With perspective photos, you plan on regular 2D drone photos or on photos that you or your customer took from the ground. You calibrate each roof once using two known lengths. After that, panels, windows and strings follow the perspective of the photo.
This way, the number of panels matches the real roof area, and the design also looks realistic in the proposal. autarc calculates the yield from the slope and orientation you enter for each roof.
This option is useful when you don't have a 3D model. With a full photo series of the building, you can plan more precisely with the Photogrammetry Service. For an overview of all planning backgrounds, see Solar planning.
Uploading photos
In the
Get started!dialog, choosePlan on Perspective Photos.Under
Upload photos, upload one or more photos (up to 4 per design). Multiple photos are placed side by side on the canvas. This lets you plan, for example, two roof sides that you photographed separately from the ground in one design with a shared inverter.Click
Start planning. Drawing the first roof starts automatically.
You can add more photos later via Add > Background photo. In the sidebar under Settings > Perspective photos, you can download or delete photos. A photo with roofs traced on it can only be deleted once you have removed those roofs.
Drawing and calibrating a roof
Every roof goes through three steps. From step 2 onwards, Back takes you to the previous step.
Step 1: Draw the roof: Click each corner of the roof in the photo and close the roof at the starting point.Step 2: Calibrate the roof: A rectangle with a grid appears on the roof. Drag its four corners onto something rectangular on the roof whose dimensions you know, e.g. the roof area from eave to ridge or a roof window. Then enterSide length AandSide length Bin metres and clickConfirm. The grid shows the perspective live while you drag.Step 3: Pick a roof direction: Select the arrow that points down the roof (in the direction rainwater flows). Panels are placed along this axis.
While you calibrate, all other surfaces are hidden. If you leave a roof before confirming, autarc asks whether you want to Keep editing or Discard roof.
To start another roof, go to Add > Roof, on the same or another photo. To change the calibration later, select the roof and click Edit roof. Placed panels keep their position and adjust to the new perspective.
North, slope and orientation for the yield
autarc can't detect the slope or the compass direction from a photo. Enter these values in the details of each roof:
North correction: ClickSet northand drag the N to where north is in the photo. The photo and panels don't move. As long as north is not set, the yield is calculated with 0°.Slopeand orientation: These values only affect the yield calculation. How the panels look in the photo is determined by the calibration alone.
Placing panels and other elements
After calibrating, you work as in any other mode: you place Panels, Window and Obstruction elements, add strings and measure distances. All elements follow the perspective of the roof. For details, see Solar planning.
What's different in this mode
Available elements:
Roof,Window,Obstruction,Heat Pump, all elements underSystem, plusMeasureandCamera & Photos.Dormer,Fence,Carport,WallandTreeareNot available with this background.View: Planning is only possible in 2D, and the canvas can't be rotated. The shading simulation is not available.
Proposal: Every photo with at least one roof is automatically added to the gallery under
Camera & Photos. There you choose whether it appears in the proposal asCover,OvervieworDetails.Duplicating: Designs with perspective photos can be duplicated like any other design.
Frequently asked questions
Why can't I see my roofs after switching the background?
No other background can display roofs you drew on perspective photos. They stay saved, and their panels still count towards the yield. Switch back to Perspective Photos under Settings > Planning background to see them again.
What's the difference to Plan on a Building Blueprint?
A blueprint or an orthographic image is used as a flat, true-to-scale top view. The panels are not adjusted to a camera perspective there. Regular drone or ground photos are distorted by perspective, so plan these with perspective photos.
Plan on a Building Blueprint: You upload an image taken from above without distortion, e.g. a blueprint or an orthographic drone photo. AReference linewith a known length sets the scale for the whole image. A metre is the same length everywhere in the image, so the panels lie flat as on a map.Plan on Perspective Photos: You upload regular photos, taken at an angle from above or from the ground. In these, parts of the roof further away look smaller. That's why you calibrate each roof separately using two side lengths, and the panels get smaller towards the far edge of the roof.
If you plan a regular drone photo as a blueprint, the scale is only correct along the reference line. Further back, too many or too few panels fit on the roof, and the image in the proposal looks unnatural. With perspective photos, the number of panels matches the real roof area.