The layout model
What happens between drawing a boundary and seeing a finished layout — the structure every BESSlayout design follows.
BESSlayout is solve-and-present: you draw the site boundary, the solver generates a complete layout, and you tune inputs. Even when you move equipment by hand — the E-house or locked BESS sections — you are setting a solver constraint, and the whole layout re-solves around it; nothing is ever hand-placed outside the rules. This page explains the structure every generated layout follows, so you can read a result and know why each element sits where it does.
From boundary to layout
The solver builds a layout in a fixed sequence. Each step constrains the next:
- Boundary — the polygon you draw is the site. Everything stays inside it.
- Boundary setback — equipment keeps a configurable distance from the boundary (1.5 m by default). The strip between the boundary and the setback stays clear.
- Fence and gate — a security fence runs on the boundary, with a vehicle gate whose position you control with the Gate slider. The gate always opens onto drivable ground: the perimeter road in ring mode, or a reserved apron when no roads are selected.
- Roads — with the default perimeter ring, an access road loops just inside the setback. On larger sites, interior roads divide the area into zones so every section stays within vehicle reach. See Roads, gates and access.
- Zones — the road-bounded areas that hold equipment. Zone dimensions snap to whole equipment pitches, so no half-section strips are wasted.
- BESS sections — the solver fills each zone with BESS sections: a DC cluster plus its dedicated PCS & MV skid. Which arrangement it uses is the subject of BESS section configurations.
- E-house — a single MV-collection E-house, sized by site power and anchored relative to your Point of Interconnection (POI). See E-house and grid connection.
What the solver optimizes
Capacity leads: the solver packs as much energy as the boundary allows under the spacing rules. But it evaluates many candidate layouts per solve, and capacity alone doesn't pick the winner — a layout that packs the same energy with a more balanced field, shorter cable runs to the POI, and less road area ranks higher. Regenerate cycles through the strongest distinct candidates, so each press shows a genuinely different layout, not a random reshuffle.
Capacity target
The mode button next to Regenerate sets how much the solver builds:
- Fill site (default) — as much energy as the boundary allows.
- Target — a capacity in MWh, with the duration (2h or 4h, the same setting as the DC block config). The layout never exceeds the target: the solver keeps the combination of whole BESS sections that lands closest under it — skipping a section that would overshoot for a smaller one farther out if that gets closer — and takes the sections nearest the POI first. With the E-house on Auto, it is sized to the power actually placed; a chosen E-house format keeps its size. If the parcel can't hold the target, the layout holds as much as fits and the site summary shows the energy actually placed. The solver lays the target out as a compact yard at the POI. Setting a target switches Roads to no internal road; you can change Roads afterwards, and a ring then goes around the yard, not the whole parcel. Locked equipment always stays, and the tool warns you if it alone exceeds the target.
- Manual — clears the unlocked equipment so you can place BESS sections and the E-house yourself.
What you control
Every input re-solves the whole layout — the solver never patches a previous result:
| Input | What it changes |
|---|---|
| Grid slider | Where the grid connection sits — anchors the E-house and orients cable runs |
| Gate slider | Where the vehicle gate sits on the fence |
| DC config | Which DC cluster sizes are allowed (see DC block configuration) |
| BESS section | Forces one specific section configuration, or leaves the choice to the solver |
| E-house | Format and placement of the MV hub — including dragging it on the map |
| Capacity mode | Fill the site, stop at a target in MWh, or place equipment by hand |
| Roads | Road topology: perimeter ring, drive-through, or no internal roads |
| Site details | Duration, safety distance, setback, road width, and the other spacing parameters |
| Move & lock | Drag BESS sections (and the E-house) to a position and lock them — the field re-packs around them |
Move & lock equipment
Tap any DC block or PCS & MV skid to select its whole BESS section; tap more sections to build a group. The selection can be dragged anywhere on the site, rotated freely, and locked — and like the E-house, this is a solver constraint, not manual editing: locked equipment stays exactly where you put it while the rest of the field re-packs around it, on every Regenerate. The surrounding rows keep their positions — moving a section reads as shuffling slots, not re-laying the site.
While you drag, the ghost turns red wherever the drop would break a site rule: the section's service clearance crossing the fence, equipment off the site, a road underneath, an overlap with the E-house or another locked group, or another locked section inside the fire or DC-to-skid distance. The check is the solver's own rulebook running in your browser, so red means exactly what the solver would flag. Released on red, the group slides to the nearest position where every rule holds; if there is none, it returns to where it started. A drop on a legal spot stays exactly where you put it.
No equipment is ever left outside the site. A locked position saved before this rule existed is moved to its nearest valid position the next time the layout opens.
Locked equipment shows a dark outline; tap it to open its toolbar — drag to move, rotate with the slider, Unlock to return it to the solver. Fire-access reach, which depends on the re-packed layout, appears as a note in that toolbar rather than being blocked.
Report an issue
If a layout doesn't look right, report it — the full design is attached automatically, and the solver improves with every report.
What the layout is for
The output is a concept layout for early-stage decisions: sizing a site, comparing parcels, anchoring a grid-connection application, or giving an EPC a starting point. It is not an engineering drawing — spacing defaults are industry-typical and configurable, and your local requirements always take precedence.