I'll second the vote for Sketchup. First, I love free. Second, it's really fun (but I'm weird that way).
The standard shadow / sun position tool built into the program works amazingly well, but if you want to get more gonzo you can add plugins which give greater control. I haven't played with them all so I can't vet for them, but one source for a couple sun/shadow plugins is http://sketchuptips.blogspot.com/2007/09/plugin-index-page.html Good tips & training available at: http://www.chrispicciano.com/3dmain.htm http://sketchup.google.com/intl/en/training/ http://blogs.taunton.com/n/blogs/blog.aspx?webtag=fw-designforum Have fun! Phil Undercuffler Director, Battery-based and Off-grid Conergy Sales & Systems, Americas Our World Is Full of Energy 1730 Camino Carlos Rey Suite 103 Santa Fe, NM 87507 [EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Direct | 505.216.3841 Toll Free | 888.396.6611 x4841 Fax | 505.473.3830 www.conergy.us <http://www.conergy.us/> ________________________________ From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Kelly Keilwitz, Whidbey Sun & Wind Sent: Tuesday, August 05, 2008 11:37 AM To: RE Wrenches listserve Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] layout software Hi Nik, We recently started using Google's 3-D program "Sketchup" for our layouts. The basic program is free and fairly fast to get started with. It allows us to give prospective customers a simple perspective drawing showing how it will look. It has a shading feature that allows you to move the sun through the day to see what effect shading has. Definitely a good tool for more the less-conventional layouts like you describe. -Kelly On 8/3/08 6:13 PM, "Nicholas Ponzio" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Wrenches, I've got several PV prospects with east-facing roofs. Does anyone have suggestions about easy calculations for inter-row spacing? It's more complicated than the flat-roof or low pitch south-facing roofs. Seems like there ought to be some fancy 3D modeling software for PV designers that could do this in a few key strokes... Thanks in advance for any suggestions. -Nik Ponzio -- Nicholas Ponzio Building Energy 1570 South Brownell Road Williston, VT 05495 t: 802-859-3384 f: 802-658-3982 www.BuildingEnergyVT.com <http://www.BuildingEnergyVT.com> [EMAIL PROTECTED] "Building Solutions for a Sustainable Future" ________________________________ _______________________________________________ List sponsored by Home Power magazine RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org http://lists.re-wrenches.org/listinfo.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List rules & etiquette: http://www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm Check out participant bios: www.members.re-wrenches.org Kelly Keilwitz, P.E. Whidbey Sun & Wind, LLC Renewable Energy Systems NABCEP Certified PV Installer 987 Wanamaker Rd, Coupeville, WA 98239 PH & FAX 360-678-7131 [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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