Build a scene, follow the shade and compare energy scenarios before making decisions.

Experimental planning & education tool

Results depend on simplified models and the assumptions you enter. They are not a site survey, equipment compatibility certification, installation design, guaranteed savings or a weather forecast.

Shading, wiring, battery behavior and household demand are approximate. Brief starting surges and many real-world losses are not modeled. Check the exact equipment documentation and local requirements, and consult a qualified installer before building or connecting a system.

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SolarTinker Labs Solar & shade simulator

Catch the sun between the shadows.
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● LIVE 3D Drag to orbit · scroll to zoom

Select a panel or tree to make it yours.

6 panels · 2 strings☀ Sun above horizon

Scene attributes

This browser-native prototype combines real 3D placement and solar geometry with an illustrative electrical model. Camera motion never changes the site.

Shared solid geometry blocks sampled direct rays: cabin walls/roof, RV body/roof/air conditioner, and balcony facade/floor/overhang. Windows, railing bars, wheels, furniture, equipment and landscape trim are decorative and cast no modeled shade. Panels do not cast numerical shade onto other panels. Diffuse sky light is not occluded by structures. Balcony facade and railing mounting are illustrative, not a detailed building or safety model.

Canopy spread drives shared crown dimensions. Density removes visible foliage clusters and changes a deterministic optical-depth light approximation. Leaf-off retains branches and some shading. Direct and diffuse light are treated separately. Rendered shadows are an artistic preview; the sampled light calculation drives the numbers.

Three approximate shading sections with 0.45 V bypass drops per panel (not a verified Aptos half-cell circuit), approximate IV curves, a shared DC bus per controller and optional idealized optimizers show patterns. Drawn strings terminate at one of up to two independent ideal MPPT inputs. Strings on each input share its common bus; controller outputs are calculated separately and added. Disconnected panels contribute zero. Crossings are not junctions. Editable nameplates and controller limits drive a simplified model. Compatibility warnings are incomplete and are not installation approval. Cold Voc, cable/protection compliance, real cell layouts, optimizer limits, temperature and weather histories remain unvalidated. The automatic 48 V battery bus is illustrative; storage is an energy bucket with losses and no BMS or voltage/current dynamics.

Time means local solar time, not clock time. Seasonal foliage is a rough hemisphere-aware assumption. This is a new standalone demonstrator; it does not import the earlier Solar Tinker electrical solver or project format. No accuracy percentage is promised.

Mixed optimizer modes on one MPPT are not modeled; its estimate is excluded until all connected panels use one mode or controllers are separated. Fully optimized mode is idealized, not a product compatibility check.

Panel electrical specifications
Physical size & placement

Panel optimizers on this MPPT

Optimizers can reduce mismatch losses when some panels are shaded. They cannot replace missing sunlight. This simulation requires the same optimizer mode on every panel on this MPPT, across all its strings.

Compare energy with and without optimizers after Run day. Hardware costs count one add-on per equipped panel; actual product compatibility and conversion losses vary.

Apply moves only the chosen string. Cancel leaves all wiring unchanged. Add the second controller from the sidebar first.

Input limits & efficiency
String assignments

Manual uses a fixed appliance load. Programmed mode uses the intervals below.

Not sure what watts to enter?

Plan your day with familiar appliances and routines. The schedule will stay a draft until you Apply this editor.

Appliance scenario (AC watts)
Advanced: edit combined demand intervals

These are the combined totals. Editing them detaches the activity plan; use Build an appliance scenario to change its routines instead.

Solar time HH:MM-HH:MM, watts. End before start wraps midnight. These rows are the combined load: overlaps are rejected; touching endpoints are allowed. Use Plan my day to combine simultaneous appliances. Outside intervals: off. Manual switch during playback overrides until the next program boundary, using the manual load watts above when on. New runs reset overrides. Apply clears results; Cancel keeps them. Simulation only.

Battery Storage & inverter limits
Idle & appliance demand

Power overlays — watts, common vertical scale

Solar hours 0–24. Battery, AC delivery, export and curtailed DC curves are interval averages; panel/controller curves are sampled instantaneous power. The dashed line is the shared AC inverter ceiling. Daily energy and SOC remain separate quantities.

New to balcony solar?

Use your electricity bill, balcony direction and budget for a first payback estimate. No wiring knowledge needed.

1. What kind of solar system?

Choose how you want to use your solar power. You can choose a cabin, RV or apartment on the next page.

Modeling a plug-in kit does not establish permission to connect it. Panel DC watts, inverter AC watts and local output limits are different figures. Understand output limits.

2. Scene, panels and system settings

Cabin attributes
Where is your scene?

Choose a nearby city or point on the map. Latitude sets the sun path; the timeline uses solar time.

Panel attributes
System equipment
Household baseline & electricity rates

Front bearing is the scene direction, not the camera: N 0°, E 90°, S 180°, W 270°. The front roof slope faces the same bearing; the rear faces the opposite direction. Balcony panels face the front bearing; RV panels lie flat (bearing rotates the vehicle). Trees, latitude, date and sky are retained.

Portrait panels occupy valid slots on each surface (24 panels total). Insufficient space produces an error; counts are never silently reduced. Primary panels receive IDs first, then cabin rear panels. This replaces panel layout only after review and explicit Apply. Optimizers start off. Custom module ratings are editable afterward.

System equipment
Household baseline & electricity rates

One generic shared AC inverter, with one or two independently tracked DC inputs. The input boxes retain their specifications and wiring. Advanced voltage/current/array Isc limits remain in the input component editors. Plug-in mode requires exactly one panel per used input and no external optimizer; it does not certify a kit or permit arbitrary series wiring.

Switching mode preserves all panels, input specifications, wiring, stored battery settings and load schedules. Apply clears results. Undo restores the prior configuration. Battery settings are dormant while disabled. Grid charging and outage backup are not modeled.

Dollar estimates for this simulated day only; initial stored-energy benefit is shown separately and excluded from the plotted solar-derived savings.

Choose equipment

Choose what to replace, then select a model. Signature Solar entries are preliminary, recorded October 24, 2026. Check current prices. Cost/reference entries keep your modeled ratings unchanged.

Ratings, fit & source notes
Save your own equipment option
First edit a panel or device’s ratings in its properties. Then choose that individual item above and save its settings here for reuse.
Import or export my equipment list
Equipment files use SolarTinker JSON. Import adds choices to this project; it does not replace the equipment in your scene.


Edit weather, budget, electricity rates & year
Annual weather assumption
Valid changes save automatically in this model. Weather changes require a new annual estimate.
Budget & payback
A total budget replaces itemized costs; it is not added to them.
Your electricity rates
Use the variable energy rate from your bill. Fixed charges are excluded.
Twelve representative days repeated through the selected calendar year, with carried battery charge. Your selected annual weather assumption and saved load program are used; this is not an hourly weather replay.
Includes building and tree shadows at seasonal sun angles, sampled every 12 minutes on the 15th of each month. These days repeat for actual month lengths, including leap years. Uses your wiring, loads and rates. Set component costs in Scene → Equipment & costs.
No annual estimate yet.
Methodology and assumptions
Save this model for a what-if comparison
Named copies preserve the full scene and its result. Change trees, panels, batteries or demand, then save a second copy and compare annual totals and monthly charts.


Positions are measured from the scene center, with positive values east and south. Height and crown diameter are independent and use the selected spatial units. Density changes sampled light transmission. Seasonal estimate is a calendar approximation, not local species or climate data.
This replaces the scene, panels, wiring, trees, loads, dates, weather, costs and results with a fresh cabin. Save a project file first to keep a permanent copy. Recovery can restore the project from immediately before Reset during this session.




Available undo actions for this session. Some restore an earlier configuration; save your project before reverting subsequent work. Recompute results after restoring.
Are you sure? Review what will change before continuing.
See each changed value




On this device
Keep a downloadable backup you can open without signing in.
Google Drive™
Optional. Your copies are private to SolarTinker and available here when you connect the same Google account on another device. Each save creates a new copy, including a small scene preview when available. Use Show preview to inspect a copy without opening it. Deleting a cloud copy is permanent. Privacy Policy · Terms of Service
Connect Google to save or open cloud copies.
Google Drive is a trademark of Google LLC.
Search is sent to Photon. Map tiles are loaded from OpenStreetMap. The approximate point and place label are saved in your project.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
Report a map issue
Place search: Photon / OpenStreetMap. Enter a nearby city, not a private address. Online services may be temporarily unavailable; manual latitude always works. Model supports −70° to +70° latitude and solar time, not clock time or historical weather.
Up to 80 actions from this session. A later edit to the same field must be undone first. Downloads remain unchanged.


Batteries snap to the ground, cabin porch or balcony floor. Wall equipment stays within the exterior wall edges. Orbit the scene to reach another wall, or select it above.
Placement is a visual mock-up. Equipment clearances, cable lengths and installation requirements are not calculated.