When the user opts to design manually by selecting “I’ll do it myself”, a menu opens, where they can select the panel & microinverter to be used in the design, as well as the panel placement method (auto or manual) and panel orientation (portrait or landscape).

The auto panel placement method allows the user to automatically fill a roof facet by clicking inside it. The manual method allows the user to place panels one-by-one with a single click, or by placing panels within a specific area on the roof or ground, using click and drag.

The auto panel placement method allows the user to automatically fill a roof facet by clicking inside it. The manual method allows the user to place panels one-by-one with a single click, or by placing panels within a specific area on the roof or ground, using click and drag.

When using the “auto” panel placement method, users may select “any” as the orientation. In this case, Solargraf will place panels either in portrait or landscape, depending on which orientation produces an array with the largest number of panels.

Low slope roofs

When working on low slope roofs (typically defined as any roof facet whose pitch is 2/12 or 9.46 degrees, or lower), the user has some additional settings to configure.  The user may define the array azimuth (the direction in which the panels face, relative to north).  If this field is left blank, panels will by default face whichever edge has been marked as the roof facet’s azimuth, which for flat roofs is by default the edge which faces closest to south.

The menu also includes fields to define the panels’ tilt (relative to the roof facet), the number of stacked panels (if stacking rows of panels on top of each other), the spacing between rows of panels and the height of the panels from the roof (if designing a solar canopy).

Solargraf also supports dual tilt mounting (also known as “east-west mounting”), where each row of panels faces the opposite direction to the row before and after it.  This is most useful for maximizing the number of panels on the roof by negating the need for row spacing, while also distributing production throughout the day by having panels face in more than one direction.

Advanced settings

While not often used within the design tool (since these values rarely differ from project to project), users may also define the spacing between columns of panels, vertical spacing between stacked rows of panels, minimum SAV and minimum TSRF settings. The latter two allow users to automatically avoid placing panels in areas with significant shading.

Any group of panels placed together on the roof is referred to as an “array” of panels. The user may create additional arrays at any time by selecting the “create array” tool (or its keyboard shortcut P).  The user may use the Select tool to select an array and modify its properties.

The Select tool can also be used to re-position an array (by clicking and dragging any panel within the array) or by re-sizing the array to add or remove panels (by clicking and dragging any of the blue circles at the array’s perimeter).  The user may double-click any panel to select the individual panel, then click and drag to re-position it or use the Delete icon to delete it.

Solargraf has robust validations that prevent users from placing any panel on top of another panel, an obstruction, a setback or pathway, or a roof edge.  When re-positioning or re-sizing an array, any panels that appear in red will be deleted upon release of the mouse click.  Users may select Undo to reverse any changes made to an array.

At any moment, the user may select Calculate to calculate production of the system. Production is compared to consumption to display the “consumption offset” – which describes what percentage of the property’s consumption will be offset by the system’s production.  Users typically aim for a consumption offset in the region of 100% to 120%.

Automated solar design

Rather than manually placing arrays manually, users may ask Solargraf to design a system for them.  In this case, a menu opens where the user can define their criteria (max fit – where every facet of the roof is filled with as many panels as possible – consumption offset, or savings on energy bill).  Where either consumption offset or savings on energy bill is selected, the user will be prompted to define their desired offset as a percentage.

Once this is confirmed (alongside the desired panel, microinverter and orientation), the user may select “Build system”. Here, Solargraf generates an optimal layout that uses as few panels as possible to achieve the desired consumption or savings on energy bill.  Note that in certain areas (such as California), it is often necessary to add a battery to achieve a savings on energy bill above 50%.

Note that even after asking Solargraf to design for them, the user may still adjust the solar design by re-positioning, re-sizing, adding or deleting arrays as described above.

Important considerations

It is advised to review system losses before calculating production. This can be done from the Settings dialog, within the Losses tab. Certain TPO providers require that specific losses are assumed, and these losses often vary depending on the state in which the project is located.  Users may create any number of loss templates in their company settings, then select the appropriate loss template within the design tool for each design.

When designing with a string inverter, the user must set the “microinverter” field in the Create array menu as “none”.  Once panels are placed, the user will be prompted to add an inverter, and once an inverter is chosen, the user will be prompted to string the system. Note that when a design includes a string inverter, all panels must be connected to an inverter before production can be calculated.  Stringing is not necessary for calculating production when the design includes only microinverters.

Depending on the user’s company settings, setbacks or pathways may be automatically placed on the roof model.  Setbacks define a specific distance from each roof edge that must be kept clear of panels. Users can choose to maintain their own database of setbacks (typically one template for each AHJ they operate in) or use Solargraf’s address-based list of AHJs.

Pathways are a more intelligent approach to setbacks, in that the pathway detection algorithm considers the full context of the roof and only applies pathways to edges that strictly need them for compliance. It is therefore recommended for users to have pathways automatically detected prior to placing panels.  This can be configured from the company’s default design settings.