In most offices a solar project still runs on three separate tools: CAD for the drawing, a simulation package for yield, and a spreadsheet for cost. Data is copied at every handover and the versions drift apart. SolarSimPro brings all three onto a single model; it runs in the browser and needs no installation and no dongle.
Six roof types, three-dimensional obstacle modelling (parapets, chimneys, HVAC), setback distances, near-shading analysis and a yield report.
Site boundary import, terrain analysis (slope, aspect, contours), table layout, row-spacing optimisation, setting-out DXF and coordinate schedules.
Both use the same calculation core: the shading, yield, materials and financial engines are shared. An improvement in one appears in the other, so no methodological gap opens up between the two products.
| Step | What happens |
|---|---|
| 01 · Site / Roof | Site boundary or building footprint; the coordinate system is selected automatically. |
| 02 · Mounting / Equipment | Module and inverter selection, table arrangement, tilt and azimuth. |
| 03 · Layout | Automatic module layout, with manual editing and optimisation. |
| 04 · Analysis | Terrain analysis, ray-traced shading analysis, energy yield simulation. |
| 05 · Bill of materials | Bill of materials derived from DC capacity, with a unit-price database. |
| 06 · Feasibility | Consumption, tariff, netting, cash flow, payback, NPV and IRR. |
| 07 · Quotation | A client-ready proposal and a progress-payment summary. |
| 08 · Deliverables | Setting-out DXF, coordinate schedules, KMZ, and HTML and PDF reports. |
Removing the handovers buys you two things. The first is zaman: the geometry is built once and all eight steps read it. The second, and more important, is consistency: the module count in the proposal and the module count on the installation plan, the yield in the financial model and the yield in the report all come from the same source. The most expensive mistakes on site are rarely arithmetic errors — they are version mismatches.
The most closely questioned figure in any solar PV design software is the yield. SolarSimPro works hourly: for each of the 8,760 hours in the year, plane-of-array irradiance, temperature and shading are resolved separately, and the annual yield is the sum of those hours. Monthly averages are not scaled up, because shading and temperature effects change through the day.
Irradiance comes from the PVGIS-SARAH3 satellite-derived database; the typical reference used in reports is the average of 19 weather years, 2005–2023. The chain runs in this order: horizontal irradiance (GHI) → transposition to the module plane (POA / GlobInc) → shading and incidence-angle (IAM) losses → effective irradiance (GlobEff) → PV conversion → inverter and AC losses → energy delivered to the grid. The performance ratio (PR) is reported as defined in IEC 61724-1, against power referred to a 25 °C cell temperature.
Losses are listed individually and applied in sequence (multiplicatively) — percentages are not added up. The headings shown separately are: soiling, module quality, mismatch, LID, DC and AC cabling, transformer, auxiliary consumption, inverter efficiency and degradation. A wind-dependent thermal model is used for cell temperature.
Uncertainty is not hidden: the satellite irradiance model, year-to-year variability, the PV module model and the soiling/availability components are combined with RSS (root sum of squares), and the result is given as P50 · P75 · P90. That makes it explicit which probability level the figure going into financing represents.
Shading is the single most important constraint on module layout, so it is computed by a dedicated engine. The direct beam component is measured table by table with ray tracing; a sky model is used for the diffuse component. The annual loss is the weighted sum of the two.
One distinction matters in particular. Linear loss is the fraction of the area that is shaded. Electrical loss arises because when any one module in a string is shaded the current of the whole string falls; it is calculated separately by modelling the string and bypass-diode structure. A calculation that looks only at shaded area understates the real loss.
Results are given at three scales: instantaneous (hour by hour), daily (a representative day per month) and annual. The report also shows the two extremes of the year — 21 December, when the sun is lowest and shadows are longest, and 21 June, the most favourable day. Annual shading loss per module is written into both the table and the plan, so it is obvious which row needs to be opened up.
On ground-mounted projects, topography comes before design. From a digital elevation model SolarSimPro produces slope, aspect, the north–south slope component, contours (with major contours and elevation labels), steep slopes above a threshold, and probable drainage/valley and knoll/ridge areas. A rough cut-and-fill volume is given as a preliminary estimate. The resolution of the analysis grid is written into the report, so the working precision is never in doubt.
On the delivery side the output goes straight into CAD: georeferenced DXF and DWG, the setting-out plan, coordinate schedules, KMZ, and HTML/PDF reports. The coordinate system is chosen to suit the project location (for example TUREF/TM39 · EPSG:5257, or ED50/UTM · EPSG:23035) and is written into the title block together with the zone and central meridian. Layers are separated — setting-out, site and roof coordinates, setback, module and module surface, obstacles, satellite underlay and the analysis layers all arrive separately, so the drawing can be dropped straight into your project file. When the interface language is English, the layer names are produced in English as well.
A generation curve on its own does not make an investment case; it has to be matched against the consumption profile. The feasibility step compares generation and consumption on an hourly netting basis, separating out which hours are self-consumed and which are exported. Purchase price, gross export and paid export are separate fields, based on the customer-group tariff, and the report states which tariff was used and with what date.
The capital cost is derived from the bill of materials — not from a unit price assumed per DC watt. Cash flow is built on a 25-year lifetime assumption; operation and maintenance is entered as a percentage of capital, module degradation as an annual percentage, and energy price escalation, O&M escalation and the discount rate as separate parameters. The result gives payback period, net present value (NPV) and internal rate of return (IRR) together. Tariff and fixed costs are held in Turkish lira; when the report currency is USD, conversion uses the central bank rate, and both the rate and its date are recorded in the report header.
The answer depends far more on method than on brand. When you evaluate a solar PV design program, these five points largely determine whether the result will hold up on site:
SolarSimPro is built to cover those five points in one workflow, and the method section of every report states the data, the assumptions and the limitations it worked with. The most trustworthy thing a piece of software can do is also say what it does not calculate.
EPC contractors, design and engineering practices, investors, and industrial companies assessing a plant for their own facility. It covers the stage from first screening to the technical annex of a proposal.
Nothing to install. A current browser is enough, and there is no difference between Windows, macOS and Linux. No dongle and no IT approval.
They are two applications but share the same calculation core. You can pick the plan that matches your work, or take both together.
Projects are stored on the server against your account, travel over an encrypted connection and are accessible only to you. Change computers and your projects come with you. On the account side we hold identity, licence and invoicing data. No advertising or tracking cookies are used.
No. Every version update is included for the life of the licence.
Irradiance comes from the PVGIS-SARAH3 satellite-derived database; reports typically use the average of 19 weather years from 2005 to 2023. The calculation is hourly: each of the 8,760 hours in the year is solved separately. The data source and period used are stated in the method section of every report.
P50 is the expected value: the outcome is equally likely to fall above or below it. P90 is the more conservative figure, expected to be exceeded in roughly 90% of years, and it is usually what lenders ask for. SolarSimPro combines the uncertainty components (satellite irradiance model, year-to-year variability, module model, soiling/availability) with RSS and reports all three together.
Yes. The linear loss from the shaded area fraction and the electrical loss — caused by the current of a whole string falling when one module is shaded — are calculated separately, with the string and bypass-diode structure modelled. Calculations that look only at shaded area understate the real loss.
The setting-out plan and terrain analysis download as georeferenced DXF and DWG; layers are separated so the drawing can be overlaid directly on your project file. The coordinate system is chosen to suit the project location (for example TUREF/TM39 · EPSG:5257), and the zone and central meridian are written into the drawing's title block. With the interface in English, layer names are produced in English too.
It is based on the customer-group tariff; purchase, gross export and paid export prices are separate fields and can be edited. The report states which tariff was used and with what date. If you buy under a bilateral supply agreement, enter your contract price.
Choose the scope that matches your work, and let us run a live session on your own project.