Turn shade analysis on or off

A tall tree to the south or a neighbor’s two-story house can take a real share of a system’s production. Cali-Graf measures that from Google’s 3D data around the home.

What it does

For every panel, Cali-Graf works out when, through the year, trees, chimneys and nearby buildings shade that exact spot, and takes it out of the production hour by hour. The line under the switch says it: Trees, neighbors and chimneys from Google data.

Turn it off or on

1. Open Price & settings

   Under Calculation, find Shade analysis.

2. Flip the switch

   Off, the calculation doesn’t look at the real shade and takes off a standard 3% for shade instead. The Price & settings line on the left shows “shade on” or “shade off”.

3. Calculate again

   Press Calculate so the result uses the new setting.

When to turn it off

• The tree that shades the roof on the image has been cut down, or will be before installation.
• Something shading the roof on the image is gone, like scaffolding or a building that was torn down.

Keep it on otherwise. On a shaded roof, the standard 3% is far less than the real loss, so production and savings come out higher than the home will see. If only part of the shade is gone, it’s more honest to leave it on.