SunTrace3D – 3D shading tool – would you use it?

[tomcraft]

Hi everyone,

I've been working on a software tool called SunTrace3D and I'd love to get some honest feedback from people who actually deal with solar installations day to day.

The idea behind SunTrace3D is to make accurate 3D shading analysis and annual yield estimation more accessible — you'd be able to model a site in 3D (rooftop, surrounding trees, chimneys, neighbouring buildings etc.) and get a realistic picture of how shading affects energy output throughout the year, not just a rough estimate based on a flat-surface assumption.

A few things I'm curious about from this community:

• Is shading analysis something you find yourself doing manually, or do you already use a tool for this?
• What do you feel is missing from the tools currently out there (if you use any)?
• Would a dedicated 3D tool like this be useful for your projects — whether you're a DIYer, installer, or just planning your own system?
• Would you prefer a desktop app, a web-based tool, or something that works on mobile?

I'm still in the dev phase, so this is genuinely a research/feedback exercise — not a sales pitch. Any thoughts, even critical ones, are very welcome.
Thanks

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/5Yq0t2Y8JPw

[solar pete]

HI tomcraft and welcome to solar panel talk.

We usually eyeball it as its often a case of room on the roof and sometimes shade is a winter only issue and your still better off having panels on a bit of roof that works fine for 3/4 of the year than putting them somewhere else where there is no winter shade but you end up sacrificing production for 3/4 of the year. This is one where opinions do vary quite a bit. Hope that helps, cheers.

[tomcraft]

Hey, thanks so much for the welcome and for the honest feedback!

That completely makes sense. Honestly, the "eyeball test" combined with local experience is usually spot-on for most standard residential roofs. Your point about accepting a bit of winter shade to maximize the other 3/4 of the year is exactly the kind of real-world logic that pure math sometimes misses.

The main reason I started building SunTrace3D was actually to help validate that exact scenario with hard numbers. Instead of just guessing if that winter shade is going to kill 10% or 40% of the annual yield, the tool lets you prove that putting the panels in the "better 3/4" spot is mathematically the right call. It basically gives you the official PVGIS data to back up your gut feeling.

Since you usually rely on experience for the standard jobs, do you ever run into weird, complex roofs or tricky tree lines where you actually have to pull out a software tool to run the numbers, or is eyeballing it usually enough to get the job done across the board?