The best 3D solar design software is the one that models your real roofs, shows shading through the year, sizes the structure and strings, and prices a bill of materials in the market you sell in. Tools differ a lot on those points, so test each on the same awkward roof. RAYVO publishes this guide, so treat it as a checklist and test every product, including ours, against it.
The kinds of tools
- Detailed simulation tools such as PVsyst: well known for energy yield simulation and engineering studies, usually used by designers and engineers.
- Cloud design and proposal platforms such as Aurora Solar and OpenSolar: built for sales teams to design and propose quickly, strongest in the markets they focus on.
- RAYVO: a 3D design studio inside a solar CRM and ERP, with India's GST, PM Surya Ghar subsidy and IS 875 wind figures built in.
- Check each vendor's current features, pricing and India coverage yourself. They change.
Check 1: your hardest roof
Design an L-shaped hip roof with a water tank, a stair room and a neighbouring building to the south in each tool. Notice what breaks.
Check 2: shading across the year
Ask whether every module is checked against the sun's path through the year, against buildings, trees, tanks and other rows, and whether the loss is shown by month.
Check 3: wind and structure for your country
In India, the basic wind speed should come from IS 875 (Part 3). Elsewhere it should come from the local code, or be marked as a typical value. A structural engineer still designs the real roof.
Check 4: strings, inverter and a priced bill of materials
String design should follow the datasheet and the site's temperatures, and the price should come from quantities counted off the drawing, not from a typed rupee-per-watt rate.
Check 5: subsidy and payback
For India, the PM Surya Ghar subsidy should follow the current rule and the DCR or non-DCR choice. Payback should be honest: a system that does not pay back should say so.
Check 6: use on a phone, on site
Open the tool in a phone browser on the roof. Panels should be placeable by tapping, and the result should be something you can show the customer there.
Check 7: from design to quotation
The design should carry into a quotation and a customer record without retyping, and the proposal should be branded with your company.
Where RAYVO fits
RAYVO draws flat, gable, shed and hip roofs of any outline, places tanks, trees and neighbours, checks shading month by month, shows IS 875 wind speed and pressure, sizes inverters and strings, builds a priced bill of materials and a proposal PDF, and works on a phone. The 3D Design plan is Rs 24,000 a year before GST. Judge it on the same checks as everything else.