Shadow Analyzer

Solar energy is most sought after by individuals who want to cut expenses and have a way to harvest one of the best sources of free energy out there, the sun. Photovoltaic (PV) panels are already known by many, and you can see them mounted not only on high-tech facilities but personal homes as well. While having PV panels seems like an easy job to do, there are details that might negatively impact your solar energy harvesting, and one of the main ones is shade. If during an entire day, your panels are more shade than exposed to direct light, your energy yield will be very low.

Shadow Analyzer comes to your aid by finding out the best position for your solar panels. It takes into consideration your building's configuration and orientation, as well as surrounding elements like neighboring buildings, trees, and even the landscape's architecture.

New users can get a hang of the app by using the scene to load pre-existing 2D and 3D models. Use the New combo menu to select a model and press the nearby N button to add it to the canvas or the D one to delete it. The toolbar seems a bit crowded, and most buttons are displayed mostly as letters. However, that is not an issue as each button has a tooltip explaining its role. Just hover the cursor over a button, and you'll quickly know what it is for.

On the other hand, if you have a project of your home already created, you can load that up and only verify how the shadow will impact your PV panels.

Shadow Analyzer is way more complex than this article can cover, as it allows one to factor in and play around with plenty of elements that determine the best position for your solar panels. Luckily, there's a lot of information that goes more in-depth on the developer's page, as well as within the help section inside the application itself.