How Much Solar Can Fit on My Roof?

One of the most common questions our customers often ask is, “How much solar will fit on my roof?” This used to be a much more difficult one to answer, and involved hours spent on your roof measuring it, then taking those measurements to an engineer to build out a model in CAD software and finally integrating that design with a shade analysis. It could take several days to know the size of system would fit and the amount of energy it would produce.

Welcome to High-Tech World of Solar

Fortunately, technology has cut this tedious process down from days or weeks to just a few hours. Satellite imagery, LIDAR data and solar-specific 3D modeling software allows us to take your address and create multiple scenarios using different products and designs sometimes within minutes! With just an address, we can access multiple years of photos of your roof space. The images are often so clear that we can pinpoint roof drains, HVAC equipment and areas of potential roof damage from pooling water.

This imagery is layered into solar design software such as Helioscope or Aurora to build a model of your building or site. Combining this with LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) information in Google Maps, the height of objects and obstructions on the roof can be obtained to build a robust shading and production analysis for your site.

Based on the goals discussed in our first call, we create a system design that provides the best value for your specific objectives. In a space constrained environment for a customer with high usage, it may make sense to use the most efficient panel available, even if the upfront cost is slightly higher but for someone with a large roof and lower usage, a less powerful panel may make more financial sense. You ultimately decide the best way for you to go solar with guided input from our team of experts.

How Much Money Will I Save?

We can create your proposal from this model and show you your payback and savings. In our first meeting, we will discuss a design that is often more than 90% accurate. We can examine the pros and cons of different design choices to meet your aesthetic goals or your budget. Once we have the best design, our team of install professionals will come to your site and thoroughly review your installation area and electrical infrastructure to ensure that the project goes as planned from start to finish.

This remote analysis saves everyone precious time and money, allowing us to lower costs to you and ultimately save you more money on your electric bill. If that sounds like the kind of high-tech you want to involve yourself in, give us a call, and we can get started!