The current top solar design software tools

CED Greentech has given us a nice little lineup about the top eight solar design software platforms out there (many of which have come a long way in the past decade). There’s Aurora with 3D design for residential and commercial, financial analysis and shade reporting, and BlueSol for grid-tied or stand-alone and a pre-dimension wizard. There’s also HelioScope which claims to increase design speed 5-10x and PV*SOL that calculates battery storage capabilities for the specific project and includes the impact of an EV. There are also descriptions of Homer, PVComplete, and NREL’s free System Advisor Model.