HOMER QuickStart vs. HOMER Pro

HOMER QuickStart is a simplified online tool for optimizing the economics of small, off-grid power systems and understanding what might be possible for a given location. It complements our flagship product HOMER Pro, as an educational/exploratory mechanism for understanding what is possible for your location and situation. QuickStart is not meant to replace Pro, but rather to make it much easier to get started understanding how HOMER works as a decision making and design tool for independent power systems.

	HOMER Quickstart	HOMER Pro
Use for early design and exploration	Yes	Yes
Use for detailed design, final project specification	No	Yes
Best for	Basic understanding of how systems work and what is possible	Advanced system optimization and design analysis
Educational use	High school or undergraduate	Advanced renewable energy courses, graduate work
Economics	Modify a few simple parameters, such as component costs and interest rate	Complete cost structure and economic analysis with many options, economies of scale, and much more
Engineering	Select from a limited set of power system and storage components	Almost unlimited engineering options, create your own components or select from an extensive library, define your own dispatch strategy, and much more
Grid connectivity	No	Detailed grid and rate modeling, including unreliable grid
Data	Select from standard profiles and make minor modifications	Select from standard profiles and modify in many ways, or upload custom data
Availability	Service available using any web browser	Desktop software requires Windows OS
	Try Quickstart	Try HOMER Pro Learn more