Schletter Group, the global manufacturer of solar mounting systems, has completely revamped its planning tool. With the launch of the browser-based Schletter Creator, the company is introducing one of the fastest and most advanced PV planning tools in the world.
"The Schletter Creator represents a major leap forward for our users, instantly placing us among the industry’s top-tier solutions in terms of speed and user experience," says Schletter Group’s CEO, Florian Roos. "We can now offer our customers both premium-quality products and a state-of-the-art design tool that’s among the fastest and most innovative on the market."
The browser-based tool is already being tested by key customers and will be launched in Europe in April before expanding to markets in North America, the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia later this year.
3D planning in Google Maps
The Schletter Creator allows users to design PV systems for any roof shape or type, with roof layouts created directly in Google Maps by marking the roof surface. After entering the roof pitch and building height, the system calculates the exact available installation area and suggests the optimal panel layout based on the desired orientation.
Unlike most design programs – which assume a default building height of 10 meters – the Schletter Creator requires users to input the actual building height. “In practice, planning errors often arise because actual building heights are overlooked, leading to incorrect load calculations," explains Dr. Cedrik Zapfe, CTO of Schletter Group. "With the Schletter Creator, those errors are eliminated."
Developed using the latest programming standards, the tool delivers a seamless and ultra-fast experience and enables professional users to design and finalise a standard rooftop system in under a minute. The platform also includes all commercially available PV modules and automatically applies region-specific wind and snow load calculations based on the entered postal code or city.
Like the Schletter Calculator, the Schletter Creator leverages the world’s most comprehensive load determination database. "Once the rollout is complete, we’ll cover approximately 97% of PV-compatible regions worldwide and integrate our entire Schletter product range," says Dr Zapfe. "This means the Schletter Creator can be used to design systems for virtually any roof at any time from anywhere in the world."
New: reduced ballast requirements
Another key feature is the incorporation of advanced aerodynamic calculations that account for the “group effect” among modules, which refers to how wind loads can vary within an array based on module positioning. Depending on the arrangement, wind forces may be lower on certain modules within a larger group compared to those in individual rows or along the edges – the so-called “cone effect”. This new feature enables planning with reduced ballast requirements while maintaining structural integrity.
Additionally, the Schletter Creator features an API interface, allowing seamless integration with all major inverter planning tools.
