Package: pvinspect
PVInspectThis package provides methods for the analysis of solar modules using different imaging modalities. We put huge efforts into providing a clean and easy to use API and additional tooling like the wrapper classes for module images that bundle image with meta data in an expressive way. You are invited to publish you own methods using this API and hence contribute to building a consistent and open tooling that might be useful to others. If you like to integrate your methods directly, please create a merge request.Package statusThis package is in an early stage of development. Please be aware that the API might change regularily within the next months.InstallationWe recommend to installpvinspectin a Python virtual environment using Python 3.8. This document only supplies a short description on the usage of virtual environments in Python. For a complete guide, please refer tothistutorial.0. Check that you have the correct Python version available:python--versionDepending on the OS and configuration of your machine,pythonneeds to be substituted withpython3,python3.exeor even the absolute path to the Python interpreter. In any case, the displayed version should be compatible topvinspect. At the moment,pvinspectrequiresPython 3.7orPython 3.8.1. Create a new virtual environment:python-mvenv/path/to/your/venvThis initializes a new virtual environement in/path/to/your/venv(which you should adapt to your needs). All packages that you install within this environment are stored in this folder. Depending on the OS and configuration of your machine,pythonneeds to be substituted withpython3orpython3.exe.2. Activate the new virtual environment:# For Windows users (Powershell):/path/to/your/venv/Scripts/Activate.ps1# For Linux users:/path/to/your/vent/Scripts/activatePlease note that the procedure depends on the type of shell that you are using. We've given example for Powershell and Linux-shell users.3. Install pvinspect:pipinstallpvinspectThis installs thepvinspectpackage in the currently active environment (which is normally indicated in the shell). So please make sure to have the correct environment activated. After installation, you can usepvinspectat any time from within that environment.A note to Anaconda usersWe do not shippvinspectas an Anaconda package. However, you can of course install it in an Anaconda environment using pip. However, you might come across an error indicating thatgeos_c.dllis missing. In that case, you need to installshapelyusingconda:condainstall-cconda-forgeshapelyUsageThis package containsexample notebooksthat demonstate the most common use cases (to be extended soon). For more details, please refer to theAPI docs.UpdateYou can updatepvinspectto the newest version simply usingpip:pipinstall--upgradepvinspectIssuesIn case you encounter anything that does not work, pleaseopen an issueand provide a precise description (include your OS version, python distribution and the like) as well as a minimal code example to reproduce the issue.Known issuesIn case you installpvinspectin a conda environment usingpipon Windows, theshapelylibrary, which is installed as a dependency ofpvinspectdoes not findgeos.dll. This can be fixed by installingshapelyusing conda:condainstallshapelyThis is reported as a bug to shapely:#1032CitationsIn case you use methods from this package for research purposes, please make sure to cite the the corresponding papers correctly. Please refer to thedocumentationfor the correct references.AcknowledgementWe greatly acknowledge theHI-ERNfor providing us a demo dataset of electroluminescense images that is published along with this package.We gratefully acknowledge funding of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi: Grant No. 0324286, iPV4.0).