Everything it models.
The full inventory, ordered like your workflow: eleven stops from the first area you draw on the map to the report a lender signs.
How pvSpline compares
Features per tool
Each column counts the features of the checklist a tool supports, coloured by group; partial support counts as half. Hover over or tap a segment for the features behind it.
Features of the checklist each tool covers, out of 98: pvSpline 79, PVsyst 63, Aurora Solar 49.5, PV*SOL premium 42.5, HelioScope 39, archelios PRO 33.5.
Features per tool, ranked
The tools drawn, ranked by the features of the checklist they support, coloured by group; partial support counts as half. Some serve other needs (monitoring, weather data, building energy, code libraries), so a short bar says nothing of how well a tool does its own job. Hover over or tap a segment for the features behind it.
- pvSpline79
- PVsyst63
- Aurora Solar49.5
- SAM — System Advisor Model49.5
- OpenSolar43
- PV*SOL premium42.5
- Solargraf40.5
- HelioScope39
- RatedPower (pvDesign)36.5
- Energy Toolbase (ETB Developer / ETB Designer)36
- Arka 36034
- archelios PRO33.5
- SolarEdge Designer33
- Polysun32
- SolarFarmer32
- XENDEE31.5
- PVcase30
- Solergo28
- Vesta28
- Enact Systems27.5
- SolarPlus27.5
- PlantPredict26.5
- HOMER Pro26
- Easy Solar (EasySolar)25.5
- Pylon24
- Solargis24
- Solarius-PV23
- SurgePV23
- Skelion22.5
- pvlib python22
- PVCAD21.5
- PVSketch21.5
- HOMER Grid21
- Sighten21
- T*SOL21
- Sunny Design20.5
- BlueSol19.5
- DesignBuilder19.5
- Fronius Solar.web / Solar.creator19.5
- SolarAnywhere19.5
- Huawei FusionSolar18.5
- meteocontrol VCOM (Virtual Control Room)18.5
- PVGIS — Photovoltaic Geographical Information System18.5
- Sunbase Data18.5
- Victron VRM (Victron Remote Management)18.5
- DER-CAM (Distributed Energy Resources Customer Adoption Model)18
- EnergyPlus18
- SolarNexus18
- Solo18
- RETScreen Expert17.5
- EagleView17
- Enphase Enlighten (Enphase App / MyEnlighten)17
- Virto.CAD17
- OpenStudio16.5
- CASSYS16
- Demand IQ16
- Scanifly16
- IES VE (Virtual Environment)15.5
- SISIFO15.5
- SolarEdge Monitoring Platform15.5
- Sunfig (SIFT)15.5
- TRNSYS15.5
- Solar Pro15
- ClimateStudio14.5
- OpusFlow14.5
- Solar-Log14.5
- Solarman (SOLARMAN Smart / Business)14.5
- Tigo Energy Intelligence (EI Platform)14.5
- AlsoEnergy PowerTrack13.5
- Ladybug Tools13.5
- Power Factors13.5
- PVWatts Calculator13.5
- bifacial_radiance13
- Mapdwell (Solar System)13
- oemof.solph13
- SMA Sunny Portal (powered by ennexOS)13
- Sungrow iSolarCloud13
- Google Solar API (Google Maps Platform)12.5
- GreenPowerMonitor12.5
- GridLAB-D12.5
- Meteonorm12.5
- PV F-CHART12.5
- Solcast12.5
- Autodesk Ecotect Analysis12
- Growatt ShineServer / ShinePhone12
- Inaccess (Unity)12
- INSEL — Integrated Simulation Environment Language12
- Skytron Energy (PVGuard)12
- QOS Energy (Qantum)11.5
- 3megawatt (BluePoint)11
- Coperniq11
- Emoncms / OpenEnergyMonitor11
- GoodWe SEMS Portal11
- Raptor Maps11
- Renewables.ninja10.5
- Solytic10.5
- Autodesk Insight10
- Google Project Sunroof10
- Nearmap10
- Sefaira10
- SolarReviews10
- Ampère9.5
- Locus Energy9.5
- NSRDB — National Solar Radiation Database9.5
- PVOutput9.5
- RdTools9.5
- greenius (free greenius)9
- GreenLancer9
- GSEE (Global Solar Energy Estimator)9
- pvfactors9
- DIVA-for-Rhino8.5
- SenseHawk8.5
- SolarPILOT8.5
- Above (Above Surveying)8
- Bodhi8
- Heliolytics8
- SolarAPP+8
- Vaisala 3TIER Solar7
- PVMismatch6.5
- PVAnalytics6
- Enverus PRISM5.5
- DTN4.5
Coverage by group
One row per group of the checklist: the bar is pvSpline’s share of the group’s features, and each pin marks where a tool stands. Hover over or tap a pin or a dot for the features behind it.
Design & shading: pvSpline 86%, PVsyst 56%, Aurora Solar 72%, PV*SOL premium 36%, HelioScope 56%, archelios PRO 36%, the market map’s other 116 tools: median 8%, highest 67%. Weather data: pvSpline 56%, PVsyst 81%, Aurora Solar 44%, PV*SOL premium 69%, HelioScope 19%, archelios PRO 50%, the market map’s other 116 tools: median 13%, highest 75%. Energy yield: pvSpline 100%, PVsyst 97%, Aurora Solar 31%, PV*SOL premium 41%, HelioScope 41%, archelios PRO 41%, the market map’s other 116 tools: median 9%, highest 100%. Electrical: pvSpline 100%, PVsyst 75%, Aurora Solar 69%, PV*SOL premium 81%, HelioScope 100%, archelios PRO 44%, the market map’s other 116 tools: median 0%, highest 75%. Storage & systems: pvSpline 100%, PVsyst 73%, Aurora Solar 27%, PV*SOL premium 38%, HelioScope 0%, archelios PRO 15%, the market map’s other 116 tools: median 8%, highest 62%. Finance: pvSpline 100%, PVsyst 85%, Aurora Solar 60%, PV*SOL premium 60%, HelioScope 30%, archelios PRO 40%, the market map’s other 116 tools: median 10%, highest 95%. Platform & reports: pvSpline 77%, PVsyst 59%, Aurora Solar 64%, PV*SOL premium 45%, HelioScope 68%, archelios PRO 59%, the market map’s other 116 tools: median 36%, highest 77%. Sales & operations: pvSpline 25%, PVsyst 4%, Aurora Solar 43%, PV*SOL premium 11%, HelioScope 18%, archelios PRO 4%, the market map’s other 116 tools: median 7%, highest 64%.
Every feature, tool by tool
Offered by pvSpline and by none of the tools shown.
Offered by pvSpline and by at least one of the tools shown.
Offered by at least one of the tools shown, not by pvSpline.
The 98 features of the checklist.
None: each feature pvSpline offers is offered by at least one of the 121 other tools too.
None among the tools shown.
None among the tools shown.
None among the tools shown.
| Feature | pvSpline | PVsyst | Aurora Solar | PV*SOL premium | HelioScope | archelios PRO | Other tools (116) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Design & shading | 15.5/18 | 10/18 | 13/18 | 6.5/18 | 10/18 | 6.5/18 | |
| 2D roof and site layout | Full | Partial | Full | Full | Full | Full | 31 |
| 3D scene and model design | Partial | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | 32 |
| Auto-fill of panels in a drawn area | Full | Partial | Full | Not confirmed | Full | Not confirmed | 27 |
| Satellite or aerial imagery as the design canvas | FullIGN photography in France, your own georeferenced image elsewhere | Full | Full | Full | Full | Not confirmed | 29 |
| Drone, photogrammetry or point-cloud import | Partiala scan’s mesh through the 3D model import, placed by hand; no point clouds | Not confirmed | Full | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | 9 |
| Roof planes and obstructions from LiDAR | Partialmetropolitan France (IGN LiDAR HD) | Not confirmed | Full | Not confirmed | Partial | Not confirmed | 8 |
| CAD import that drives the design | FullDXF outlines become arrays, no DWG | Full | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Full | 19 |
| Automatic roof pitch and azimuth detection | Partialfrom LiDAR roof planes, metropolitan France | Not confirmed | Full | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | 15 |
| Several orientations and sub-arrays per project | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | 29 |
| Mounting and racking layout | Fullfive generic kits; rails, clamps and fixings counted row by row | Not confirmed | Partial | Not confirmed | Partial | Not confirmed | 7 |
| Setbacks, fire-code and keep-out zones | FullFrench (CCS) and US (IFC) fire-code presets | Not confirmed | Partial | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | 13 |
| Near shading from 3D obstacles | Fullonce the 3D view has baked the shading | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | 46 |
| Horizon and far shading | Full | Full | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Full | 12 |
| Automatic shading from imagery or LiDAR | Partialmetropolitan France | Not confirmed | Full | Not confirmed | Full | Not confirmed | 17 |
| Hourly shading-loss profile | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Partial | 30 |
| Per-module or bypass-diode shading effect | Fullbypass diodes modelled once the 3D view has baked the shading | Full | Not confirmed | Partial | Full | Not confirmed | 6 |
| Shading between rows | Full | Full | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | 13 |
| Solar-access metrics (TSRF, TOF) | Full | Not confirmed | Full | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | 9 |
| Weather data | 4.5/8 | 6.5/8 | 3.5/8 | 5.5/8 | 1.5/8 | 4/8 | |
| Bundled weather database | PartialPVGIS data fetched per array and saved with the project | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | 45 |
| Several commercial weather providers | FullSolcast and Solargis files read as they come, other providers through EPW or TMY3; no API connector | Full | Full | Full | Not confirmed | Full | 21 |
| PVGIS integration | Full | Full | Not confirmed | Full | Not confirmed | Full | 8 |
| NREL NSRDB weather | PartialNSRDB CSV files (PSM, TMY), no direct fetch | Full | Full | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Partial | 18 |
| Weather file import (EPW, TMY3, CSV) | FullEPW, TMY3, NSRDB or pvSpline JSON, no free-form CSV | Full | Not confirmed | Full | Partial | Not confirmed | 40 |
| Hourly data generated from monthly valuesnot in pvSplinenot in pvSpline | Not confirmed | Full | Not confirmed | Full | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | 7 |
| Live or forecast weather feednot in pvSpline | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | 25 |
| On-demand satellite irradiance for the site | PartialPVGIS satellite history | Partial | Partial | Partial | Not confirmed | Partial | 22 |
| Energy yield | 16/16 | 15.5/16 | 5/16 | 6.5/16 | 6.5/16 | 6.5/16 | |
| Annual energy-yield simulation | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | 73 |
| Hourly (8,760-hour) simulation | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | 54 |
| Sub-hourly simulation | Fullfrom hourly data unless a sub-hourly file is imported | Full | Not confirmed | Partial | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | 24 |
| Transposition models (Perez, Hay) | Full | Full | Full | Not confirmed | Partial | Not confirmed | 29 |
| Single-diode or detailed cell model | Full | Full | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Full | Not confirmed | 15 |
| Cell-temperature model | Full | Full | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | 20 |
| Bifacial modules | Full | Full | Partial | Full | Partial | Full | 17 |
| Single- and dual-axis trackers | Full | Full | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Full | 24 |
| Backtracking | Full | Full | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | 6 |
| Detailed loss cascade | Full | Full | Partial | Full | Full | Full | 14 |
| Soiling model | Full | Full | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | 8 |
| Snow-loss model | Full | Partial | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | 4 |
| Degradation over the system’s lifetime | Full | Full | Not confirmed | Full | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | 16 |
| P50/P90 probabilistic yield | Full | Full | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Full | 12 |
| Performance ratio and specific yield | Full | Full | Not confirmed | Full | Full | Not confirmed | 12 |
| Validated against measured data or reference models | Full | Full | Full | Not confirmed | Partial | Partial | 42 |
| Electrical | 8/8 | 6/8 | 5.5/8 | 6.5/8 | 8/8 | 3.5/8 | |
| String sizing and MPPT-window check | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | 19 |
| Inverter sizing and DC:AC ratio | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | 23 |
| Single-line diagram | Full | Full | Partial | Full | Full | Full | 19 |
| Cable sizing and voltage drop | Full | Partial | Not confirmed | Full | Full | Partial | 14 |
| Optimisers and microinverters | Full | Full | Full | Partial | Full | Not confirmed | 12 |
| Automatic stringing | Fullmodules per string set by the user or by Auto-size | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Full | Full | Not confirmed | 7 |
| Electrical code checks (NEC, IEC) or electrical BOM | Full | Partial | Full | Not confirmed | Full | Not confirmed | 18 |
| Independent multi-MPPT configuration | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Not confirmed | 15 |
| Storage & systems | 13/13 | 9.5/13 | 3.5/13 | 5/13 | 0/13 | 2/13 | |
| Battery storage | Full | Full | Full | Full | Not confirmed | Full | 61 |
| Battery dispatch strategies | Full | Full | Full | Full | Not confirmed | Full | 29 |
| AC- and DC-coupled storage | Full | Full | Not confirmed | Full | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | 8 |
| Battery ageing | Full | Full | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | 3 |
| Demand-charge management | Full | Not confirmed | Partial | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | 13 |
| Off-grid systems | Full | Full | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | 18 |
| Hybrid systems and genset backup | Full | Full | Not confirmed | Full | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | 15 |
| EV charging | Full | Not confirmed | Partial | Full | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | 22 |
| Solar pumping | Full | Full | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | 3 |
| Agrivoltaicsextra | Full | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | 2 |
| Floating PV | Full | Partial | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | 1 |
| Concentrator PV | Full | Full | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | 4 |
| Export limits and curtailment | Full | Full | Partial | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | 34 |
| Finance | 10/10 | 8.5/10 | 6/10 | 6/10 | 3/10 | 4/10 | |
| LCOE | Full | Full | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Full | Partial | 15 |
| NPV, IRR and payback | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | 45 |
| Cash flow over the project’s lifetime | Full | Full | Full | Full | Not confirmed | Partial | 32 |
| Loans and debt financing | Full | Full | Full | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | 11 |
| Incentives, tax credits and depreciation | FullFrench schemes computed automatically, others typed in | Full | Full | Full | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | 24 |
| Feed-in, net-metering and time-of-use revenue | Full | Full | Full | Full | Partial | Not confirmed | 40 |
| Self-consumption savings | Full | Full | Full | Full | Not confirmed | Full | 34 |
| Lender metrics such as DSCR | Full | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Full | 10 |
| Sensitivity and scenario analysis | Full | Partial | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Partial | Not confirmed | 14 |
| Carbon balance | Full | Full | Not confirmed | Full | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | 24 |
| Platform & reports | 8.5/11 | 6.5/11 | 7/11 | 5/11 | 7.5/11 | 6.5/11 | |
| Public API or SDK | Fullcloud job API and MCP server, no SDK | Not confirmed | Full | Not confirmed | Full | Full | 72 |
| Batch and headless runs | Fullin the cloud, one site per batch | Full | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Partial | 32 |
| Teams and user roles | Full | Not confirmed | Full | Not confirmed | Full | Not confirmed | 60 |
| Component database | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | 74 |
| Several languages (interface or reports) | PartialEnglish and French | Full | Not confirmed | Full | Not confirmed | Partial | 46 |
| Third-party integrations | Partial | Not confirmed | Full | Partial | Full | Full | 70 |
| PDF technical report | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | 74 |
| CSV or Excel export | Full | Full | Partial | Full | Full | Not confirmed | 72 |
| Permit and grid-connection documents | PartialFrench permit and tender files | Not confirmed | Partial | Not confirmed | Partial | Partial | 19 |
| Custom report templates | Partial | Partial | Full | Not confirmed | Full | Not confirmed | 24 |
| Output to standards (IEC 61724) or lender formats | Partial | Full | Not confirmed | Partial | Not confirmed | Full | 30 |
| Sales & operations | 3.5/14 | 0.5/14 | 6/14 | 1.5/14 | 2.5/14 | 0.5/14 | |
| Customer proposals | Partial | Not confirmed | Full | Full | Full | Partial | 25 |
| Branded proposal templates | Fulla pvSpline integrity line stays on each page | Not confirmed | Full | Partial | Partial | Not confirmed | 18 |
| E-signature and contractsnot in pvSplinenot in pvSpline | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Partial | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | 11 |
| Instant online quote from an addressnot in pvSplinenot in pvSpline | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Full | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | 22 |
| Lead capture and self-design widgetnot in pvSpline | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | 11 |
| CRM, built in or connected | Partialclient records and a project-status pipeline, no CRM connector | Not confirmed | Full | Not confirmed | Partial | Not confirmed | 16 |
| Lender financing offersnot in pvSplinenot in pvSpline | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Partial | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | 10 |
| Utility-rate database or bill analysis | PartialFrench tariffs | Not confirmed | Full | Not confirmed | Partial | Not confirmed | 25 |
| Live production monitoringnot in pvSpline | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | 34 |
| Fleet monitoringnot in pvSpline | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | 37 |
| Fault detection and alertsnot in pvSpline | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | 34 |
| Actual versus expected performance | Partial | Partial | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | 38 |
| O&M tickets and work ordersnot in pvSpline | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | 21 |
| Inverter and datalogger integrationextra | Partial | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | 28 |
How we compared
The checklist is the feature taxonomy pvSpline uses to map the PV-software market, folded here into eight groups. Four of its rows say how a tool is delivered or licensed (installed, web or mobile app, open source) rather than what it does, so they are left out: 98 features remain.
A feature counts in full when the tool’s public documentation shows first-class support, and as half when the support is partial or limited. A feature we could not confirm is not counted. That is not a claim that the tool lacks it: documentation is incomplete, and products change.
The five tools drawn by default are read from each vendor’s public documentation in June and July 2026, each row checked by hand. The other tools of our market map come from the same June 2026 research and have not been checked again since. pvSpline is read from what its web app offers in October 2026, regional limits noted. Each figure is dated and will drift. Tell us when one is wrong and we will correct it.
The filter above the charts changes which tools are drawn, never a score. “Popular” shows five widely used design and simulation tools, the ones whose rows we check by hand. “All 121 tools” adds every other tool of our market map of PV software, some of which serve other needs: monitoring, weather data, building energy, code libraries. “Custom” picks tools one by one, the five or any other tool of the map, found with a search box.
The matrix opens on pvSpline’s extras: the features it offers that none of the tools shown offers. Its other tabs list the features pvSpline shares with at least one of them, the ones only they offer, and all of them, so every list follows the filter. A feature counts as offered when its support is full or partial. When tools of the market map are drawn, a last column counts those that offer each feature.
A count measures the breadth of what a tool offers: it does not say how well a feature works, how accurate a tool is, or which tool suits your project.
Sources, each vendor’s documentation:
- PVsyst: www.pvsyst.com
- PV*SOL premium: help.valentin-software.com
- archelios PRO: www.archelios.com
- HelioScope: help-center.helioscope.com
- Aurora Solar: help.aurorasolar.com
- 3megawatt (BluePoint): www.3megawatt.com
- Above (Above Surveying): www.abovesurveying.com
- AlsoEnergy PowerTrack: home.alsoenergy.com
- Ampère: www.electrographics.it
- Arka 360: help.arka360.com
- Autodesk Ecotect Analysis: help.autodesk.com
- Autodesk Insight: help.autodesk.com
- bifacial_radiance: bifacial-radiance.readthedocs.io
- BlueSol: www.bluesolpv.com
- Bodhi: www.bodhi.solar
- CASSYS: github.com
- ClimateStudio: climatestudiodocs.com
- Coperniq: www.coperniq.io
- Demand IQ: www.demand-iq.com
- DER-CAM (Distributed Energy Resources Customer Adoption Model): gridintegration.lbl.gov
- DesignBuilder: designbuilder.co.uk
- DIVA-for-Rhino: divadocs.readthedocs.io
- DTN: www.dtn.com
- EagleView: developer.eagleview.com
- Easy Solar (EasySolar): easysolar.app
- Emoncms / OpenEnergyMonitor: docs.openenergymonitor.org
- Enact Systems: enact-systems.com
- Energy Toolbase (ETB Developer / ETB Designer): help.energytoolbase.com
- EnergyPlus: bigladdersoftware.com
- Enphase Enlighten (Enphase App / MyEnlighten): developer-v4.enphase.com
- Enverus PRISM: www.enverus.com
- Fronius Solar.web / Solar.creator: www.fronius.com
- GoodWe SEMS Portal: community.goodwe.com
- Google Project Sunroof: www.google.com
- Google Solar API (Google Maps Platform): developers.google.com
- greenius (free greenius): www.dlr.de
- GreenLancer: www.greenlancer.com
- GreenPowerMonitor: help.greenpowermonitor.com
- GridLAB-D: gridlab-d.shoutwiki.com
- Growatt ShineServer / ShinePhone: cdn.growatt.com
- GSEE (Global Solar Energy Estimator): gsee.readthedocs.io
- Heliolytics: www.zeitview.com
- HOMER Grid: www.homerenergy.com
- HOMER Pro: homerenergy.com
- Huawei FusionSolar: support.huawei.com
- IES VE (Virtual Environment): help.iesve.com
- Inaccess (Unity): inaccess.support.powerfactors.com
- INSEL — Integrated Simulation Environment Language: insel.eu
- Ladybug Tools: docs.ladybug.tools
- Locus Energy: help.locusenergy.com
- Mapdwell (Solar System): mapdwell.com
- meteocontrol VCOM (Virtual Control Room): help-center.meteocontrol.com
- Meteonorm: docs.meteonorm.com
- Nearmap: developer.nearmap.com
- NSRDB — National Solar Radiation Database: developer.nrel.gov
- oemof.solph: oemof-solph.readthedocs.io
- OpenSolar: support.opensolar.com
- OpenStudio: nrel.github.io
- OpusFlow: opusflow.io
- PlantPredict: docs.plantpredict.com
- Polysun: www.velasolaris.com
- Power Factors: www.powerfactors.com
- PV F-CHART: fchartsoftware.com
- PVAnalytics: pvanalytics.readthedocs.io
- PVCAD: pvcomplete.com
- PVcase: help.pvcase.com
- pvfactors: sunpower.github.io
- PVGIS — Photovoltaic Geographical Information System: joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu
- pvlib python: pvlib-python.readthedocs.io
- PVMismatch: sunpower.github.io
- PVOutput: pvoutput.org
- PVSketch: pvcomplete.com
- PVWatts Calculator: developer.nrel.gov
- Pylon: app.getpylon.com
- QOS Energy (Qantum): www.qosenergy.com
- Raptor Maps: docs.raptormaps.com
- RatedPower (pvDesign): go.ratedpower.com
- RdTools: rdtools.readthedocs.io
- Renewables.ninja: www.renewables.ninja
- RETScreen Expert: natural-resources.canada.ca
- SAM — System Advisor Model: samrepo.nrelcloud.org
- Scanifly: help.scanifly.com
- Sefaira: support.sefaira.com
- SenseHawk: support.sensehawk.com
- Sighten: www.goeverbright.com
- SISIFO: www.sisifo.info
- Skelion: skelion.com
- Skytron Energy (PVGuard): alsoenergy.eu
- SMA Sunny Portal (powered by ennexOS): files.sma.de
- Solar Pro: www.lapsys.co.jp
- Solar-Log: solarlog.atlassian.net
- SolarAnywhere: apidocs.solaranywhere.com
- SolarAPP+: help.gosolarapp.org
- SolarEdge Designer: marketing.solaredge.com
- SolarEdge Monitoring Platform: knowledge-center.solaredge.com
- SolarFarmer: mysoftware.dnv.com
- Solargis: kb.solargis.com
- Solargraf: www.solargraf.com
- Solarius-PV: video.accasoftware.com
- Solarman (SOLARMAN Smart / Business): www.solarmanpv.com
- SolarNexus: help.gosolo.io
- SolarPILOT: github.com
- SolarPlus: www.solarplus.co
- SolarReviews: www.solarreviews.com
- Solcast: docs.solcast.com.au
- Solergo: www.electrographics.it
- Solo: help.gosolo.io
- Solytic: developer.solytic.com
- Sunbase Data: www.sunbasedata.com
- Sunfig (SIFT): www.sunfig.com
- Sungrow iSolarCloud: developer-api.isolarcloud.com
- Sunny Design: manuals.sma.de
- SurgePV: www.surgepv.com
- T*SOL: help.valentin-software.com
- Tigo Energy Intelligence (EI Platform): support.tigoenergy.com
- TRNSYS: www.trnsys.com
- Vaisala 3TIER Solar: energy.vaisala.com
- Vesta: help.vesta.eco
- Victron VRM (Victron Remote Management): vrm-api-docs.victronenergy.com
- Virto.CAD: help.virto.solar
- XENDEE: xendee.com
The names of the tools shown are trademarks or trade names of their respective owners, used here for identification and comparison only:
- PVsyst
- PV*SOL premium
- archelios PRO
- HelioScope
- Aurora Solar
- 3megawatt (BluePoint)
- Above (Above Surveying)
- AlsoEnergy PowerTrack
- Ampère
- Arka 360
- Autodesk Ecotect Analysis
- Autodesk Insight
- bifacial_radiance
- BlueSol
- Bodhi
- CASSYS
- ClimateStudio
- Coperniq
- Demand IQ
- DER-CAM (Distributed Energy Resources Customer Adoption Model)
- DesignBuilder
- DIVA-for-Rhino
- DTN
- EagleView
- Easy Solar (EasySolar)
- Emoncms / OpenEnergyMonitor
- Enact Systems
- Energy Toolbase (ETB Developer / ETB Designer)
- EnergyPlus
- Enphase Enlighten (Enphase App / MyEnlighten)
- Enverus PRISM
- Fronius Solar.web / Solar.creator
- GoodWe SEMS Portal
- Google Project Sunroof
- Google Solar API (Google Maps Platform)
- greenius (free greenius)
- GreenLancer
- GreenPowerMonitor
- GridLAB-D
- Growatt ShineServer / ShinePhone
- GSEE (Global Solar Energy Estimator)
- Heliolytics
- HOMER Grid
- HOMER Pro
- Huawei FusionSolar
- IES VE (Virtual Environment)
- Inaccess (Unity)
- INSEL — Integrated Simulation Environment Language
- Ladybug Tools
- Locus Energy
- Mapdwell (Solar System)
- meteocontrol VCOM (Virtual Control Room)
- Meteonorm
- Nearmap
- NSRDB — National Solar Radiation Database
- oemof.solph
- OpenSolar
- OpenStudio
- OpusFlow
- PlantPredict
- Polysun
- Power Factors
- PV F-CHART
- PVAnalytics
- PVCAD
- PVcase
- pvfactors
- PVGIS — Photovoltaic Geographical Information System
- pvlib python
- PVMismatch
- PVOutput
- PVSketch
- PVWatts Calculator
- Pylon
- QOS Energy (Qantum)
- Raptor Maps
- RatedPower (pvDesign)
- RdTools
- Renewables.ninja
- RETScreen Expert
- SAM — System Advisor Model
- Scanifly
- Sefaira
- SenseHawk
- Sighten
- SISIFO
- Skelion
- Skytron Energy (PVGuard)
- SMA Sunny Portal (powered by ennexOS)
- Solar Pro
- Solar-Log
- SolarAnywhere
- SolarAPP+
- SolarEdge Designer
- SolarEdge Monitoring Platform
- SolarFarmer
- Solargis
- Solargraf
- Solarius-PV
- Solarman (SOLARMAN Smart / Business)
- SolarNexus
- SolarPILOT
- SolarPlus
- SolarReviews
- Solcast
- Solergo
- Solo
- Solytic
- Sunbase Data
- Sunfig (SIFT)
- Sungrow iSolarCloud
- Sunny Design
- SurgePV
- T*SOL
- Tigo Energy Intelligence (EI Platform)
- TRNSYS
- Vaisala 3TIER Solar
- Vesta
- Victron VRM (Victron Remote Management)
- Virto.CAD
- XENDEE
pvSpline is independent and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by any of them.
Design on the Map
Satellite photo in, laid-out plant out: the tedium automated, the decisions yours.
- Draw on satellite imagery: sketch zones with their own azimuth, tilt and row spacing; panels auto-fill in real time.
- Ready-made shapes: drop a ready-made square and pull its corners over the roof; the fastest start on a simple plane.
- Point-by-point drawing: trace irregular outlines one click per corner; every vertex stays draggable afterwards.
- Magic-wand roof detection: one pipette click and the roof outline traces itself, with a sensitivity dial to fine-tune it.
- Cadastre and official buildings built in: France's official building outlines (IGN) are already on the map. Click one to make it a PV zone or a 3D building at its real height, and look up its cadastral parcel in one click for the permit file.
- KML import: every polygon in a Google Earth / GIS .kml lands at its true coordinates and fills with modules on arrival.
- Paint your strings: brush across panels to assign strings, color-coded live with automatic wiring warnings.
- Serpentine auto-stringing: the pre-sizer can also route every string across the array for you.
- One-click system sizing: module, inverter, string count and battery chosen from a handful of inputs.
- Sizing that chases profit: optimize the design for NPV or IRR, varying power and battery together.
- Real tariff calendars: utility rate plans built in, including EDF Tempo blue / white / red days.
Component Library
24,000+ parts ready to search, and your existing PVsyst library opens as-is.
- 21,500 modules, 2,300 inverters: the full CEC / SAM equipment library ships built in, packed and searchable, with no subscription.
- Reads PVsyst files natively: .PAN, .OND, .BTR, .PMP and .TRF import with zero re-entry, measured curves included.
- Hand-curated originals: 117 tuned modules and 38 inverters, plus batteries, pumps, gensets, cables and combiner boxes.
- Your own parts: duplicate any part to modify it, or build your own from scratch; yours sit alongside the factory ones.
- Unique fingerprint: every part is identified by a SHA-256 hash of its specification, so renaming never changes it and duplicates never creep in.
- Traceable provenance: each part records where it came from (official bundle, curation or your own import).
- Shared with your team: custom parts sync automatically to every account in your company workspace.
Electrical Design
The wiring, the codes and the losses, engineered in detail.
- Auto single-line diagram: generated from your layout and fully interactive. Drag strings between MPPTs and switch between IEC and IEEE symbols.
- Three electrical codes: NEC, IEC 60364 and UTE C15-712 ampacity, derates and cold-weather limits, string-sized per roof zone.
- Honest cable losses: automatic wire sizing, with the real I²R loss and voltage drop computed hour by hour.
- Cable runs off the map: run lengths estimated from where your equipment actually sits, rolled into a bill of materials.
- Deep inverter modeling: real efficiency curves, clipping, night standby, start thresholds and MPPT-window checks.
- Staging & module electronics: inverters wake one-by-one to stay efficient at low light; optimizers and microinverters are native.
- Grid-code interconnection: cos φ envelopes, curtailment setpoints, MV transformer and line losses to the delivery point.
Live Weather & Data
Every site gets fresh satellite irradiance, live weather and real metered loads.
- Live PVGIS irradiance: per-site TMY and true horizon profile, no API key, with worldwide satellite coverage.
- Weather back to 1940: hourly rain, snow, temperature and wind history, plus live PM10 dust for soiling.
- Real metered consumption: Enedis load curves down to 5 minutes, pulled straight from the French grid operator.
- Inverter cloud check-ins: measured-vs-modeled with live production from Enphase, SolarEdge, APsystems and SolaX.
- Your weather files too: native EPW and TMY3 import, sub-hourly resolution included.
- Address in, site out: one street address resolves to coordinates, elevation and time zone automatically.
- Data travels with the project: fetched weather and metering series are saved inside it, so a project re-runs identically months later with no re-download.
Simulation Physics
Published models, openly validated against measured plants, catching what hourly tools average away.
- Peer-reviewed solar engine: NREL sun position with Perez and Hay-Davies transposition, cross-checked against pvlib and EnergyPlus.
- Sub-hourly to 1 minute: choose a time step from 60 minutes down to 1; spline interpolation rebuilds the fine detail from hourly data, exposing the spikes and clipping.
- Cell-deep module physics: single-diode IV with thermal mass, spectral corrections and your module's measured IAM curve.
- Living soiling & snow: dust scaled by live air quality with rain wash-off; snow that piles up, slides and melts.
- Shading, end to end: real horizon silhouette, row-to-row losses, then electrical mismatch per string and bypass path.
- Every tracker type: single and dual axis with published backtracking, cloudy-sky re-aiming and wind-stow safety.
- Glass-box loss cascade: 50 stages from sun to grid, each labelled with the data source behind it.
Storage & EV
Batteries and EVs that earn their keep: dispatched, aged and accounted for.
- AC & DC coupling: DC-coupled banks capture the clipped surplus that AC-only designs throw away.
- Four dispatch strategies: maximize self-consumption, shave peak demand, arbitrage time-of-use or hold outage reserve.
- EV & vehicle-to-home: solar-first charging co-simulated with the home battery, at the priority you set.
- Physics-based aging: calendar and cycle wear with temperature and depth-of-discharge effects, honoring warranty floors.
- Grid accounting done right: import/export metering, peak/off-peak splits, export caps and capacity-charge peaks.
- Virtual storage plans: utility "cloud battery" subscriptions modeled with their caps, haircuts and fees.
- Any fleet, one project: combine any number of batteries and consumption sources, configured on the fly.
Beyond Standard PV
Floating, agrivoltaic, concentrated, off-grid: the systems most tools decline.
- Floating solar: pontoon arrays with water-cooled thermal behavior and true water-surface albedo.
- Agrivoltaics: elevated canopies over crops, with a dedicated light model for what grows underneath.
- Vertical bifacial & façades: east-west fence arrays and brise-soleil louvers, rear-side gain included.
- Concentration PV: from 1.5× troughs over silicon to ~500× triple-junction HCPV on two-axis trackers.
- Solar water pumping: from deep wells to pressurization, with pump curves, tank balance and cost per cubic meter.
- DC-grid traction: feed trolleybus, tram, metro or rail networks at 600–1500 V with real substation physics.
- Hybrid PV + diesel: off-grid and island mode with fuel burn, genset runtime and renewable fraction reported.
3D Earth Viewer
Roofs, terrain and trees rebuilt from IGN LiDAR: your site as it really is.
- Rebuilt from IGN LiDAR: in metropolitan France, each project's scene is built from IGN's national surveys, with LiDAR HD for roofs and trees, RGE ALTI for the ground and BD ORTHO imagery draped over it.
- Buildings with their real roofs: LOD2 reconstruction models each building's roof form and pitch, so panels sit on the actual roof planes; where none is published yet, footprints rise to their surveyed height, and the view says which you got.
- Trees as the LiDAR saw them: the canopy lets light through at the density the LiDAR measured; bake for any month's foliage, grow the trees forward in time, and clear the ground where the arrays will stand.
- Far, near and vegetation shading: the terrain-and-rooftop skyline swept from each array sets far shading, the bake measures near shading string by string, and the trees' share gets its own line in the loss cascade.
- Diffuse and rear side too: the same bake measures each array's sky-view factor for diffuse light and its rear-view factor for bifacial gain, in place of the analytic geometry.
- Built to be defended: quote the vegetation loss as measured beside its opaque-canopy upper bound, and a bake that a layout or scene change has outdated is flagged array by array.
- Auto-3D from the 2D map: the scene builds itself and stays in sync; panels snap to detected roofs and slopes, and drawn footprints rise as houses, factories or carports.
- CAD in, STL out: drop in an architect's model (glTF, FBX, OBJ, DAE, 3DS or STL) and it shades the yield; export the rebuilt site, trees and modules included, as STL for CAD or a 3D print.
- Ray-traced sun studies: watch hardware-ray-traced shadows sweep the site across the day and the year.
- Specialized systems in 3D: agrivoltaic canopies, vertical bifacial rows and louvers standing over the real crops.
- Flyover video, up to 4K: record a sun-path time-lapse from a fixed view, an orbit or a flight along a path you draw on the map, with the live stats drawn into every frame.
- A living scene: stats cards float over the arrays, and the sky replays the site's real archived weather, hour by hour.
- Streamed, even to a tablet: the renderer runs on a cloud GPU and streams to your browser, with nothing to install and no graphics card needed. You get the same picture on a tablet as on a workstation.
Finance & Bankability
Beyond kWh: the numbers a lender will actually sign off on.
- Full project economics: LCOE, NPV, IRR and payback over any horizon from 1 to 100 years.
- Real tariff complexity: seasonal and peak/off-peak rates, capacity charges, surplus resale and subsidies, down to TURPE reactive-energy billing.
- Project-finance structures: loans, inflation escalators, depreciation, corporate tax and dividends for SPV / IPP modeling.
- Probabilistic yield: P50 / P75 / P90 / P99 exceedance from an IEC-based uncertainty budget tied to your satellite source.
- Lender ratios inline: DSCR and LLCR computed natively, with stress tests across CAPEX, OPEX, tariff and degradation.
- Auditable carbon balance: embodied versus avoided CO₂ and carbon payback, ready for SFDR, CSRD and GRESB.
- Lifetime realism: climate-adjusted degradation plus grid-outage and maintenance availability, year by year.
Batch & Optimization
Ask "what's the best system here?" and get an answer scored the same way as your report.
- Auto-size in one click: give it a kWp range and a cost model; it finds the power that maximizes NPV or IRR and applies the winner to your project.
- Joint parts + sizing sweep: vary module, battery, inverter and power together; the cheapest feasible inverter and string topology are re-derived for every candidate.
- Scored on the real engine: each design runs through the same full simulation and financial model that produces your final report.
- Real-world cost model: economies of scale, per-inverter step costs and France's 36 / 100 / 250 / 500 kWp grid-connection tiers.
- Compare & decide: a sortable NPV / IRR / LCOE / PR / yield grid with a winner banner, per-column best-cell highlighting and baseline-Δ comparison.
- Sweeps, matrices & presets: one-click sensitivity studies on battery, tariff, loan and degradation, or a factorial matrix; drop a CSV or a catalogue part to build one.
- Batch studies in the cloud: every design scored side by side in one sortable table; the study keeps running after you close the tab.
Reports & Deliverables
Every project ends as something you can hand over to a client, a bank or the planning office.
- 40+ interactive charts: energy, power profiles, self-consumption, financial projections and probabilistic yield.
- Day × hour heatmaps: battery state, cell temperature, shading, curtailment and more, down to 5-minute resolution.
- Sankey loss diagram: the whole irradiance-to-grid cascade as one infographic, a crisp icon per stage.
- Branded PDF in one click: logo cover, selected charts, single-line diagram, bill of materials and 3D imagery.
- French paperwork, automated: déclaration préalable permit bundles and CRE tender dossiers, generated for you.
- Open data out: CSV, XLSX and JSON export, SVG diagrams for CAD.
- Scriptable cloud API: queue runs from your own scripts with a service token and collect the results, no browser needed.
The fastest way to judge a simulation tool is to run it on a project you already know.