HelioScope is a browser-based photovoltaic design tool widely used on commercial rooftop and ground-mount projects, known for fast layouts, single-line diagrams and shading analysis. SolarSimPro also runs in the browser, but carries the workflow a step further: the bill of materials, cost, feasibility and setting-out plan all come from the same model.
Neither needs installation, and a team can reach the same project from different machines. Version and licence-key administration disappears.
SolarSimPro produces payback, NPV and IRR from the consumption profile, tariff and net metering; the investment figure comes from the bill of materials.
Setting-out plan DXF, coordinate lists and KMZ are produced directly; the file handed to the site team comes from the same model as the design.
Parcel lookup, slope and aspect analysis, inter-row shading distance and elevation tracking are part of the ground-mount workflow.
HelioScope gets you fast results on the design and yield side. But the proposal does not end there: the bill of materials, line-by-line cost, feasibility and the CAD file your site team needs still have to be produced.
SolarSimPro covers the same steps but also takes in the quotation and delivery side: bill of materials, line-by-line cost, feasibility and CAD outputs. The distinction is not in a feature list but in where the workflow ends.
The table below shows where and how the same job gets done in each tool.
| Step | In HelioScope | In SolarSimPro |
|---|---|---|
| Setup and access | Runs in the browser; no installation required. | Opens in the browser; no installation, licence key or hardware dongle. |
| Defining the site | The site boundary is drawn in the design environment. | Draw the roof outline, or pull the parcel in by cadastral query. |
| Terrain data | Terrain data is supplied by the designer. | Slope, aspect and contours are derived from the site itself. |
| Module layout | Fast automatic layout; widely used on commercial roofs and ground mount. | Generated automatically from obstacles, slope and setbacks; editable by hand. |
| Near shading | Shading analysis and loss calculation. | Ray-traced near shading with an hourly loss map. |
| Yield calculation | Hourly yield simulation. | 8,760-hour simulation; PVGIS-SARAH3 irradiance data, PR and P50/P90. |
| Bill of materials | This step is handled separately. | Derived from the layout and the DC capacity. |
| Cost and feasibility | This step is handled separately. | Unit-price database, cash flow, payback, NPV, IRR and net metering from one model. |
| Deliverables | Design report and single-line diagram. | Setting-out DXF, coordinate list CSV, KMZ and a client-ready report. |
The lower half of the table is what the proposal is made of: materials, cost, feasibility and CAD output. In SolarSimPro these follow directly from the layout — change the module count and all four are recalculated, with nothing carried across by hand.
If you design in one tool, keep costs in a separate spreadsheet and the quotation in another document, the manual transfer between them costs time and introduces errors. Bringing it into one model removes that loss.
SolarSimPro takes all four of those steps into the same model. You do not keep the design in one place and the cost in another spreadsheet; change the layout and the proposal updates with it.
Rebuilding a completed project on the same assumptions gives you an answer faster than reading a feature list.
Designing fast is not the same as quoting fast. When the module changes, or part of the roof turns out to be unusable, the layout is rebuilt — and then the bill of materials, the cost sheet, the feasibility and the proposal document are all updated by hand.
In SolarSimPro those four follow on from the layout. Change the module count and materials, cost, yield and payback are recalculated together; the setting-out DXF and the report are regenerated from the same model. No figure is carried across by hand, so no sheet is left un-updated.
Yes. Drawing, layout, ray-traced shading, the 8,760-hour yield calculation, bill of materials, cost, feasibility and the setting-out DXF all come from one model. The cost and delivery steps you run outside your design tool are, here, a direct continuation of the design.
Yes. Net metering is calculated from the consumption profile and tariff; payback period, net present value and internal rate of return come from the same model and export as a client-ready report.
Land registry parcel lookup, slope and aspect analysis, layout driven by inter-row shading distance, tables following ground elevation, and 3D KMZ output.
There is. Register and request a demo; once approved, your time starts the moment you first open the application.
The bill of materials is derived from the layout and the DC capacity, then multiplied by your own unit prices to build a line-by-line summary. Enter the consumption profile, tariff and net metering rules and the payback period, NPV and IRR come from the same model. You can save your unit prices and reuse them as defaults on later projects.
Module and table layout, the site boundary and obstacles, drawn to scale, alongside a coordinate list as CSV and a 3D model as KMZ. The files open in AutoCAD and equivalent programs and can be edited to your own drawing standard.
To rebuild a finished project you only need to redefine the site; drawing the roof outline or running a cadastral query keeps that step short. Once the module model and loss terms are aligned you can run the comparison on day one.
Rebuild a finished site and put the deliverables side by side. Runs in the browser, no installation.