HOMER Grid Version History
This page contains the version history for HOMER Grid, released in March 2018. HOMER Pro and earlier HOMER version history is here.
Download the latest HOMER Grid version here.
HOMER Grid Version 1.10.2 (June 9, 2023)-
Features and Improvements
- Improved handling of NEM3 tariffs
Features:
-
Features and Improvements
- Added ability to calculate EV revenue
- Add option to import multiple PV production data
- Add option to import multiple Wind production data
- Improved tariff handling
- Added new tariffs to database
- Shifted holidays to match model year
Features:
Improvements:
-
Features and Improvements
- Added ability to calculate EV revenue
- Add option to import multiple PV production data
- Add option to import multiple Wind production data
- Improved tariff handling
- Added new tariffs to database
- Shifted holidays to match model year
Features:
Improvements:
-
Features and Improvements
- Corrected antivirus security issue
Issues:
-
Features and Improvements
- Corrected Helioscope link
Issues:
-
Features and Improvements
- Fixed licensing delivery errors
- Fixed library initialization bug
Issues:
-
Features and Improvements
- Batch export for multiple detailed timeseries
- Corrected file hanging if the battery wear is zero
- Library initialization error
- Wind component typo
- Currency symbol for generators
- Fixed generator schedule to match weekend and weekdays for selected year
- Corrected context help links
- Corrected issue with incorrect currency error message
- Corrected issue with incorrect controller warning message
Features:
Issues:
-
Features and Improvements
- In-app help with new icons
- Detailed Cost Structure
- Dedicated converter for Storage
- Updated tariffs, since 2020
- Changed user tariff chooser pop-up from dropdown to table, to see full name and tariff abbreviation
- Ability to edit customer tariff, directly from Utility view
- Relabeled and reorganized tariff chooser tabs
- Rate tooltips filtered by rate settings
- Library button is labeled
- Delete reference to community forum, fix links to support and Engineer Hours
- Messaging if concurrent license seats are full
- Warning if no load is specified for Visualize Utility Bill
- Utility View’s tabs are consolidated
- View rates relevant to the rate setting selected
- Add warning when user deletes a tariff
- Relabeled and reorganized tariff chooser tabs
- Wind production higher than rated turbine capacity
- Text fixes and label changes (ex: number of strings in battery search space)
- Issue with file hanging if the battery wear is zero
- Demand Response savings not appearing in Client Proposal
- Issue with peak demand interval and ratchet rate not saving when editing existing demand rate
Features:
Enhancement:
Issues:
-
Features and Improvements
- Corrected hover over fuel units in monthly whisker plot
- Corrected time series values vs. plotter values
- Corrected context help links
- Changed Modified Kinetic Model to ASM for consistency
- Upload key includes copy option
- Improved multi-user license installation
- Added multiyear escalator to time series
Fixes:
Improvements:
-
Features and Improvements
- Issue with editing a simple tariff in the librarian
- Issue with EV energy served for on-demand EV charging mode
Fixes:
-
Features and Improvements
- Issue with opening simulation details of a generator system
- Issue with sub-hourly timesteps and the EV charging requirements if EV demand exceeds charger capacity
Fixes:
-
Features and Improvements
- Improved help documentation
- Issue with recalculating if there’s a choice of base cases
Improvements:
Fixes:
-
Features and Improvements
- Issue with how Optimization Results' compare economics chooses a base case
- Issue with deleting Genability demand rates within the Librarian Editor
- Issue with exporting multi-year results in annual format with multiple PVs
Fixes:
-
Features and Improvements
- Improved demand limit modeling for systems with large load and small storage
- Issue with Librarian’s advanced tariff builder seasonal ratchet rates
- Issue with Librarian’s advanced tariff builder calculation in the ‘Test’ tab
Improvements:
Fixes:
-
Features and Improvements
- Option to specify year in Import and Edit for loads
- Updated End User License Agreement
- Link to Windnavigator wind data
- Issue with Importing PVsyst data
- Issue with accounting for daylight savings in imported load data
- Issue with optimized Demand Response Event limits
- Issue creating an Optimization Report for certain Windows settings
Improvements:
Fixes:
-
Features and Improvements
- Reporting and Proposal content for EV charging
- Simulation Results details include Electric Vehicles tab with information on Single Sessions and Daily charging for an on-demand EV charger
- Help documentation for EV charging
- Issue with fixed rates calculation in multi-year file
- Client Report for switching utility tariffs
- Issue with creating a proposal
- Issue with resilience results with no AC load
- Issue with modeling on-demand charger with sub-hourly timesteps
Improvements:
Fixes:
-
Features and Improvements
- Electric Vehicle Charging
- Ability to model non-continuous ratchet periods for demand rates
- Demand rates interface in the Librarian's Tariff Builder
- Creating a Client Report with Windows' regional settings
- Issue with editing number inputs with Windows' regional settings
- Issue with creating a Simulation Report with multi-year
- Issue with weekdays/weekends for synthetic loads and year to model
New Features:
Improvements:
Fixes:
HOMER Grid Version 1.7.4 (March 31, 2020)
-
Features and Improvements
- MATLAB Controller help article
- Results display demand response savings separately from demand charge reduction savings
- Units in the Client Proposal's Electric Consumption section (previously: kWh/yr, corrected: kWh/day)
- Issue with Client Report's savings 'waterfall' chart and compare economics for multi-year models
- Text change in Client Report's Thermal Consumption section
- Issue with MATLAB Simulation Parameters
- Modeling Demand Response on weekends vs weekdays
Improvements:
Fixes:
HOMER Grid Version 1.7.1 (January 29, 2020)
-
Features and Improvements
- Save company logo to user settings profile
- Allow saving files to long file paths
- Minor formatting and layout Client Report
- Compare Economics features consistently reference 'base case' and 'proposed' system
- Display controller in Optimization results, if multiple
- Issue with demand response displayed in Client Report and in Simulation Results
- Issue with AC/DC ratio for the MATLAB link
- Issue with Client Report's PV section for multiple PV components
- Crash if no text in Customer Testimonials of Client Report
- Client Report's Storage capacity metric
- Issue with footer in Engineering Details report
- Issue in Client Report's Storage Section for Multi-year models
- Issue in Operating and Maintenence and Fuel costs for Multi-year models
- Issue calculating utility sell-back rate timeseries
- Crash when excluding Client Report's Table of Contents
- Issue defining wind turbine maintenance schedule in Library view
- Crash with missing fuel resource in library
- Issue with new files modeling with the optimizer and multiple sensitivity analyses
Improvements:
Fixes:
HOMER Grid Version 1.7.0 Beta (January 14, 2020)
-
Features and Improvements
- MATLAB Link and C++ Controller API
- Client Proposal builder
- Interface for specifying TOU rates in Librarian's Tariff Builder
- Simulation Results' Utility Tab metrics for non-outage simulation
- Issue with specifying battery string size in Librarian
- Issue with creating a multi-year report with a CHP generator
New Features:
Improvements:
Fixes:
HOMER Grid Version 1.6.3 (November 14, 2019)
-
Features and Improvements
- Issue with the discounted cash-flow in Simulation Results for multi-year files
Fixes:
HOMER Grid Version 1.6.2 (October 25, 2019)
-
Features and Improvements
- Tariff builder feature in the Library Application saves colors assigned to rates
- Tariff builder feature in the Library Application maintains order in which the rates are displayed
- Issue with importing tariffs (.json files) into the Library Application
- Metrics in Optimization Report for annual and daily energy consumption
- Year label in the Optimization Report's Peak Day graphs
- Issue with legend in the Simulation report in .docx format's timeseries graphic if only one dataseries is graphed
- Issue with deleting holidays
- Issue editing a rates season in the tariff builder feature of the Library Application
- Issue with HelioScope solar production when imported to HOMER
Improvements:
Fixes:
HOMER Grid Version 1.6.1 (September 24, 2019)
-
Features and Improvements
- Library Application's Import button displays .json and .xml by default
- After importing components in the Library Application, display updated list of components
- Context sensitive help links added to new features
- Fuel summary results tab metrics for sub-hourly timesteps
- Issue with defining a timeseries of real-time consumption prices
- Rounding issue in extrapolated values of the cost table
- Issue with battery maintenance schedule
Improvements:
Fixes:
HOMER Grid Version 1.6.0 Beta (August 30, 2019)
-
Features and Improvements
- Tariff builder incorporated into the library editor
- Size PV-dedicated converter by AC/DC ratio
- Copy feature for a simulation's results and cashflows
- Dispatch improvements for battery operation in resilience models
- Dispatch improvements for time-steps with equivalent tariff pricing
- Simulation Results' graphics for demand limit optimization display in models with Demand Response
- Currency issue on the Utility page and the Utility Bill Details pop-up
- Interconnection limitations consider capacity shortage allowance
- Issue with defining multiple PV-dedicated converter search space values
- File compare feature considers utility, incentive, and demand response information
New Features:
Improvements:
Fixes:
HOMER Grid Version 1.5.2 (July 23, 2019)
-
Features and Improvements
- Fix for crash in simulation reports on adding custom logo
- Fix for emissions calculations in peak shaving dispatch
- Fix for combining tariffs
- Fix for editing simple builder tariffs in Tariff Builder
- Fix for crash on optimization report when there are no results
Improvements:
HOMER Grid Version 1.5.1 Beta (June 27, 2019)
-
Features and Improvements
- Interconnection Limit
- Simulation Report has Demand Response section
- Better default selection for Rate Settings of Genability tariffs
- Better charge/discharge behavior for Kinetic and Modified Kinetic batteries
- Demand Response works with sub-hourly time-steps
- Minor report fixes for docx format
New Features:
Improvements:
Fixes:
HOMER Grid Version 1.5.0 Beta (June 20, 2019)
-
Features and Improvements
- Demand Response Programs
- Customizable and smaller file sizes for Simulation Reports in .docx formats
- UI for choosing Genability tariffs and setting generation rates from the electricity provider
- Minor Tariff Builder UI improvements
New Features:
Improvements:
HOMER Grid Version 1.4.3 (May 16, 2019)
-
Features and Improvements
- Issue with crash on context help
- Issue with crash when no tariffs for a zipcode are supported
- Issue with crash when less than one minute timestep files are imported
Fixes:
HOMER Grid Version 1.4.2 (May 9, 2019)
-
Features and Improvements
- Results View remembers which tab you were looking at most recently when flipping between results and design view
- Issue with how seasons for ratchet rates are processed in complex rate model
- Improved ability to receive customer uploads upon program crash
- For timesteps with no grid purchases, Total Demand data series will now display the demand price in the Time Series Viewer
Improvements:
Fixes:
HOMER Grid Version 1.4.1 (April 15, 2019)
-
Features and Improvements
- Simulation Report includes multi-year utility bill information and monthly bill totals
- Time Series Viewer improvements
- Warning about setting more than 4 optimization variables
- Dispatch log in multi-year Time Series Viewer displays chosen year
- Data-series are grouped by component in the Time Series Viewer
- Concurrent licenses release license upon program close
- Optimization Report crash when Base Case is not the category winner
- Simulation Report crash when certain data-series aren't in the model
- Dispatch and cost estimate fix for modeling boiler with sub-hourly time-steps
- Genability's variables rates will pull rates from 1/1/18-1/1/19
- Daily demand charges rates are calculated correctly
- Fixed charges which are dependent on reactive power are supported
Improvements:
Fixes:
HOMER Grid Version 1.4.0 Beta (March 21, 2019)
-
Features and Improvements
- Dispatch log explains the decisions made by the dispatch algorithm
- Summary Tab is the first thing shown in the Results View
- Multi-Year modeling capability
- Time Series Viewer improvements allow you to create pre-set plots
- 30,000 more tariffs available for North American locations
- Improvements to the Peak Shaving dispatch algorithm
- Improved explanations for Rate Settings on the Utility Page
New features:
Improvements:
HOMER Grid Version 1.3.3 (February 13, 2019)
-
Features and Improvements
- Solar GHI resource graphic and the Utility page's Monthly Utility Bill graphic now include legends
- Capacity Shortage Penalty setting is now only editable in the Outage Settings page
- Library and Complete Catalog now display customized components in bold type and at the top of the list of components
- Issues with canceling a calculation that resulted in creating unreadable files and user interface crashes
- Issue with power factor not being recognized as a change to the model inputs
- Issue where certain required Rate Settings were not displayed in the interface
- Issue with concurrent licensing recognizing license.txt file
- Issues displaying Optimization Report graphics correctly if a component name includes special characters (ex: Tariff abbreviations including commas)
- Issues displaying Optimization Report graphics correctly if there's a 'Time-step mismatch' warning
- Issue opening program if invalid Proxy settings had been specified and saved
- Default location set to the United States
Improvements:
Fixes:
HOMER Grid Version 1.3.2 (January 18, 2019)
-
Features and Improvements
- Fixed issue with sell/export, variable rates created in the tariff builder application in previous versions
- Fixed issue with no results when tariff includes rate setting billingPeriodDays
- Fixed issue that occurs after canceling a calculation, upon re-open the file is corrupted
Fixes:
HOMER Grid Version 1.3.1 (January 9, 2019)
-
Features and Improvements
- Added Grid Sales metric to the Simulation Results Electrical tab
- Added a Welcome Screen linking the Setup Assistant, the Start Tour, and Sample Files
- Added Start Tour
- Improved the Simulation Results Utility tab to display Peak Load instead of Peak Demand
- Fixed issue with inputting information in Setup Assistant's Rate Settings
- Fixed issue with displaying whether a tariff was supported for a specific effective date
- Fixed dispatch decisions to include knowledge of emissions penalties
Improvements:
Fixes:
HOMER Grid Version 1.3.0 Beta (December 12, 2018)
-
Features and Improvements
- Library to create custom components and incentives
- Reliability for short outages
- Cost penalties, capacity shortages allowance, and operating reserve during an outage
- Ability to model systems which sell more to the grid than they buy
- Ability to define a battery maintenance schedule
- Resilience events may start on random dates
- Expanded list of tariffs (including past and future versions)
- Tariff Builder includes additional transaction types, charge periods
New features:
Improvements:
HOMER Grid Version 1.2.8 (November 15, 2018)
-
Features and Improvements
- Fixed issue displaying synthetic load's peak (kW) after editing the load variability
- Fixed issue demand rates on holidays (or other calendars)
Fixes:
HOMER Grid Version 1.2.7 (October 2, 2018)
-
Features and Improvements
- Fixed fuel consumption issue when comparing economics
- Fixed issue with the text box not updating input information
- Fixed issue with opening saved HOMER Grid file
Fixes:
HOMER Grid Version 1.2.6 (October 1, 2018)
-
Features and Improvements
- Added warning when a PV component with zero costs is used in conjunction with the optimizer
- Improved generator cycling dispatch during an outage
- Added text and Genability logo to Tariff Chooser
- Improved ability to activate concurrent licenses on multiple computers
- Fixed issue related to floating point error
- Fixed issue with reporting the results' compare economics
-
Autosaved files are saved as
.hgridfiles - Grid Sale Limit has a 1GW default for imported tariffs and Genability tariffs
- Maintenance Schedule for Storage is temporarily disabled pending complete fix
- Axis of Optimization Plot for Graphical Results is scalable
Improvements:
Fixes:
HOMER Grid Version 1.2.5 (September 7, 2018)
-
Features and Improvements
- Display 'old host ID' on the License Manager page
- Issues with new concurrent licensing system
Improvements:
Fixed:
HOMER Grid Version 1.2.4 (August 30, 2018)
-
Features and Improvements
- Optimization for the demand limit is re-run if the demand was at the upper limit
- Tariff builder issue with creating time-of-use demand rates
- Issue with engine calculating time-of-use demand rates
- Generator minimum run-time issue
Improvements:
Fixed:
HOMER Grid Version 1.2.3 (August 24, 2018)
-
Features and Improvements
- Instructions for tax rates in the tariff builder
- Warning that only one imported PV Production Resource is valid
- Identification of year for real-time rate data imported in the tariff builder
- UtilityAPI integration on Electric Load page
- Scrollable HelioScope Project List
- PVsyst imported data identifies PVsyst version number
- Six month shift for OpenEI load profiles modeled in the southern hemisphere
- Issue with deleting and adding ratcheted rates and tiers in the tariff builder
- Concurrent licensing issues
- Issue with resilience model with critical load of 0kWh/day
- Units for PV Production Resource
Improvements:
Fixed:
HOMER Grid Version 1.2.2 (August 1, 2018)
-
Features and Improvements
- OpenEI Load electric data is now extrapolated based on climate zone for locations world-wide
- Implemented minor UI improvements
- Improved product stability
- Issue with real-time rates
- Ability to combine tariffs
-
Issues within the Simulation Results' Utility Tab:
- Breakdown of tariff taxes
- Consumption Prices table for a custom tariff in Utility Bill Details
- Dispatch issue where charging the battery was not limited by the rectifying capacity
- Currency issue when opening saved files
- Units for Tax Rates and Fixed Rates in the Tariff Builder
Improvements:
Fixed:
HOMER Grid Version 1.2.1 (July 10, 2018)
-
Features and Improvements
- Ability to define time-zone in the Tariff Builder application
- Warning if tariff time-zone does not match project location time-zone
- Critical Electric Load is required to calculate and visualize bill
- Additional sample file added to demonstrate a simple system
- Visualization for the tariff rate chart, as seen in the Tariff Builder application and the utility tariff page
- Contracted Demand Rates defined in the Tariff Builder application display correctly in the list of demand rates and in the Heat Map
- Daylight savings bug causing error during the months when time-change occurs
Improvements:
Fixed:
HOMER Grid Version 1.2.0 Beta (June 19, 2018)
-
Features and Improvements
- Advanced Tariff Builder Application
- HelioScope API connection
- Ability to import PV production time series
- Extended, infrequent outages & non-critical loads
- Wind
- Performance Improvements
- Authenticated proxy support & improved concurrent license system
- Visualizations to verify utility rates and bill
- Increased flexibility to import measure load data
New features:
Improvements:
HOMER Grid Version 1.1.3 (May 15, 2018)
-
Features and Improvements
- Improved Optimization Report chart visualizations
- Edited sample files
- Production-based incentives and MACRS credited starting in the first year of operation
- Optimization Report accommodates user-defined base cases for comparing economics
- Units of Demand Rate in Time Series Viewer
- Customizable currency fixes
- Formatting for negative numbers exported to Excel
Improvements:
Fixed:
HOMER Grid Version 1.1.2 (April 5, 2018)
-
Features and Improvements
- New License Manager Page
- Improved Optimization Report
- Improved Wizard Interface
- Simulation Report's Energy Purchased from Grid and Energy Sold to Grid graphs
- Battery lifetime bug
- Variable rates for calculating monthly demand rates
- Use total demand rate for monthly demand limit optimization
Improvements:
Fixed:
HOMER Grid Version 1.1.1 (March 9, 2018)
-
Features and Improvements
- Wizard allows for customizable tariff rate settings
- Optimization Report styling
- Generator schedule, maintenance, and fuel limit
- Storage component lifetime and annual throughput
- Excess Electricity metrics
Improvements:
Fixed:
HOMER Grid Version 1.1.0 First Release (March 1, 2018)
-
Features and Improvements
- Initial release
- Added Combined heat and power module per customer input
- Genability tariff database integration for USA, Canada, Mexico, and Australia