Solar energy stands at the forefront of the global shift towards sustainable power sources. While the reasons to go solar vary, the need for good tools to help with solar planning and photovoltaics installation is universal. With Shadowmap 3D Solar Analytics we are building a digital interface that enables a whole new level of solar planning in a customizable global 3D heat map.

What innovations does solar planning software need in 2024?

In recent years interest and investments in renewable energy and environmental protection became a priority around the world, sparking a surge in the solar power market. Other reasons for using the energy of the Sun include cost reduction and energy efficiency, with a third aspect being decentralization and democratization of energy markets. Self-sufficiency and energy communities are further supported by recent digital innovations like enixi.io.

But no matter what reason stands behind the motivation to go into solar energy or how big the project is – from home solar electric systems to industrial solar farms – a reliable and affordable planning tool and solar simulation is indispensable to create useful evaluations and proposals.

Solar planning in 2D is not enough! The real world consists of complex 3D environments, especially in urban areas. Also outside of cities small hills and trees can already be a deal breaker for solar projects and PV usage. Small differences in the real world environment can make all the difference between full insolation or complete shade, especially in winter under low angles of incidence.

Even 3D solar planning software often lacks contextual 3D data of surrounding buildings, elevation or vegetation. In the worst case this means faulty solar evaluations, planning errors and bad investments in inefficient and misplaced PV arrays.

Shadowmap now features a near real-time 3D heat map.

What does the future of solar planning look like?

New technical solutions like solar trackers and various solar panel innovations make it ever more feasible to dedicate any sunlit surface area for solar energy – even vertical building surfaces. These developments emphasize the importance of innovative solar planning tools.

We want to make our contribution with Shadowmap 3D Solar Analytics – the perhaps most accessible solar planning tool ever! It’s fully integrated in our 3D world map and you can start it at the switch of a button. Solar Analytics offers fast results with near-real time visualization and calculation of solar potential. Easy to use, easy to understand for everyone – right there in your browser or iOS device.

Stay tuned for the next blog post on solar power!