Adding Panels in Solo Studio

When building a design in Solo Studio, adding panels will the second to last step before running production. There are multiple ways to add panels in Solo Studio: 

• Manually Adding Panels

• Automatically Add Panels

Click the links above to jump to the relevant section.

Additionally, Solo Studio includes a few tools to help you choose the best location for panel placement, to design the most optimal system layout. Click the link below to learn what tools are available: 

• Tools For Optimal Panel Placement

Manually Adding Panels

1. Click on the 'Panels' step in the Design Checklist OR click on the 'Panels' tool on the bottom toolbar.

   1. You can also use the keyboard shortcut by clicking '9' to jump to the tool. 

   
   
   
2. Select the equipment you'd like to use. 
   
   
   
   
3. Under 'Placement' select 'Place Panels Manually'. 
   
   
   
   
4. Select your panel orientation 
   1. Make sure to check your company's design preferences to review the azimuth priority set by your company! 
   
   
   
5. Click to place panels.
   1. Panels will auto lock into place next to each other, use the 'Shift' key to freely place modules. 
   
   
   
6. Once all the panels are placed in the desired layout, you'll need to run production before. 
   
   

Automatically Placing Panels

Our panel automation will quickly and accurately place panels on the roof, filling as much space as possible, avoiding obstructions, and avoiding fire setbacks. 

1. Click on the 'Panels' step in the Design Checklist OR click on the 'Panels' tool on the bottom toolbar.

   1. You can also use the keyboard shortcut by clicking '9' to jump to the tool. 

   
   
   
2. Select the equipment you'd like to use. 
   
   
   
   
3. Under 'Placement' select 'Automatic Placement. 
   
   
   
   
4. Select your panel orientation 
   1. Make sure to check your company's design preferences to review the azimuth priority set by your company! 
   
   
   
5. Select how you'd like to auto-apply panels: 
   1. Single Plane: only auto place panels on a single plane. 
   2. All Planes: auto place panels on all roof planes (that panels can fit on). 
   
   
   
6. Click 'Begin Automated Placement' or 'Place Panels on All Planes'.
   
   1. If you chose single plane, first select which roof plane you'd like to add panels to. 
   
   
   
7. Once all the panels are placed in the desired layout, you'll need to run production before. 
   
   

Tools for Choosing Optimal Panel Placement

Solo Studio features several tools that can help you choose where to place your panels for the most efficient and quality design. This includes: 

💡Roof Suitability Overlay

This tool will guide you to which roof planes are more suitable for panel placement, based on their direction orientation (N, S, E, W). Each roof plane will be highlighted in a color corresponding with the suitability, using these three classifications:

• Optimal (South, Southeast, and Southwest roof planes)

• Moderate (East, West)

• Poor (North, Northeast, Northwest)

This can be turned off in the inspector tool to the right, if needed. 

🌤️ SunPixel™ Irradiance Map

SunPixel™ will show you which areas of the roof will have access to more sunlight versus low sunlight. SunPixel™ is generated during the Shade Analysis, so it includes data from both the trees you've modeled and the 3D point-cloud data Solo has for that location. 

You can toggle on the SunPixel™ Irradiance Map using the top toolbar: 

📈 Production Center

The Production Center provides a full analysis of the solar access of the home and a breakdown of each solar metric related to the system you've designed. While this does require you to place your panels first, this can help you understand which of the panels/arrays that you've placed are going to be the most energy efficient. 

After you've designed your panel layout and after you've run production, you can access the Production Center in the sidebar. Under the 'Arrays' tab, you can see the solar access data for each panel that you've placed. Just hover over each line to see the highlighted, corresponding panel on the design. 

Quick Tip: The higher the TSRF, the better sunlight access the panel/array will get.