Solar design inside the system that runs the job

Also in Glow

Your catalog

Panels, inverters and batteries you actually install, at your prices, with the datasheet attached.

The savings picture

PVWatts production, and net-metering credits month by month from the customer's own tariff rates.

Then it stops being a design tool

The design becomes the priced proposal, the materials list and the purchase orders on the same job.

Frequently asked questions

What is Glow?

Glow is solar design built into Payaca. You pin the roof, Glow pulls high-resolution imagery, finds the roof faces and lays the panels out, and the design becomes the priced items on the proposal, in the same project your team runs the survey and the invoice from.

Can I use Glow now?

Glow is in limited release with a small group of installers running it on real jobs. Request a call and we'll switch it on for your account.

How is shading assessed?

Automatically, on each roof face. Glow measures solar access from the horizon in the surface model and the objects near the property, and shows it for the faces the panels sit on. Production itself is a PVWatts weather estimate, which doesn't model individual obstacles, so where tree cover or a structure sits over the panels, the estimate says it will be checked on the site visit.

How does Glow estimate production and savings?

Annual production is estimated with PVWatts, using NREL weather data for the site, the roof's pitch and azimuth and the system size. For savings, Glow compares a flat export payment with a monthly kWh credit bank over the next 12 months, shows how unused credits carry into later months, using the import and export rates you enter from the customer's tariff, or a regional default.

Where does the equipment data come from?

From a catalogue of panels, inverters and batteries built from manufacturers' datasheets, with the technical data and the datasheet attached to the product, so the spec sheet goes out with the proposal.

Do I still need my design tool?

For solar, Glow does the design and the estimate. The OpenSolar integration is unchanged and keeps working, so you can run both.

What happens after the design?

The kit on the design becomes the priced items on the proposal, the proposal becomes the materials list, and the materials list becomes purchase orders to your suppliers or a draw from your own stock at real cost. The margin on the job is live from the day it's quoted.