Spain has the clearest skies in Western Europe, and that makes shading hurt more here than in any of the northern markets on this list. Where a British or Dutch obstruction removes less than its geometry suggests because so much of the resource is diffuse, a Spanish obstruction removes close to the full amount. The shadow is a hard shadow, and the loss is real.
Direct answer. The best solar shading analysis software in Spain is PVsyst, because a high direct-beam fraction makes shading geometry the dominant loss term and PVsyst models it most rigorously. SurgePV covers the same hourly modelling alongside the layout and single-line diagram for the REBT-compliant installation pack.
TL;DR
- Clear skies mean a high direct-beam fraction, so shadows cost close to what the geometry says.
- Self-consumption under RD 244/2019 makes the timing of a shading loss decide its value.
- Dense urban blocks in Madrid and Barcelona produce serious neighbour obstruction on flat roofs.
- Installations are wired to the REBT, with ITC-BT-40 covering generator connection.
- Compensation for surplus is well below retail, so shading that removes self-consumed generation costs most.
What Spain Actually Changes About Shading Analysis
The beam fraction is high. Across most of Spain a large share of annual irradiance arrives as direct beam rather than diffuse. This is the inverse of the northern European situation and it changes the conclusion. When an obstruction blocks the sun, it really does remove almost all of what those modules would have produced in that period. There is no diffuse cushion. That makes shading geometry the dominant controllable loss and it makes precise 3D modelling worth more here than in a cloudy market.
Self-consumption decides the value. Spanish self-consumption under RD 244/2019 pays surplus at a compensation rate well below retail. So generation the site consumes itself is worth several times generation it exports. A shadow falling across the morning of a commercial building with real daytime load costs far more than the same shadow falling on a residential roof at midday with nobody home. The correct output is a loss profile against the load curve, not an annual total.
Urban obstruction is severe. Madrid and Barcelona are dense, with tall apartment blocks and flat roofs crowded with lift overruns, water tanks, air handling plant, and neighbouring buildings of varying heights. On a flat roof in an urban block, the obstruction picture is closer to Singapore than to rural France, and it needs a full 3D scene rather than a horizon profile.
Latitude is moderate, so summer obstruction is small. Spain sits roughly between 36 and 43 degrees north. Summer sun is high and obstruction losses are modest. Winter is where the geometry bites, and that is also when a commercial site’s heating and lighting load is highest.
The wiring rules are defined. Installations follow the Reglamento Electrotécnico para Baja Tensión, with ITC-BT-40 covering connection of generating installations. No shading method is prescribed, so the tool choice is an accuracy and credibility question.
The 7 Platforms Ranked for Spain
| Platform | Best for | Beam shading geometry | Self-consumption modelling | Price per seat per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PVsyst | Detailed and financed studies | Best in class | Yes | ~$500 |
| SurgePV | Shading plus design and SLD | Yes, 8,760-hour | Yes | $1,299 to $1,899 |
| PV*SOL premium | Self-consumption and 3D shading | Yes | Best in class | ~€1,000+ |
| HelioScope | Fast C&I layout and shading | Yes | Partial | ~$1,188 |
| Aurora Solar | Complex roof geometry | Strong, LIDAR | Configurable | $1,908 to $3,108 |
| PVcase | Large ground-mount layout | Yes | No | Enterprise quote |
| SAM (NREL) | Sensitivity studies | Yes | Yes | Free |
PVsyst is the correct default. With no diffuse cushion to hide behind, the accuracy of the near-shading scene is what the yield figure rests on. See PVsyst price and our PVsyst loss diagram guide.
SurgePV runs 8,760-hour shading against a load profile and carries the same model into string design, the single-line diagram, and DWG export.
PVcase is the right tool for the large ground-mount work that Spain does more of than anywhere else in Europe.
Try the software behind this guide
A hard shadow deserves a real 3D model
SurgePV runs 8,760-hour shading against a full 3D scene and the site load profile, so you can price self-consumption properly, 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 Spanish Shading Deliverable Has to Contain
- 3D obstruction scene covering rooftop plant, adjacent blocks, and vegetation at real height and distance.
- Hourly shading loss with monthly breakdown, winter months explicit.
- Loss profile against the load, separating self-consumed generation from surplus.
- Financial impact valuing the two separately, since compensation is well below retail.
- Inter-row pitch derivation for flat roofs and ground-mount, against the winter sun path.
- Per-string loss table identifying compromised positions.
- Beam fraction stated, because it is the reason Spanish shading losses are close to their geometric value.
Item 3 is the one that changes recommendations. On a commercial building with strong daytime load, recovering a shaded morning hour is worth several times recovering a shaded midday hour that would have been exported at the compensation rate.
Pricing in Euro
| Stack | USD per year | Approx. EUR at 0.92 | Covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| PVsyst | ~$500 | ~€460 | Detailed shading and yield |
| PV*SOL premium | Quoted in EUR | ~€1,000+ | Self-consumption plus 3D shading |
| HelioScope | ~$1,188 | ~€1,093 | C&I 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 Spanish Installers Get Wrong
They apply northern European shading intuitions to a clear-sky market.
Practitioners who learned the trade on tools and rules of thumb calibrated for cloudy climates carry over an assumption that shaded modules keep producing a reasonable share of their output. In Cordoba or Seville they largely do not, because there is little diffuse radiation to fall back on. The result is systematically optimistic yield figures on shaded Spanish roofs, and the shortfall is visible in the first summer of operation.
The second mistake is quoting a single annual loss under a self-consumption regime. With surplus compensated well below retail, the customer’s return depends on whether the shading takes generation they would have used or generation they would have sold. That is the whole commercial question and an annual percentage does not touch it.
When Software Is Not the Answer
If the roof cannot carry the array at the pitch the shading study wants, or a ground-mount site needs foundation design, that is engineering rather than modelling.
Our solar civil and structural engineering team produces wind and ballast assessments delivered as STAAD Pro report calculations, and solar ground mount design covers layout, pitch, and foundation for larger sites. See the sample design pack or talk to our team.
Conclusion
- Treat Spanish shadows as hard shadows. There is no diffuse cushion, so the loss is close to its geometric value.
- Report the loss against the load. Self-consumption compensation makes timing decide the return.
- Model urban rooftop obstruction in 3D. Dense blocks and rooftop plant are the dominant city loss.
In this country series: solar software in Spain, best solar design software in Spain, best solar proposal software in Spain, Opensolar review. Tool deep dives: Pvsol review, Pvcase 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 Spain? PVsyst, because a high direct-beam fraction makes shading geometry the dominant loss and PVsyst models it most rigorously. SurgePV where the same licence also has to produce the design and drawings.
Why does shading cost more in Spain than in northern Europe? Because Spanish irradiance is mostly direct beam. When an obstruction blocks the sun there is little diffuse radiation left to reach the modules, so the loss is close to what the geometry says.
How does self-consumption change the analysis? Surplus is compensated well below retail, so generation the site uses itself is worth several times generation it exports. A shading loss during hours of real load costs far more than one at midday on an empty building.
Does the REBT specify a shading method? No. The REBT and ITC-BT-40 govern the electrical installation and generator connection, not the yield calculation. Tool choice is an accuracy and credibility question.
Do I need 3D modelling on an urban Spanish roof? Yes. Dense blocks, varying neighbour heights, and crowded rooftop plant make the obstruction picture complex enough that a horizon profile method will miss most of it.
How much does solar shading analysis software cost in Spain? 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 Spain, and the method in how to do shadow analysis for solar rooftop projects.
