Ireland sits above 51 degrees north with one of the most diffuse skies in Europe, and those two facts pull shading analysis in opposite directions. The latitude makes winter shadows very long. The cloud cover makes each shadow cost less than the geometry suggests. Installers who model only one of the two effects end up either turning down viable roofs or overselling shaded ones.
Direct answer. The best solar shading analysis software in Ireland is PVsyst, because its sky-dome treatment handles a heavily diffuse Atlantic climate properly while its near-shading scene builder covers the chimneys and neighbouring roofs that dominate Irish domestic sites. SurgePV covers the same hourly modelling alongside the layout and single-line diagram for the ESB Networks connection pack.
TL;DR
- Irish irradiance is heavily diffuse, so a beam-only shadow model overstates the loss.
- Latitude is high, so winter shadows are long even under a dull sky.
- Grant-supported work is installed by SEAI-registered contractors and wired to I.S. 10101, and the shading judgement sits with the designer.
- Terraced and semi-detached stock puts chimneys and neighbour roofs close to the array.
- Under a diffuse sky, module-level electronics pay back less often than a hard-shadow model implies.
What Ireland Actually Changes About Shading Analysis
The sky is the dominant variable. Ireland receives a high proportion of its annual irradiance as diffuse radiation rather than direct beam. That fundamentally changes what an obstruction does. A chimney that would remove a clean two hours of production in Spain removes considerably less in Cork, because a large share of the resource is arriving from the whole sky dome rather than from the sun’s disc. Software that computes shading as pure shadow geometry against a beam resource will produce pessimistic Irish numbers.
Latitude still bites. Dublin sits above 53 degrees north. Midwinter solar elevation at noon is low, so obstruction shadows run long through the months when generation is already scarce. The diffuse sky softens the penalty, it does not remove the geometry.
Housing stock creates near-field obstruction. Irish terraced and semi-detached properties put chimneys, gables, dormers, and neighbouring roof planes within a few metres of the array. These are near-field objects, and a horizon profile method will not see them at all. This is where a proper 3D scene earns its licence cost.
Grant work has a paper trail. Domestic grant-supported installations go through SEAI-registered contractors, with the electrical work to I.S. 10101 and the connection notified to ESB Networks under the NC6 or NC7 process. There is no prescribed shading simulation, but the performance figure given to a homeowner is a representation, and it should be defensible.
The optimiser question is different here. Because the diffuse fraction is high, the marginal gain from module-level electronics on a lightly shaded Irish roof is smaller than the equivalent calculation in a sunnier market. That is a real commercial finding and the shading study should be the thing that produces it.
The 7 Platforms Ranked for Ireland
| Platform | Best for | Diffuse sky treatment | Near-field 3D scene | Price per seat per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PVsyst | Detailed and financed studies | Best in class | Yes, scene builder | ~$500 |
| SurgePV | Shading plus design and SLD | Yes, 8,760-hour | Yes | $1,299 to $1,899 |
| Easy PV | Domestic workflow and paperwork | Yes | Moderate | Subscription, GBP or EUR |
| HelioScope | Commercial rooftop | Yes | Moderate | ~$1,188 |
| Aurora Solar | Complex roof geometry | Yes | Strong, LIDAR | $1,908 to $3,108 |
| SketchUp plus Skelion | Bespoke geometry | Manual | Manual | ~$700 plus plugin |
| SAM (NREL) | Sensitivity studies | Yes | Limited | Free |
PVsyst is the correct default. Its transposition and sky-dome handling are the reason its numbers hold up under a cloudy Atlantic climate, and its 3D near-shading scene builder is the right tool for a terrace with chimneys. See PVsyst price.
SurgePV runs 8,760-hour shading and carries the same model into string design, the single-line diagram, and DWG export for the connection pack.
Easy PV suits domestic volume where the paperwork matters more than the physics.
Try the software behind this guide
Model the chimney against a diffuse Atlantic sky
SurgePV runs 8,760-hour shading against a full 3D obstruction scene at Irish latitudes, then carries the same model into string design, single-line diagrams, and DWG export.
Book a free SurgePV demo →No credit card. 20-minute walkthrough on one of your own projects.
What an Irish Shading Deliverable Has to Contain
- 3D obstruction model covering chimneys, gables, dormers, neighbouring roofs, and vegetation.
- Hourly shading loss with monthly breakdown, winter months shown explicitly.
- Diffuse treatment stated, because a beam-only model overstates Irish losses materially.
- Per-string or per-module loss table identifying compromised positions.
- Inter-row pitch derivation for flat commercial roofs, against the local winter sun path.
- Optimiser payback calculation rather than a blanket recommendation.
- Annual production impact against the unshaded case, stated as a range.
Item 6 is the one worth doing properly. Under a diffuse sky the optimiser case is genuinely marginal on many Irish roofs, and a study that runs the numbers rather than defaulting to yes is the more credible document.
Pricing in Euro
| Stack | USD per year | Approx. EUR at 0.92 | Covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| PVsyst | ~$500 | ~€460 | Detailed shading and yield |
| HelioScope | ~$1,188 | ~€1,093 | Commercial layout and shading |
| SurgePV | $1,299 to $1,899 | ~€1,195 to €1,747 | Shading plus full design |
| Aurora | $1,908 to $3,108 | ~€1,755 to €2,859 | Sales-grade shading plus proposal |
Exchange rate is illustrative.
What Most Irish Installers Get Wrong
They model Irish shading as a hard shadow.
Take a semi-detached roof with a neighbouring gable clipping the western end. A geometric shadow model reports the affected modules as losing their afternoon entirely. Under an Irish sky, a meaningful share of what those modules would have produced in that period is diffuse radiation still reaching them. The real loss is smaller, sometimes considerably. Installers running beam-only tools talk themselves out of positions that would have been fine, and they recommend optimisers that do not pay back.
The second mistake is skipping the winter breakdown. An annual average loss figure looks tolerable on a site whose entire shading penalty lands between November and February, which is exactly when the homeowner is looking at their bill.
When Software Is Not the Answer
If a commercial enquiry stalls because nobody can produce a layout, a shading study, and a compliant single-line diagram inside the week, that is engineering capacity rather than a software gap.
Our solar rooftop detailed engineering design and solar 3D pre-design services cover exactly that, with sales-stage 3D and shading models turned around in 48 hours. See the sample design pack or talk to our team.
Conclusion
- Use a diffuse-aware model. Beam-only geometry overstates Irish shading losses.
- Model near-field obstruction in 3D. Chimneys and neighbouring gables are the dominant domestic source and horizon methods miss them.
- Run the optimiser payback, do not assume it. Under this sky the case is often marginal.
In this country series: solar software in Ireland, best solar design software in Ireland, best solar proposal software in Ireland, Helioscope review. Tool deep dives: Aurora Solar review, Opensolar review.
More from our network
Disclosure and accuracy note
Commercial relationship. Heaven Designs and SurgePV are part of the same group. Treat our recommendation of SurgePV as a vendor making its own case, not an independent verdict. We have tried to describe every other product fairly, and to say plainly where a competitor is the better choice.
Pricing. All prices are indicative, compiled from public sources when this page was written. They vary by tier, region, contract term and exchange rate, and change without notice. Several vendors quote rather than publish, and some price in currencies other than the US dollar, so a converted figure moves with the exchange rate. Confirm current pricing with the vendor before you decide anything.
Trademarks and corrections. All product names and trademarks belong to their respective owners, and are used here for identification and comparison only. Their use does not imply affiliation with or endorsement by those companies. If anything here is out of date or wrong, tell us and we will correct it.
FAQ
What is the best solar shading analysis software in Ireland? PVsyst, because its sky-dome treatment suits a heavily diffuse climate and its near-shading scene builder covers the chimneys and neighbouring roofs that dominate Irish sites. SurgePV where the same licence also has to produce the design.
Why does Ireland’s diffuse sky change shading analysis? Because a large share of Irish irradiance arrives from the whole sky rather than as direct beam. An obstruction therefore removes less than pure shadow geometry suggests, and beam-only models overstate the loss.
Does shading matter less in Ireland then? Less than the geometry alone implies, but not little. Latitude above 51 degrees means winter shadows are long, and the penalty concentrates in the months when generation is already scarce.
Is a specific shading method required for SEAI grant work? No simulation method is prescribed. The installation goes through a registered contractor and is wired to I.S. 10101, but the performance figure quoted to the homeowner is a representation and should be defensible.
Do optimisers pay back on Irish roofs? Less often than in sunnier markets, because the diffuse fraction reduces the loss the optimiser recovers. Run the calculation from the shading study rather than fitting them by default.
How much does solar shading analysis software cost in Ireland? From roughly €460 per year for PVsyst alone to €2,859 for Aurora’s higher tiers. Full math is in our solar design software pricing breakdown.
Related: the wider tool decision is in best solar design software in Ireland, and the method in how to do shadow analysis for solar rooftop projects.
