Aerialytic Designer Mode can seem like a beast (and in a lot of ways it is), but the easiest thing to remember is to always go down the sections one by one in order. You will always want to run shading when you are done making the desired changes to the site. Below is a breakdown of each section:
Roof Segments
When adding or removing a roof segment, navigate to Designer mode and open the Roof Segments section.
The Roof Segments section lists each roof face, the azimuth, eave height and the area of each designed section of the roof. Every designed roof section will be distinguished by number, which can be found along the eave.
Edge Detection & Segment Labels
Each roof is made up of different segments, and each segment has a different name depending on where on it the roof it is located. Ridges, Eaves, Hips, Valleys, and Rakes are the most common edge types on a roof. In certain areas, there are fire setbacks or other restrictions specific to edge types, so labeling the edges is important when designing. Click the button titled Edge Detection to label the edge types. When this has been done, edges will become color-coded as their label.
If the edges do not receive the proper label, or if they do not apply when selected, navigate to the second tab within the Roof Segments section titled Segment Labels.
This section has a dropdown for each edge type. Select the desired label from the dropdown, and then click the corresponding segment on the digital image to apply the corect label to the segment. Repeat this process for all segments needing to be labeled.Select the Clear Labels button to remove all edge labels applied to the design.
Roof Section Diagram
For reference, see a diagram of roof sections below:
Dormers are a very common architectural design on a home. A dormer is a roofed structure, often containing a window, that projects vertically beyond the plane of a pitched roof. Dormers usually do not have enough square footage in order to have panels mounted on them, but are commonly referenced during the design process.
Adding new roof segments to the design
If detached structures, parts of the roof, or new structures need to be added to the design, they will need to be manually drawn.
First select the Roof Segments drop down on the right of the design.
Once the Roof Segments section has been selected, drawing mode will be activated automatically, indicated by the pencil icon on the left side of the digital image being selected.
Left-click the + cursor on the corner of the desired roof section. Once the initial point has been selected, click the cursor on each corner of that roof face, clicking again on the starting point to complete the roof face.
Once the shape has been completed, select the Run Roof Measurements button found in the Roof Segments section. This will use the Nearmap DSM map data to determine the height of the structure.
Adding new roof sections to existing structures in the design
First select the Roof Segments drop down on the right of the design.
Once the Roof Segments section has been selected, drawing mode will be activated automatically, indicated by the pencil icon on the left side of the digital image being selected.
Left-click the + cursor, starting on a shared, existing point, to begin drawing the new roof face from there.
Select existing points instead of drawing new points (when appropriate) and again, complete the roof face by selecting the original point. (a red circle will fill the blue point when hovering over it)
Once the shape has been completed, select the Run Roof Measurements button found in the Roof Segments section. This will use the Nearmap DSM map data to determine the height of the structure.
The ridgeline does not always line up when new roof sections are designed. Select the Run Optimizer button found in the Roof Segments Section to align them.
See example below:
BEFORE:
AFTER:
Obstacles
Obstacles are rooftop obstructions and are most commonly (but are not limited to) chimneys, pipes, satellite dishes, skylights, and roof vents. Obstacles cannot be covered by panels during installation, so including them in the design is very important.
To add or remove obstacles in the design first be in Designer Mode.
Click on the Obstacles section to the right of the design.
Obstacles that are known will appear in the dropdown.
There are two types of obstacles: polygon obstacles and point obstacles. Polygon obstacles will appear first in the drop down, then the points will follow.
Point obstacles are used for circular rooftop obstructions, whereas polygon obstacles are used for most other shapes. Each polygon and each point will have a number next to it on the rooftop design. This will coincide with the number in the Obstacles section.
Adding Polygon Obstacles
Click on Polygon in the Obstacles dropdown.
Click on Drawing Mode to the left of the design.
Begin tracing the outline of the obstruction by clicking the + cursor on the corner of the obstruction. Left click points around the rooftop obstacle to create the polygon.
Close the polygon by clicking on the first point that started the polygon. The point will be red indicating that the polygon is complete. The obstacle will be shaded in.
The program will automatically assign the dimensions, give it a number and add it to the dropdown in the obstacles section.
Adding Point Obstacles
Select the Point button within the Obstacles section. The Point button will outline in a thin gray line when selected.
Click on Drawing Mode to the left of the design.
Place the + cursor in the center of the circular obstruction, then click. A circle obstacle will be drawn on the digital image at either the default of 10 inch radius, or based on information gathered from the Nearmap DSM mapping.
To adjust the size of the point obstacle, select Edit Mode, then hover your cursor until the point along the circumference of the circle highlights in red.
Click and drag that point to the desired diameter.
To move the point obstacle, hover over the center point until it turns red.
Once selected, click, and drag the obstacle to the desired location.
Removing Obstacles
Click on the trash icon on the bar to the left of the design.
Click on the obstacle to be removed.
The obstacle will disappear and will no longer be included in the design.
Obstacles can also be removed by selecting the corresponding trash can icon within the Obstacles section.
Trees
Trees and their shade will be factored into the design based on the available DSM data from Nearmap. When there is a discrepancy in tree height or location between the DSM data and what currently exists, trees will need to be manually drawn in order to override that incorrect data.
Adding trees to the design within designer mode
First select the Trees drop down on the right of the design.
Once the Trees section has been selected, drawing mode will be activated automatically, indicated by the pencil icon on the left side of the digital image being selected.
Take the cursor and left-click in the center of the tree that is to be added. A green-filled circle will appear as the cursor is dragged to the farthest edge of the tree branches.
To complete the tree, left-click the cursor again at the farthest outside edge of the branches. A 3D green tree will appear on the digital image, and the captured tree dimensions will be displayed in the Trees section.
Adjusting the height and circumference of existing trees
If a tree is taller than what is being represented by our DSM data, a tree will need to be drawn to the correct height. If a tree has been removed, but is still existing according to DSM data, a tree with no height, will need to be drawn in its place.
Drawn trees will appear as a 3D rendering of a tree on the digital image. To toggle the 3D view of the trees off, left-click on the tree icon found on the right-hand side of the digital image. This will adjust the tree to appear as a white, 2D circle.
Determine the tree that needs to be adjusted based on the number, which can be found along the radius of the tree.
Based on the DSM map, shown in the 3D view, adjust the height for the tree within the Trees section.
If a tree needs to be removed from the design, but the impact of its shade is being pulled from the DSM data, the DSM function will be utilized.
The Left-click on the dropdown box under the column DSM and select “Remove”. The tree height will show as zero to reflect the DSM function being active. To include the tree in the design again, select “Keep” in the dropdown box in the DSM column.
Shading
Once you are done making changes to the house site (roof segments, obstacles and trees) you must run shading before creating a new design or filling panels. If you do not run shading, the shading data will be out of date and therefore production numbers will be incorrect.
Expand the Shading section and click "Run Shading"
Fire Setbacks
Fire setbacks are designated pathways that are required to be on the roof according to fire code in case of emergency. The most common fire code requirements are a 36 inch wide pathway on each roof face from the eave to the ridge, and a 36 inch pathway along the ridge, split, with 18 inches on each side. Depending on jurisdiction and amount of rooftop coverage, these setback requirements can change.
As an example, reference 2021 California fire code below:
In Designer Mode, select the Fire Setbacks section to view, or adjust the fire setbacks.
Existing fire setback lanes will be highlighted in yellow on the digital image.
Run Edge Detection
If Fire Setbacks need to be adjusted from the default, or if new roof sections were added to the home, roof edges need to be labeled. Return to the Roof Segments section, and select the button Run Edge Detection.
When Edge Detection has been successfully run, the edges of the home will be color coordinated to reflect the type. (Red on the ridge, green on the eave, etc.)
Adjusting Fire Setbacks
To adjust all existing Fire Setbacks at the same time, and to be the same width, Open the Fire Setbacks section, select General Setbacks, and input the desired width in inches.
Most commonly, Fire Setbacks will vary in size depending on the section of the roof. Use the Edge Label Setbacks section to adjust the fire lanes based on the specific section of the roof.
NOTE: Fire setbacks should not be changed unless AHJ requirements allow them.
Design
Once the user has run shading, they will need to select the equipment they would like to use for the new design. The consumption and equipment will persist from the original design. If you do not need to change this, simply click "fill panels" then "Create Design" to create the new design.
If you need to make any changes to the equipment, select the changes to make and click "fill panels". If you are adding a battery you should do this before making any other changes to the panels selected. If you add or modify the battery on the design, then click "fill panels" the design will revert to the AI design.
Revise
Once the structure, obstacles, trees and equipment are designed as desired, the Revise section is used to adjust aesthetics and fine tune the PV design.
Adjusting the Azimuth
Once a roof section has been selected, it will be shaded red.
To adjust the azimuth of an array of panels, select the desired roof plane, then adjust the azimuth to the desired degree.
Adjusting Panels
Panel count, orientation and location can be adjusted from the Revise section.
On the left side of the screen, there are a series of functions. Reference the table below for the function of each:
When you are all ready, click "Create Design" and the new design will be created. You will need to wait until the Proposal Mode modal has fully loaded before closing or making any changes to the design. Once Proposal Mode has loaded, the user can then activate/inactivate any panels and click "Save"