South African solar is bought for a reason that does not apply anywhere else on this list: keeping the lights on. That changes what a shading study is for. When the system’s job is to recharge a battery between outages, a shadow is not a small reduction in annual yield, it is a delay in getting back to a usable state of charge before the next one.
Direct answer. The best solar shading analysis software in South Africa is PVsyst for detailed and financed work, or SurgePV where the same licence also has to produce the layout and single-line diagram. Whichever you use, the output that matters is an hourly generation profile the battery model can consume, not an annual yield figure.
TL;DR
- Most systems here are battery-backed, so shading delays recharge rather than just reducing annual yield.
- Report an hourly generation profile the battery model can use, not an annual kilowatt-hour total.
- Skies are clear and irradiance is high, so shadows cost close to their geometric value.
- Southern hemisphere sun path. Arrays face north and imported spreadsheets get this wrong.
- Embedded generation is registered as SSEG with the municipality, wired to SANS 10142-1 and NRS 097-2-1.
What South Africa Actually Changes About Shading Analysis
The battery is the customer. In a grid-reliable market, a shading loss reduces annual yield by a percentage and the customer pays slightly more for electricity. Here, a large share of systems exist to ride through outages, and the design question is whether the array can return the battery to a useful state of charge in the window between them. A shadow that removes the morning specifically pushes the recharge later into the day, which changes the outcome far more than the annual percentage suggests. The right deliverable is an hourly generation profile that a battery simulation can consume.
Clear skies make shadows expensive. South African irradiance is high with a substantial direct-beam fraction. When an obstruction blocks the sun, there is little diffuse resource left to soften it. Shading losses here are close to their geometric value, unlike in the northern European markets, and that makes accurate 3D modelling worth more.
The sun is in the north. Southern hemisphere sun path is not a setting to skip. Established platforms handle it correctly, but the inherited spreadsheets and locally built sizing calculators that circulate in this market are a genuine source of error, placing shadows on the wrong side of every obstruction.
Registration and standards are defined. Embedded generation is registered as small-scale embedded generation with the relevant municipality or Eskom, the installation is wired to SANS 10142-1, and grid-connected inverters follow NRS 097-2-1. None of this prescribes a shading method, but it does place the design under a named responsible person.
Latitude is moderate. The country spans roughly 22 to 35 degrees south. Winter sun is lower than in the tropics but not extreme, so obstruction shadows are meaningful without being the dominant design constraint that they are at high latitude.
The 7 Platforms Ranked for South Africa
| Platform | Best for | Hourly profile for battery modelling | Southern sun path | Price per seat per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PVsyst | Detailed and financed studies | Yes | Yes | ~$500 |
| SurgePV | Shading plus design and SLD | Yes, 8,760-hour | Yes | $1,299 to $1,899 |
| PV*SOL premium | Storage and self-consumption | Best in class | Yes | ~€1,000+ |
| HelioScope | Commercial rooftop | Partial | Yes | ~$1,188 |
| Aurora Solar | Complex roof geometry | Configurable | Yes | $1,908 to $3,108 |
| SketchUp plus Skelion | Bespoke geometry | No | Manual | ~$700 plus plugin |
| SAM (NREL) | Storage sensitivity studies | Yes | Yes | Free |
PVsyst is the rigorous default and produces the hourly output a storage study needs. See PVsyst price and our PVsyst loss diagram guide.
SurgePV runs 8,760-hour shading and carries the same model into string design, the single-line diagram, and DWG export for the SSEG application.
PV*SOL premium has the strongest storage modelling of the group, which is the question this market actually asks.
Try the software behind this guide
Show when the battery recharges, not just how much it gets
SurgePV runs 8,760-hour shading on a southern hemisphere sun path and outputs the hourly generation profile your storage sizing needs, then exports the single-line diagram and DWG.
Book a free SurgePV demo →No credit card. 20-minute walkthrough on one of your own projects.
What a South African Shading Deliverable Has to Contain
- 3D obstruction scene covering the building, neighbours, and vegetation at measured height and distance.
- Hourly generation profile in a form the battery simulation can consume.
- Recharge window analysis showing when the battery returns to a usable state of charge, with and without the shading.
- Hourly shading loss with monthly breakdown, winter months explicit.
- Morning loss called out specifically, since it is what delays recharge.
- Per-string loss table identifying compromised positions.
- Beam fraction stated, because clear skies are why shadows cost close to their geometric value here.
Item 3 is the one that makes the study worth commissioning. A customer buying resilience does not want a percentage, they want to know whether the system gets them through the day, and that is an hourly question.
Pricing in Rand
| Stack | USD per year | Approx. ZAR at 18.2 | Covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| PVsyst | ~$500 | ~R9,100 | Detailed shading and yield |
| HelioScope | ~$1,188 | ~R21,622 | Commercial layout and shading |
| SurgePV | $1,299 to $1,899 | ~R23,642 to R34,562 | Shading plus full design |
| Aurora | $1,908 to $3,108 | ~R34,726 to R56,566 | Sales-grade shading plus proposal |
Exchange rate is illustrative. Vendors quote in dollars or euro, so seat cost carries currency risk.
What Most South African Installers Get Wrong
They quote an annual yield figure to a customer who is buying resilience.
The customer’s question is whether the system carries them through an outage and whether the battery is full again by the time the next one arrives. An annual kilowatt-hour total does not answer it. Two systems with identical annual yield behave very differently if one of them loses its mornings to a neighbour’s wall, because the morning is when the recharge has to happen. Producing an hourly profile and running it against the battery is more work than a headline number and it is the work the customer is actually paying for.
The second mistake is using an imported or inherited sizing spreadsheet without checking the sun path. A northern hemisphere assumption puts every shadow on the wrong side of every obstruction, and it will not be obvious from the output.
When Software Is Not the Answer
If the roof cannot carry the array, or the site needs a stamped structural assessment for the SSEG application, that is engineering rather than modelling.
Our solar civil and structural engineering team produces structural and wind-load assessments delivered as STAAD Pro report calculations, with solar rooftop detailed engineering design covering the construction pack. See the sample design pack or talk to our team.
Conclusion
- Deliver an hourly profile, not an annual total. The customer is buying a recharge window, not a percentage.
- Call out morning shading specifically. It is the loss that delays getting the battery back.
- Check the sun path in any inherited calculator. Northern hemisphere assumptions are silently wrong here.
In this country series: solar software in South Africa, best solar design software in South Africa, best solar proposal software in South Africa, Aurora Solar review. Tool deep dives: Opensolar review, Pvsol review.
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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 South Africa? PVsyst for detailed and financed work, SurgePV where the same licence also has to produce the design and drawings, and PV*SOL premium where storage modelling is the priority.
Why does shading matter differently in South Africa? Because most systems are battery-backed and bought for resilience. Shading delays the battery’s recharge rather than simply trimming annual yield, and the timing of the loss decides the outcome.
Do shadows cost more here than in Europe? Close to their full geometric value, yes. Clear skies mean a high direct-beam fraction, so there is little diffuse resource left to soften an obstruction.
Do imported sizing tools work in South Africa? Established platforms handle the southern sun path correctly. Inherited spreadsheets and locally built calculators are where errors appear, placing every shadow on the wrong side of every obstruction.
Is a shading method required for SSEG registration? No specific method is prescribed. Registration is with the municipality or Eskom, with the installation wired to SANS 10142-1 and inverters to NRS 097-2-1, and the design sits with a named responsible person.
How much does solar shading analysis software cost in South Africa? From roughly R9,100 per year for PVsyst alone to R56,566 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 South Africa, and the method in how to do shadow analysis for solar rooftop projects.
