About SolarTI83
I've spent my career in the solar industry, designing systems, running site assessments, modeling production and finances, and helping people work out whether solar makes sense for them. Many of the simple tools I wanted either don't exist or sit inside expensive software, so I started building my own.
SolarTI83 is where those tools live. They are free and meant for anyone who needs them, from solar professionals to homeowners checking what a sales rep told them.
What's here now
The solar position calculator gives the sun's azimuth and elevation for any place on Earth. It draws the sun's path in 2D and on a 3D sky dome, shows a shadow map and the golden-hour times, and has a slider that steps through the day.
The residential solar tool starts from an address. It finds the roof in satellite imagery, lays out panels on each roof plane, builds a 3D model of the house, and estimates hourly production against the building's electricity use. The guide How much energy will my solar panels make? explains the numbers behind that estimate. A battery section adds a Tesla, Enphase or SolarEdge battery, or one you specify, and shows how it changes self-sufficiency and grid imports.
Stadium Shade shows which seats and which parts of the field are in sun or shade at an outdoor stadium for a game date and start time, on a 3D model of the stadium and the blocks around it.
There is also a tide tool covering more than 3,400 US stations. It has nothing to do with solar. I sail, and plain tide data is harder to find online than it should be.
What's coming
This is a one-person project that I build on nights and weekends, so tools arrive as I get to them. On the list:
- Savings and payback estimates to help homeowners decide whether solar is worth it
- A shadow analysis tool for site assessments
- Panel tilt and orientation optimization
- Blue-hour times for photographers, next to the golden-hour times
- A proposal reviewer to help you make sense of an installer's quote
If there's a tool you wish existed, send me a note below.