step five: Enter component details...................................................................... 11 Step six: Enterresource details ........................................................................... 14 Step seven: Check inputs and correct errors ..................................................... 16 Step eight: Examine optimization results............................................................ 19 Step nine: Refine the system design ................................................................... 21Step ten: Add sensitivity variables ...................................................................... 24 Step eleven: Examine sensitivity analysis results.............................................. 26 Getting Started Guide summary........................................................................... 28 Contacts................................................................................................................. 29

HOMER v2.0 (May 2003)

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Welcome to HOMER
What is HOMER?
HOMER, the optimization model for distributed power, simplifies the task of evaluating designs of both off-grid and grid-connected power systems for a variety of applications. When you design a power system, you must make many decisions about theconfiguration of the system: What components does it make sense to include in the system design? How many and what size of each component should you use? The large number of technology options and the variation in technology costs and availability of energy resources make these decisions difficult. HOMER's optimization and sensitivity analysis algorithms make it easier to evaluate the many possible...