Product:  HOMER Pro

HOMER Pro is available in a 64-bit version. Whether you use the 32-bit or 64-bit version depends on how you plan to use it. It is a relatively simple choice:

If you plan to use 1-minute time steps, use the 64-bit version. Otherwise, the 32-bit version will be better.

The difference between 64-bit and 32-bit is how the computer organizes the memory for the application. 32-bit applications have a fundamental 2 GB limit on the memory size. If you plan to run simulations at 1 minute time step, HOMER Pro can run out of memory and crash (especially when plotting time series data). Unless you are running 1 minute time steps, the extra overhead associated with a 64-bit application isn't worth it, and the 32-bit version should work fine. The 32-bit version of HOMER Pro will be slightly faster than the 64-bit version (although we haven't tested this).

If you wish, you can install both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of HOMER Pro. They will use the same license, same component library, and you can run them simultaneously if you want to. In the future, 1 minute time steps may be disabled in the 32-bit version to prevent crashing. For now, you can still run 1 minute time steps in the 32-bit version, but be sure to save your work often if you decide to do this.