update sam library files

[cwhanse]

We've fallen a few years behind the SAM releases, so I think it's time to update the module and inverter CEC files.

[wholmgren]

Good point. I have not looked at the new files. I hope the format is the same.

[wholmgren]

Oh, and were you planning to submit a pull request for this? I don't currently need anything from the new files, so I'm not likely to do it myself anytime soon.

[cwhanse]

Yes I'll do it.

[mikofski]

Should we take the time to talk about pvfree for this? It might be easier to update the SAM database there, and have the option in pvlib to get the latest SAM databases from there, rather wait for a new release just to get the latest.

• this project is now independent from SunPower
• the new repository is here: https://github.com/BreakingBytes/pvfree
• it's hosted at alwaysdata and heroku
  • heroku is free
  • I only use alwaysdata for dev testing
  • heroku dynos go to sleep when there's a lull in traffic
  • you can't ssh to the heroku dynos as easily as the alwaysdata server, so to upload data to heroku
    it's easier to just use the pvfree API with a token, which is the preferred method in the long run
• the codebase has Sandia modules and inverters, with the exact same schema as PVLIB
• TODO: I haven't added schema for the CEC modules, but I think I could do that in < 1-day
• the database at https://pvfree.alwaysdata.net was current as of the SAM version 2017.9.5
• TODO: I haven't added a client side script or web app interface to upload the lastest SAM spreadsheets
  to heroku, but basically you just call the API using a token and post the data, probably the bigger issue
  is handling integrity and validation errors in the SAM data vs. the database. I would estimate < 1-day for
  that too, because I did it before, I guess I just didn't save my work.
• TODO: I haven't added a web interface for uploaded SAM data via your browser, can't estimate how much time this would take, but it would be the preferred method in the long run

I'm sorry, I know I'm always promising to get this done, and it always seems to come up just short. ☹️

[wholmgren]

I think we should update pvlib's files and cut a new release. In parallel, you can push pvfree forward with CEC modules and perhaps add some examples to the pvlib documentation. Later, we can have a discussion about whether or not it makes sense to continue bundling the files.

[cwhanse]

Ok, ok :) I'll get on the update this afternoon.