Solar module layout

Requirements

These points decide whether the “Solar” button appears and whether a surface can be fitted with modules.

Guide: measure the roof · Guide: model from plan (DXF or DWG)

1. Subscription or free project: your organisation has Roofy Pro or Enterprise, or it has no subscription yet and works in the free project. With Basic the button stays hidden; the “Add-ons” card in the organisation settings then shows “This add-on is available from the Pro plan upwards.”
2. Add-on switched on: the add-on “Solar module layout” is switched on by default for Pro, Enterprise and the free project. Owners and admins switch it off and on again under “Add-ons” (section “Switching off under Add-ons”).
3. Session with a 3D model: the session was created as “3D Classic”, “3D Alternative” or “From plan (DXF or DWG)”. In a 2D session the line “Module layout needs a 3D survey. Create a 3D survey for this property to place modules.” stands in place of the button.
4. Closed surface: at least one measured roof surface (closed polygon in “Draw” mode) or one facade area. Without it the panel reports “No closed surface yet. Measure a roof surface or facade first, then place modules.”
5. Coordinate reference for roof surfaces: roof surfaces need a georeferenced model (drone session with position data or plan model). Without it the panel shows “Roof surfaces need a georeferenced model. Facades can still be fitted with modules.”
6. Role: every member who may measure may also lay out modules. With read-only rights you see the layout, the buttons are locked.

Switching on and view

The layout runs in the same 3D viewer as measuring, with its own panel on the right. Switch to the 3D view first.

1. Switch to the 3D view: the “Solar” button sits in the toolbar among the tools. In the 2D view it is greyed out with the note “Module layout is only available in the 3D view”.
2. Press “Solar”: the “Module layout” panel opens on the right with the introduction “Mark obstacles, check the rules, choose a module, fill the surface, then refine.” and the four steps “Obstacles”, “Rules”, “Layout” and “Refine”. On switching on, Roofy creates an empty zone for every surface and adopts closed outlines from measurement lines as obstacles.
3. Select a surface: a click on a surface in the model selects its zone; filling happens only with the “Fill” button in the “Layout” step. Drawing and measuring are locked in Solar mode; “Undo” and “Redo” in the toolbar act on the layout.
4. Move the camera: rotating and panning are free only while the spacebar is held or after the “Pan” button (key V); the mouse wheel always zooms. This way a click while placing modules does not move the view by accident.
5. Show measurements: in Solar mode the measurement lines and dimensions are hidden, the surface outlines and obstacles stay visible. The switch “Show measurements with dimensions” in the panel header brings the dimensions back. The “Guides” button in the “View” group of the toolbar, next to “Polygons” and “Measurements” (key L), hides the drawings of the layout (safety margin, spacing lines, zone frame, handles and obstacles); only the modules stay, clicking and placing keep working, a second click brings everything back.
6. Switch off: a second click on “Solar” ends the mode; Escape only ends the running action and the active sub-tool. The layout is saved automatically and appears again the next time you open the session.

Step 1: Obstacles

Mark chimneys, roof windows, vents and structures before filling so that Roofy keeps them clear by the obstacle clearance. Obstacles are always visible in Solar mode.

1. Select a surface: choose the roof surface or facade under “Surface”. Without a choice the note “Choose a surface first, then mark obstacles or adopt outlines from measurement lines.” is shown.
2. “Rectangle”: set the first side (two clicks or a drag), then pull out the width; the rectangle can be rotated. The tool stays active until you end it with Escape or the button, so you can draw several obstacles in a row.
3. “Polygon”: click points on the surface; from three points on, a click on the first point closes the obstacle. Near the first point the preview snaps onto it.
4. Outlines from measurement lines: Roofy adopts a closed figure of measurement lines from “Measure & Split” mode as an obstacle on switching on and on every fill. Conditions: at least three lines, end points no more than 15 cm apart, no more than two lines meeting at any point, every corner on the surface (up to 15 cm beyond the edge is allowed) and no more than 10.5 m above or 0.5 m below the roof plane. Figures not yet adopted are listed under “Measurement line outlines not adopted” and join the list with a click.
5. List and Delete: every obstacle is listed as “Obstacle n”, as “Outline from measurement lines, x m²” or with the name from the plan, for example “Chimney, x m²”. Hover over an entry and the obstacle lights up in the model. “Delete” removes it; a deleted outline from measurement lines stays deselected permanently. In the standard tool a right-click on the obstacle in the model deletes it too.
6. Limits: at most 50 obstacles per surface. An obstacle in Solar is an area in the roof plane without height; it affects only the layout, not the 3D model.

Step 2: Rules

Spacing, safety zone and tilt mounting together decide where modules may lie. Every change recalculates the layout of the affected zones at once.

1. Enter “Spacing”: “Edge setback” (with “Separate values per edge type” separately for eaves, ridge, verge, hip, valley and parapet), “Module gap” horizontal and vertical (linked or unlinked) and “Obstacle clearance”, all in centimetres from 0 to 500 cm. Below it stands “The default is a planning assumption. Check manufacturer specifications and wind load.”
2. “Offset from roof”: raises or lowers the modules of the surface for display, minus 100 to 200 cm, with no effect on the count. Empty means “auto”: the first fill sets the value from the model; if the suggestion differs, “Apply suggestion n cm” stands next to it.
3. “Applies to” and organisation default: “Global (all zones)” writes the spacing to all zones, a single surface in the list only there; a field with differing zones carries the note “differs in n zones”. “Save as organisation default” makes the values the default for all projects of the organisation.
4. Switch on the “Safety zone”: set “Zone active” and enter the “Safety distance” in metres (0.1 to 10 m, default 2 m), measured from the roof edge inwards. With “Not buildable” the safety distance replaces the edge setback on every selected edge; without the tick modules may lie in the zone and the report lists them.
5. “Safety walkway”: with the tick and “Width” (10 to 200 cm, default 60 cm) the walkway runs along the inside of the safety distance line, where the guard rail stands; modules start behind it. Zone and walkway appear orange in the model, in the report and in the DXF.
6. “Edges with safety zone”: the zone applies all round; deselect single edges (for example at a higher wall) in the edge list or by clicking the edge in the model. Deselected edges keep the normal edge setback. “Applies to” works as for the spacing: “Global (all roof surfaces)” or one roof surface; facades have no safety zone.
7. Choose “Tilt mounting”: “Shape” Flat, “Sawtooth (like a factory roof)”, “Gable (east-west, ridge inside)” or “Butterfly (east-west, valley inside)”, plus “Tilt” from the list (5, 10, 12, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 degrees) or as manual entry up to 45 degrees. A change of shape sets no tilt by itself; until you choose, “No tilt chosen yet: Roofy calculates this zone flat until a value is chosen.” is shown. The tilt mounting always applies to the selected zone only.
8. Tilt direction and reversal: the buttons under “Tilt direction” name the axis pair of the compass rose (“North/South”, “East/West”, “NE/SW”, “SE/NW”), the “Reverse direction” button shows where the modules currently tilt to (“Facing: South”). With sawtooth Roofy tilts automatically towards the sun; with gable and butterfly the button fixes the pair order.
9. Row spacing and pair: the footprint shortens when tilting (module length times the cosine of the tilt). For the aisle between the rows Roofy calculates a suggestion from the height of the high edge times “Factor” (1.5, 2, 2.5 or 3, default 2); “Apply suggestion n cm” writes it into the vertical module gap and unlinks it. With gable and butterfly “Gap within the pair (cm)” is added (0 to 100 cm, default 10 cm) for the ridge or the valley.

Step 3: Layout

Choose a module, fill the surface, set orientation and finish. Filling uses exactly the module shown in the “Module” block.

1. Choose a “Module”: “Standard formats” lists common modules (“Adjust Wp per manufacturer, dimensions are fixed”), “Custom modules” the modules of your organisation. “Choose” sets the module for the selected zone or, without a zone, as the default for the next fills.
2. Create a “New module”: enter “Module name”, “Width in mm”, “Height in mm” and “Power in Wp” and press “Create”. The module is then available in all projects of the organisation. Existing layouts keep their module details even if you later remove a module from the selection.
3. “Fill”: the surface list shows “Roof” or “Facade”, module count and kWp per surface. “Fill” lays out the surface with the chosen module: Roofy searches the grid position with the most modules (rows flush or staggered), keeps all spacing and leaves obstacles and the safety zone free. Rows run parallel to the eaves, on flat roofs and facades along the longest edge. Afterwards the button reads “Refill”. A zone holds at most 5,000 modules and a variant 10,000; once the limit is reached, the remaining spaces stay empty and Roofy says so.
4. “Orientation and appearance”: for the selected zone “Portrait” or “Landscape”, each button shows the module count it gives. “Finish” chooses the look: “Full Black”, “Standard”, “Coloured” and the shades terracotta, dark red, brown, ochre, light grey, grey, green and blue; purely visual, with no effect on the numbers.
5. Zones, preview and totals: under every surface its zone is listed with count and kWp, the X next to it is “Delete zone”. “Schematic preview” shows the unfolded surface as it appears in the report. “Total” sums modules and kWp of the active variant.
6. Read the notes: on flat surfaces the panel shows “Flat surface: layout calculated without tilt frames, the count is an upper limit.”; the report shows this note only while no zone of the surface is calculated with tilt mounting. For drone sessions with an unambiguously matched roof surface, “approx. n kWh/year” with “Estimate based on sonnendach.ch” is added; without a match the line is missing.

Step 4: Refine

Three blocks for the fine work: grid position of the zone, comparison of modules and single modules. All three need a selected zone (“Fill a surface first, then select its zone in the list.”).

1. “Grid position”: the arrows shift the grid of the zone in steps of 1 cm or 10 cm (“Step”); a shifted position is kept when you refill, “Reset position” searches again for the position with the most modules. “Rotation in degrees” rotates the zone, “Align to edge” aligns it to a clicked surface edge.
2. “Comparison grid”: the list “Module comparison for this zone” shows “n modules, x kWp” in this zone for every available module. A click switches the module of the zone and refills it.
3. Single modules in the standard tool: “Click a free grid slot to place a grid module, right-click deletes, drag moves. Comma and full stop rotate the selected module in 5-degree steps, with Shift or Ctrl by 1 degree.” A click on a module selects it; the “Single modules” block then shows orientation, “Rotation in degrees”, “Tilt” and “Reverse” for exactly this module. Without a selected module the values apply to the next module you place.
4. “Draw module”: switches on the tool for free placing; “Module to place” determines the module. A ghost under the pointer shows in advance whether it fits (green) or not (red). With gable and butterfly “Place in pairs: on” places both modules of the pair with one click.
5. Snapping: the button cycles between “Snapping: grid” (grid slots and neighbouring modules, whichever is nearer), “Snapping: neighbours” (only neighbouring modules of the same zone, snapping from 35 cm away) and “Snapping: off” (everything free under the pointer).
6. Rotate and orientation: the R key flips the orientation of the selected module. You rotate while moving: drag the module with the left button and press the right button as well; the position then holds, and sideways mouse movement rotates the module about its centre. Release right to keep moving. On a trackpad, Alt (Option) with a right drag rotates. Simpler, also on a trackpad: comma and full stop rotate in 5-degree steps (comma anticlockwise, full stop clockwise), with Shift or Ctrl by 1 degree; hold the key to keep rotating. This works on the selected module, while dragging and, in “Draw module”, on the preview. Without a key the rotation snaps to 5 degrees, with Shift or Ctrl it rotates freely for fine adjustment (on a Windows PC use Ctrl if Shift with the right button opens the browser menu). In “Draw module”, a right drag on a free area rotates the preview of the next module. In the “Single modules” block, the “Rotation in degrees” field sets the angle directly; the arrow keys change it by 5 degrees, with Shift by 1 degree. In a full grid a module has no room to rotate: if it does not fit rotated, it jumps back and Roofy says so. Then delete the neighbours or rotate the whole zone with “Rotation in degrees” under “Grid position”.
7. Multiple selection: dragging on a free area of the zone opens a selection frame, Shift and click adds single modules or removes them. The block shows “n modules selected”; orientation, angle, tilt, reverse, delete and move then act on all of them, as one step for Undo.
8. Delete and undo: “Delete module”, Delete or Backspace remove the selection, a right-click a module under the pointer. Cmd/Ctrl+Z undoes the last layout change, with Shift added it redoes it.

Facades

Facade areas from the “Facade area” tool of the 3D view can be fitted with modules like roof surfaces; they appear in the surface list as “Facade”.

1. Measure a facade area: in the 3D view draw a closed polygon on the wall with “Facade area” (chapter “3D Capture: Facades”). Facades can be fitted with modules even without a coordinate reference.
2. Create a facade module: for wall surfaces the “Module” block shows “Facade modules are made to measure. Create them as a custom module.” Create width, height and Wp as a “New module”.
3. Differences from the roof surface: the offset is called “Offset from wall”; the safety zone exists for roof surfaces only; a tilt mounting on the wall tilts the module away from the wall and upwards, “Reverse direction” applies as on the roof. The report marks the surface as a facade.

North direction and compass

The layout needs the compass directions for the tilt direction of the tilt mounting and for the yield estimate. The compass shows where north lies.

1. Read the compass: at the bottom left of the 3D model a small compass turns with the view; the red needle tip with “N” points north. It appears only when the model has a coordinate reference.
2. Turn to north: a click on the compass (“Align to north”) turns the camera until the view faces north; target, distance and elevation stay.
3. Directions in the panel: in the “Tilt mounting” block the tilt direction buttons name the axis pair of the compass rose and “Reverse direction” the side the modules tilt to. Without a coordinate reference “Forwards”, “Sideways” and “Reverse direction” stand there instead. After the click the button reads “Direction reversed”.
4. Plan model: in a “From plan (DXF or DWG)” session you set the north direction in the assistant before measuring or laying out; afterwards it is locked. Details in the chapter “Model from plan (DXF or DWG)”.

Variants

You compare several layouts of the same session through variants in the panel header. Exactly one variant is active, all are saved automatically.

1. “New variant”: creates a second layout. “New variants start with no modules. Surfaces, obstacles, module, spacings and safety zone are kept, the tilt starts flat.” Then fill the surfaces again, for example with a different module or a different shape.
2. “Duplicate variant”: the button with the copy icon next to “New variant” (its name shows as a tooltip) creates a copy of the active variant with all zones, modules and spacings. The copy keeps the original name with the addition “(copy)”, the second time “(copy 2)”, and becomes active. A locked variant can be duplicated too; the copy is not locked. This lets you try out a change without losing the previous layout.
3. Switch and name: a click on a variant makes it active; “Rename” gives it a telling name, for example East-West 15 degrees.
4. “Delete variant”: asks for confirmation, because the zones of the variant are lost. Even the only variant may go; the next fill creates one again.
5. “Lock”: the padlock button in the panel header next to the variants locks the active variant; it then carries a padlock in the variant bar. Locked means no change to this layout until it is unlocked. Filling, modules, obstacles, settings, grid position, format and appearance, renaming and deleting are locked; the panel shows “This layout is locked. Unlock it first to make changes.” Viewing, switching variants, creating a new variant, the report and the DXF export remain available. In a plan model, “Regenerate” with changed parts, obstacles or north direction is locked as well while any variant is locked.
6. “Unlock”: the same button in the panel header or the button in the notice lifts the lock; any member who may edit may do so. The layout can then be changed again. Locking and unlocking are not undo steps.

Report

The PDF report contains the solar section automatically as soon as a variant carries modules. You choose which variants go in when generating.

1. “Download PDF”: opens the dialog “Variants for the report”. Ticked variants appear in the PDF, the active one is preselected; without a tick the report is created “Without solar section”. “Generate report” starts the download.
2. 3D image: the report shows the current view of the model with the layout. In addition, each surface with modules gets its own view: roof surfaces from above, facades head-on, up to 6, largest surfaces first. These views exist only for the active variant and only if it is ticked in the dialog. The solar tool must be switched on for this; otherwise the dialog says that the report contains no 3D image, and the report stays valid. Reports via a share link or from a partner contain only the main 3D image.
3. Content per surface: a schematic of the unfolded surface with modules, zones, obstacles and the safety zone drawn in orange, plus module type, count and kWp per zone, the marking roof or facade, the flat-roof note for flat layouts and a line on safety distance and walkway. At the end the total of modules and kWp and the sentence on the planning assumptions.
4. Yield estimate: for drone sessions in Switzerland whose roof surface can be matched unambiguously to a sonnendach.ch sub-area, “approx. n kWh/year” with “Estimate based on sonnendach.ch” is shown per surface. Without an unambiguous match and in plan models without a location the line is missing.

DXF export with the layout

On request the layout of one variant goes into the DXF for CAD programs, on its own layers and congruent with the roof plan.

1. “Export DXF”: opens the dialog “DXF export”. The tick “Solar layout in the plan” is off at first; without the tick the DXF stays as before. Under “Choose variant” you pick the variant, “Generate DXF” starts the download.
2. Layers: modules, zones, obstacles, safety zone and a table with count and kWp per zone lie on ROOFY_SOLAR_MODUL, ROOFY_SOLAR_ZONE, ROOFY_SOLAR_HINDERNIS, ROOFY_SOLAR_SICHERHEIT and ROOFY_SOLAR_TABELLE.
3. Modules as blocks: every module is a block insert per module type with the attributes type, Wp, tilt and facing, countable in CAD. The tilt is the tilt mounting relative to the surface, 0 for modules lying flat.
4. Without a coordinate reference: if the reference to the roof plan is missing, the tick is locked and the dialog says that the layout cannot be placed in the plan; the DXF is generated as before.

Keyboard shortcuts in Solar mode

These shortcuts apply with the solar tool switched on in the 3D view. In the app the ? key shows the same list under “Keyboard shortcuts”; the group “Module layout (solar)” appears there only in the 3D view with the add-on switched on.

Switching off under Add-ons

The solar module layout is an add-on of the organisation. It is switched on by default for Pro, Enterprise and the free project.

1. Open the settings: as owner or admin open the organisation settings and go to the “Add-ons” card. There “Solar module layout” is listed with the status “Active” or “Not active”.
2. Flip the switch: the switch turns the add-on off or on for the whole organisation. Switched off, the “Solar” button disappears from the editor and a running Solar mode is ended.
3. Data is kept: “Existing data is kept when you switch an add-on off.” Variants, zones and modules of a session appear unchanged after switching on again.

Limits

The layout is a planning aid. What Roofy does not check is shown permanently in the panel and belongs to the specialist planning.

• “Spacings are planning assumptions, not a structural or fire safety check.” Roofy does not check manufacturer specifications, wind load or ballast.
• “Roofy does not check fire walls (1.0 m gap according to the Swissolar state-of-the-art paper on VKF 2001-15) or smoke vents (2.0 m clearance).”
• No shading analysis, no string planning and no inverters; the yield estimate is an estimate based on sonnendach.ch, not a yield guarantee.
• The numbers in the report are binding; the server calculates them from the saved layout. Modules that no longer lie fully on the roof after a change of the surface disappear at once and are no longer counted. Modules on the surface that only fail the edge clearance or an obstacle appear grey and are still counted until you refill.
• At most 50 surfaces with modules per variant and 50 obstacles per surface. Obstacles in Solar have no height; only roof structures from a plan model carry a height.
• Modules lie parallel to the fitted plane of the surface, never on the raw model; without tilt mounting the count on flat surfaces is an upper limit.