3D Rooftop Solar Potential Mapping Without Site Visits
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Solution Overview
Problem
The evaluation of a house's potential for solar power is currently labor-intensive and costly, requiring multiple physical site visits by solar providers, which increases costs for consumers and often goes unnoticed for houses optimally suited for solar power utilization.
Innovation Solution
A system utilizing satellite and remote-sensing technology, combined with GIS and CAD software, analyzes roof geometry, shading, and microclimate data to assess solar potential without physical site visits, synthesizing available datasets to provide a comprehensive solar potential assessment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If manual physical site visits are used to evaluate solar potential, then measurement precision and reliability are improved, but loss of time and productivity deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a digital copy of the physical rooftop environment using aerial imagery and 3D modeling. This digital replica allows multiple evaluations and analyses to be performed on the copy rather than requiring repeated physical visits to the actual rooftop, thereby maintaining assessment accuracy while dramatically reducing time loss.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical system of physical site visits with an automated computational system. Software algorithms process aerial imagery and 3D models to automatically assess solar potential, eliminating the need for manual physical evaluation while maintaining or improving measurement precision through consistent, repeatable analysis.
2Reliability
If multiple physical evaluations by different providers are conducted, then reliability of solar potential assessment is improved, but loss of time and productivity worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal evaluation platform that can be accessed by multiple solar providers simultaneously. The same 3D model and aerial data serve as the basis for all assessments, ensuring consistency and reliability across different evaluations while eliminating the need for repeated physical visits. The system supports multiple users and providers working from a single digital dataset.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary actions by creating the 3D model and aerial imagery dataset before any solar provider conducts their evaluation. This pre-prepared digital foundation allows all subsequent assessments to be performed efficiently without requiring physical site visits, thereby maintaining reliability through consistent data while improving overall productivity.
3Manufacturing precision
If comprehensive solar potential assessment is performed manually, then manufacturing precision of solar system design is improved, but device complexity and ease of manufacture worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the comprehensive solar assessment into distinct computational components: aerial imagery processing, 3D model generation, shading analysis, and solar potential calculation. Each segment handles a specific aspect of the evaluation, allowing for high precision in each individual component while the automated software manages the overall complexity, making the system easier to implement and maintain.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for identifying the solar potential of rooftops. In one embodiment, solar-potential criteria and three-dimensional spatial data and tabular data, for a selected area including parcels on which the rooftops are located, are entered into a geographic information system. Three-dimensional aerial data of the selected area, including the rooftops in the selected area, is collected. Solar azimuth and altitude angles are calculated for regular intervals to generate shadow simulation data representing shadows cast onto the rooftops by obstructions. The shadow simulation data is intersected with the XYZ coordinates of the rooftop shapes, as determined from the aerial data, to generate rooftop shade patterns for specific intervals over a specific period of time. The tabular data and the rooftop shade patterns are then used to determine addresses and per-parcel specifications of buildings having said rooftops meeting the solar-potential criteria.