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 is an established tool for getting fast results on the design and yield side, and it is strong in that area.
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.
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.
If, on the other hand, all you need is detailed yield modelling, staying with your current tool is reasonable; the two can also be used together.
Rebuilding a completed project on the same assumptions gives you an answer faster than reading a feature list.
If you want the proposal cycle in a single workflow, yes: drawing, layout, shading, yield, cost, feasibility and CAD output all come from the same model. If your need is only the design and yield side, you can stay with your current tool; the two can also be used together.
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.
Rebuild a finished site and put the deliverables side by side. Runs in the browser, no installation.