Create A Solar + Battery + Inverter Scenario
Use the solar, battery, and inverter scenario when the system must support loads and also benefit from solar production during the period you are modelling.
When this is the right scenario
This scenario is the better fit when solar is expected to support daytime loads, help recharge the battery, or reduce the amount of grid or shore-power charging needed. It is often the more realistic planning path when the system is meant to do more than survive a short outage.
It usually makes the most sense after you already understand the battery-only baseline, because then the effect of solar is easier to interpret.
How to create it
On the scenario page, create the scenario after the version appliance list is in place. If you are new to the app, the guided route is usually the clearest starting point. Choose the solar-hybrid scenario type, let the page create the load groups, enter the usage hours, and then use Complete Guided Setup so GridGap can prepare a practical starting set of battery, charging, and solar inputs for you.
If you already know the shape of the scenario you want, use Start with blank scenario settings instead. That skips the guided seeding step and opens the solar-hybrid editor directly.
This opens the wider set of battery, inverter, charging, and solar inputs. The battery side still matters fully, but now the app also needs enough solar detail to estimate array size, panel count, and controller-related requirements.
What matters most on the solar side
Pay close attention to the solar-side fields that shape production and panel count. In practice that means checking panel assumptions, average daily sunshine hours, installation efficiency, and cloud-related assumptions carefully.
These settings affect the required solar wattage, the raw minimum panel count, the final installed panel count, and the later controller and string guidance. If the solar result looks heavier than expected, these are the first assumptions worth reviewing.
Think clearly about battery recharge
One of the most important decisions in this scenario is whether solar only needs to support daytime loads, or whether it must also help put energy back into the battery after night-time use.
If the scenario is meant to include solar recharge, the recharge target becomes a major driver of the final panel requirement. If the system will still lean on grid or shore power for part of the recharge burden, keep that in mind while setting the scenario.
Keep the whole system in view
It is easy to focus on panel size alone, but the result is shaped by the whole chain. Load demand, duty cycle, sunshine assumptions, installation losses, battery recharge expectations, and controller limits all influence the final outcome. If one part is unrealistic, the panel result can look wrong even when the math is doing what you asked.
What to review after calculating
After calculation, review the Solar tab, the Solar Controller tab, and the Warnings tab carefully. Those sections show whether the installed panel count, controller requirement, recharge assumptions, and solar surplus or shortfall make practical sense for the scenario you entered.
If the result feels much larger than expected, do not change only the panel assumptions and hope that fixes it. First check whether the load, recharge, loss, and sunshine assumptions are all realistic.