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OpenSolar Alternative: SolarPlus for Residential and Commercial Solar and Storage Design
SolarPlus vs OpenSolar
SolarPlus is an alternative to OpenSolar for installers whose projects are getting more complex: batteries, tariffs, and off-grid or hybrid systems. Both platforms design systems, model batteries, price jobs and generate proposals. SolarPlus models the energy side in more depth: it sizes solar and battery in dollars before design, simulates at five-minute resolution, optimises the battery, and models tariffs and off-grid economics, turning it into a clear investment case from residential to large commercial.
Book a Demo
Book a one-on-one demonstration with a SolarPlus engineer who will take you through a live commercial project and answer any questions you might have.
SolarPlus is a solar and energy design, modelling and delivery platform. It designs residential, commercial and off-grid systems, with deeper energy, battery, tariff and financial modelling for projects where the energy decision is complex, and it scales up to large commercial and multi-megawatt work. It serves eight markets and is subscription-funded.
OpenSolar is a solar design, sales and proposal platform whose core is free, used by installers in more than 185 countries. It is funded through hardware and finance partners rather than a core subscription, with paid extras for API access, connectors and premium imagery. Its strongest fit is residential and standardised small-commercial work.
Choose SolarPlus if
- Your projects involve batteries, demand tariffs, load shifting or EV charging, and the storage case is what wins or loses the job.
- You have interval meter data for the site, and an assumed load profile is not good enough.
- More than one or two people need access, and per-seat licensing is becoming the constraint.
- You would rather not discover that the feature you need sits behind a higher tier.
- You want the design, the financial case, the proposal and the install pack out of one system.
Where OpenSolar may suit you better
- Your work is mainly straightforward residential, with simple tariffs and simple battery and no requirement for off-grid complexity.
- Avoiding a software subscription matters more to you than deeper energy modelling. OpenSolar’s core platform is free.
- You want a large global equipment database, integrated finance options and polished proposals available out of the box.
- You operate in a country where OpenSolar is available and SolarPlus is not.
Try SolarPlus on a real-world project
Book a demonstration and we will run one of your own jobs, a battery or off-grid project, or a commercial site, through the energy modelling and the customer proposal, so you can see the difference on work you already know.
The key differences
| Capability | SolarPlus | OpenSolar |
|---|---|---|
| Battery return optimisation | Searches across battery capacities, power, operating strategies and monthly setpoints against the site's actual load and tariff, then returns the configuration with the strongest financial result. | Battery Design Assistant recommends a battery package for a chosen objective, with predefined or custom control schemes (self-consumption, grid-import cost, savings, peak-demand shaving, backup). |
| Simulation resolution | Five-minute resolution for solar, battery and energy simulation. | Hourly battery simulation. Accepts uploaded consumption at 15, 30 or 60-minute intervals. |
| Tariffs and energy-market analysis | Models conventional tariffs, demand charges and market-linked energy prices separately, at settlement resolution. Import price data for any market; where a market feed is supported (currently the Australian NEM and WEM) up to three years of history is retrieved automatically, with forecast scenarios built from it. | Time-of-use, tariff and export-rate modelling, with configurable battery schedules. Wholesale market-price modelling is not a documented feature (verified 10 September 2026). |
| Off-grid and hybrid economics | Models generator (diesel) displacement savings including running and maintenance costs, battery hours of autonomy, and a grid-versus-off-grid comparison with payback and cashflow. Sizes against poor-solar periods. | Off-grid system design and off-grid proposals; backup sizing around specific appliances. Generator-runtime and diesel-displacement economics are not a documented feature (verified 10 September 2026). |
| Investment case | Full lifetime financials: cashflow, payback, NPV, IRR and levelised cost of energy, with transparent assumptions and side-by-side scenario comparison in the proposal. | Customer-facing savings, payback and finance options in polished proposals. |
| Feasibility before design | Sizes solar and battery against the site's real consumption and tariff, in dollars, before any design. Compares many combinations of array and battery size (up to 1,200 in a run), prices each, and ranks by NPV, payback, IRR, cost of energy or self-sufficiency, then carries the chosen size into design. | Manually created multiple system options and per-project sizing, plus the Battery Design Assistant. Automated feasibility optimisation across many sizing combinations is not a documented feature (verified 10 September 2026). |
| Product and supplier choice | All-brand product library. Build your own inventory, packages and buy or sell logic, with no requirement to design around a manufacturer or marketplace. Subscription-funded. | Broad equipment database with custom-hardware support, alongside a partner-funded ecosystem and an integrated Shop connecting installers to selected supplier partners. |
| Pricing | Inventory-linked, formula-based pricing engine. Project, location, supplier and system variables change cost and selling price automatically as the design changes. | Price schemes, cost schemes, component pricing and adders. Methods include per-watt, size-tiered per-watt, fixed pricing and markup of calculated costs. |
| Commercial electrical design | Generates the complete electrical design for large arrays: inverter and MPPT allocation, full stringing, protection, cable sizing with voltage rise and loss, and an editable single-line diagram. | Ada auto-lays out panels and auto-strings once an inverter or template is chosen, and produces a single-line diagram. |
| Design scale | Renders around 3 MW on a capable laptop and 8 MW or more on a high-specification desktop, with no software licensing cap. | Recommends keeping 3D designs under 500 kW; 2D for 500 kW to 1 MW; users have designed up to about 5 MW by reducing simulation complexity. |
| Delivery span | One project model runs feasibility, electrical design, pricing, proposal, bill of materials, job pack, commissioning and handover. | Design, sales and configurable project-management workflow. |
| Software cost | Subscription-funded; all features included. | Core platform free. Paid extras: API access and connectors (data export, from April 2026) and premium imagery such as Nearmap (pay-as-you-go). |
| Global coverage | Eight markets. | More than 185 countries. |
Comparison verified from opensolar.com and support.opensolar.com on 10 September 2026; recheck quarterly.
Both products can place panels, string a system, model a battery and generate a proposal. The difference is how far the modelling goes once the energy decision gets complex, and how much confidence that gives the customer.
Licensing and cost
Both platforms are priced differently, and the right choice depends on where the value sits for your business.
OpenSolar’s core design, sales and project workflow is free, and has stayed free through 2026: full design, CRM, proposals and standard imagery cost nothing. OpenSolar funds the product through hardware and finance partners rather than a per-seat licence. The paid parts sit around that free core, and all involve moving data out of the platform or upgrading the imagery. From 16 April 2026 OpenSolar charges for API Access, which connects OpenSolar to outside systems such as a CRM, accounting, operations or reporting tool, billed through an in-app wallet, and for its own Connectors to specific third-party tools such as Xero and QuickBooks accounting, billed as a monthly fee. Premium high-resolution imagery, such as Nearmap, is a separate pay-as-you-go add-on on top of the free standard imagery. None of these is required to run the core workflow.
SolarPlus is subscription-funded. There is no hardware marketplace or partner funding behind it, so product, distributor and pricing choices stay entirely with the solar business. Every capability, including the energy, off-grid and commercial modelling described on this page, is available on all plans through the Commercial toggle rather than being gated to a higher tier.
The practical question is not which costs less. It is whether deeper modelling and automation create more value than the subscription. On a job with a battery, an off-grid system or a demand-charged commercial load, better sizing, a defensible investment case or a prevented pricing error can outweigh a software subscription many times over.
What SolarPlus does that OpenSolar does not
The two platforms overlap on the basics. Where SolarPlus pulls ahead is the depth of the energy modelling and the confidence it gives the customer’s decision, on a home battery retrofit or a commercial solar and storage project alike. The same platform then scales into full commercial electrical design when you need it.
Size the system in dollars before you design it
The first question on a job with a battery or a real budget is usually not “how much solar fits on this roof?” but “what size should we propose, and can we defend it?” SolarPlus answers that before anything is placed on a roof.
Feasibility sizes solar and battery against the site’s real consumption and tariff, in dollars, before any design. It needs a consumption profile and a tariff, then compares many combinations of array size and battery size (up to 1,200 in a run), prices every one, and ranks them by whatever matters to the project: highest lifetime value (NPV), fastest payback, best return (IRR), lowest cost of energy, or most self-sufficient. It sets business as usual against solar-only and solar-plus-battery side by side, with Year 1 saving, net capex, NPV, payback and self-sufficiency for each, and states plainly whether adding the battery is worth it at a given array size.
It also shows its working. The first-year saving is split into grid purchases avoided, demand-charge reduction and export credit, with a caution when the result leans too heavily on export. Every assumption driving the money is tagged with where it came from (the site record, a business default, a generic fallback, or a figure typed in on the page), and a sensitivity view tests whether the recommended size still wins under different tariff, discount-rate and feed-in assumptions, reporting how often the same size stays the recommendation across the scenarios tested. The output is a size the salesperson can put to the customer and defend.
Feasibility is deliberately a sizing tool, not a design. It models a generic array from the site’s irradiance, so it does not account for shading, panel layout or setbacks, and it assumes a cash purchase before tax, with financing handled later on the pricing side. Its job is to settle the size and the business case first, which the design and quote then build on.
OpenSolar provides manual and wizard-style sizing tools: per-project system sizing, manually created and compared system options, Ada Auto Design, and a Battery Design Assistant that recommends a single battery package against an objective such as savings, self-consumption or peak-demand shaving. That is a different level of functionality from an at-scale, automated feasibility analysis that prices and ranks many combinations. An automated feasibility stage that searches across many solar and battery sizing combinations and optimises to a financial objective before design is not a documented OpenSolar feature (verified 10 September 2026). That pre-design optimisation, in dollars, is what SolarPlus adds.
Model the energy decision in detail
For solar-only residential work, hourly modelling can be adequate. It stops being adequate once a battery, a demand tariff or an off-grid system is involved, because the value then depends on the shape of the load through the day.
SolarPlus runs its solar, battery and energy simulation at five-minute resolution, and models conventional tariffs, demand charges and market-linked prices separately. That gives the optimiser far more information about when the customer actually uses energy and when a battery creates value. The difference shows up most where short-duration demand peaks drive commercial demand charges, or where battery dispatch needs to follow the load rather than an average day.
OpenSolar simulates battery behaviour hour by hour, and while it accepts uploaded consumption at 15, 30 or 60-minute intervals, its utility-bill calculations resolve to hourly profiles. For a straightforward residential system that can be enough. For a battery or demand-charge decision, resolution changes the answer.
Find the battery that produces the best return
OpenSolar has capable battery functionality. Its Battery Design Assistant recommends battery packages against customer objectives, and it provides operating strategies including self-consumption, minimising grid-import cost, maximising savings and peak-demand shaving, with custom control schedules and backup sizing available.
SolarPlus treats battery selection as an optimisation problem. Rather than selecting one battery and reporting what it saves, its Battery Sizing Optimiser analyses a range of candidate capacities and operating strategies against the site’s actual energy profile and tariff. It can test battery capacity and power, solar and battery combinations, self-consumption, peak shaving, grid charging, energy arbitrage, hybrid strategies, monthly demand-shaving thresholds, monthly grid-charge settings and financial objectives. It then calculates the performance and financial result of the alternatives and identifies the configuration producing the strongest outcome.
That changes the conversation with the customer. Instead of “here is the battery we normally sell and the savings it should produce”, it becomes “we modelled the available battery sizes against your actual site and tariff; this configuration gives the strongest return, and this is why”. A larger battery does not automatically improve the investment, and the optimiser is what shows where the return actually peaks.
Off-grid and hybrid, from a home to a remote site
Off-grid and hybrid systems put the most weight on energy modelling, because there is no grid to absorb a sizing error.
SolarPlus builds tailored load profiles and designs residential, commercial and remote off-grid power systems. It models the economics that decide them: generator, or diesel, displacement savings including running and maintenance costs, battery hours of autonomy, and generator runtime against the load. For a customer weighing grid connection against an off-grid or hybrid system, SolarPlus can compare the two and show the savings, payback and cashflow. It sizes against poor-solar periods rather than the annual average, and lets you drill into a bad-weather day to explain the system’s behaviour to the customer.
OpenSolar supports off-grid system design and off-grid proposals, and its Battery Design Assistant can size backup around specific appliances. Generator runtime and diesel-displacement economics are not a documented OpenSolar feature (verified 10 September 2026). For a customer whose decision turns on how often the generator runs and what that costs over the life of the system, that modelling is what turns an off-grid quote into a defensible investment case.
Model energy-market pricing, not just electricity tariffs
Time-of-use tariffs are one part of the commercial energy market. SolarPlus models market-linked plans at settlement resolution, from five minutes through hourly, and keeps wholesale, network, retail and fixed charges separate, so a customer can see exactly what changes when they move off a conventional tariff. You can import price data for any market. Where a market feed is supported, currently the Australian NEM and WEM, up to three years of history is retrieved automatically, and forecast scenarios are built from that history (direct pass-through, scaling, monthly trends, weekday shaping or historical variability), with source and modelled prices shown side by side so every assumption stays visible.
That enables analysis of scenarios such as buying from the grid when wholesale prices are low, holding stored energy through low-value periods, discharging during high-value periods, exporting where market conditions justify it, comparing conventional retail tariffs with market-linked arrangements, and testing battery sizes against actual market behaviour. SolarPlus can therefore examine not only how much energy a battery will shift, but when that energy is financially most valuable, using price-responsive dispatch, which can also model virtual power plant (VPP) scenarios.
OpenSolar provides sophisticated tariff modelling and configurable battery schedules, including grid charging and export during favourable time-of-use periods, and its Maximise Savings strategy can optimise around time-of-use import and export prices. SolarPlus adds a deeper market-data layer, making historical and scenario-modelled market pricing an input to the commercial model itself.
Turn the analysis into a decision the customer trusts
Depth of modelling only matters if it produces a decision the customer can act on. SolarPlus turns the analysis into a clear investment case: lifetime cashflow, payback, NPV, IRR and levelised cost of energy, with transparent assumptions and side-by-side scenario comparison, presented in a customer proposal. The aim is a decision-ready, defensible case, whether the system is a home battery retrofit or a commercial solar and storage project. That is the point of the deeper modelling: not more numbers, but a decision the customer can make with confidence.
No product or brand restrictions
SolarPlus is an independent design platform. Its product library covers all major equipment categories and brands, so installers can use the products that make commercial and technical sense for the project rather than designing around a particular manufacturer’s ecosystem or marketplace. You can build your own inventory, choose the products and suppliers relevant to your business, create your own packages, and set your own buying and selling logic.
OpenSolar also provides a broad equipment database and lets organisations create custom hardware when a product is missing, so it would be wrong to suggest OpenSolar prevents users designing with other brands. The difference is the business model. OpenSolar’s free software is supported in part through a partner ecosystem, and its integrated Shop connects installers to selected supplier partners. SolarPlus is subscription-funded, so the product, distributor and pricing choices stay with the solar business.
Build complete systems once, then reuse them
For a growing solar company, design speed is only part of productivity. Consistency matters too. Salespeople should not have to recreate the same combination of modules, inverters, protection, mounting, batteries, accessories, labour and pricing for every project.
SolarPlus Pre-Build Packages let a business configure its preferred solutions in advance. Rather than a design preset alone, a package connects the technical system to the commercial system behind it: equipment, system configuration, inventory, bill of materials, costing, pricing and proposal. The package becomes the starting point for the sales team; the designer adapts it to the site, and SolarPlus updates the underlying project as the design changes. This suits businesses selling repeatable solutions such as standard home battery retrofits, EV and solar packages, 100 kW commercial packages or predefined solar and storage offers.
OpenSolar’s Ada Auto Design templates provide a similar concept at the design-template level, letting administrators specify preferred panels, inverter options, batteries, other components, pricing schemes, incentives, payment options and proposal templates. SolarPlus extends the concept into a complete pre-build and inventory-driven package, connecting system engineering more tightly to purchasing, quote pricing and installation documentation.
Automate the real price of the project
A fixed per-watt price works until projects stop being standard. Installation cost can change with location, jurisdiction, distributor, equipment combination, system capacity, roof construction, mounting method, switchboard requirements, travel distance, regional labour, freight, battery capacity, inverter count or project-specific engineering.
SolarPlus combines its inventory with a formula-based pricing engine so these variables influence project cost and selling price automatically. A business can encode its commercial knowledge into the software. For example: if the project is in a particular region, apply that region’s installation allowance; if the distributor is Supplier B, use Supplier B buy pricing; if the site is more than 100 km from the office, calculate a travel charge; if the mounting is a tilt frame, add the material and labour. The formulas respond as the design changes. The objective is not just faster quoting, it is consistent margin control: a salesperson can change the system without remembering every pricing rule operations or finance has set.
OpenSolar also has extensive pricing functionality: price schemes, cost schemes, hardware costs and price adjustments, plus reusable adders and discounts, with methods including per-watt, size-tiered per-watt, fixed pricing and markup of calculated costs, and component pricing that can vary with capacity or quantity. SolarPlus differentiates through the conditional formula layer, letting project, location, inventory and supplier variables drive pricing automatically rather than relying mainly on predefined schemes and adders.
And it scales to complete commercial electrical design
You may not need this today. It matters when a project outgrows a simple string layout. The same platform that models a home battery will also engineer a large commercial array, and it does so from the datasheet up.
SolarPlus Auto-Design takes a complex commercial array of hundreds or thousands of modules across multiple roof surfaces and works out how the complete system should be electrically constructed. Starting from the panel layout, it generates candidate electrical configurations and evaluates them against the physical array and the electrical constraints: it accounts for multiple roof surfaces, orientations, walkways and unusable modules, evaluates alternative inverter configurations, allocates modules between inverters and MPPTs, constructs strings across the array, maximises panel utilisation, assesses inverter loading and DC/AC ratios, incorporates overcurrent-protection requirements, scores the alternatives, and builds the electrical topology used for protection, cable design and the single-line diagram.
The depth comes from how SolarPlus calculates. It simulates each module from its datasheet values (Isc, Imp, Voc, Vmp and the temperature coefficients) at each interval, rather than from generic per-watt assumptions, and it derives string current from the module and inverter current specifications rather than from a manufacturer’s generalised “number of strings” figure. The electrical output includes the calculations that formal design requires: prospective string and fault currents, overcurrent-protection sizing, maximum system voltage corrected for the lowest expected operating temperature, DC cable voltage rise and loss, and switch-disconnector current ratings. The result is a complete proposed electrical architecture, and it stays editable.
OpenSolar’s Ada Auto Design can create systems from templates and auto-string once an inverter is selected, which is useful automation for repeatable residential and simpler commercial projects. OpenSolar also recommends keeping detailed 3D designs under 500 kW for performance and stability, suggesting 2D for 500 kW to 1 MW, with users having designed up to about 5 MW by reducing simulation complexity. SolarPlus renders arrays at around 3 MW on a capable laptop and 8 MW or more on a high-specification desktop, with no software licensing cap on design capacity. For a business moving into 500 kW, 1 MW and multi-megawatt rooftops, keeping the detailed electrical model and automating it, rather than simplifying it away, is the difference.
From first look to installation
The biggest difference is not any single feature. It is how the pieces connect. A project in SolarPlus can move through interval meter data, tariff and market-price analysis, solar and battery feasibility, recommended sizing, physical design, electrical design where needed, five-minute performance simulation, battery return optimisation, lifetime NPV, IRR and cashflow, inventory and formula-based pricing, customer proposal and scenario comparison, acceptance and payment, bill of materials and ordering, installation job pack, commissioning and handover.
The point is that the project model is not discarded between stages. The system that produces the performance result is the system being sold. The products in the quote are connected to the inventory. And the information given to the installation team comes from the same project the customer approved. That holds for a home battery retrofit and for a commercial solar and storage project.
What SolarPlus does not do
SolarPlus is not free. OpenSolar’s core platform is, and for a business whose projects fit comfortably inside a sales-first workflow, that is a strong proposition a subscription has to earn against. SolarPlus is worth it when deeper modelling and automation create more value than it costs, not because it costs less.
SolarPlus is not the fastest path for high-volume, standardised residential sales. Where jobs are simple and repetitive and price sensitivity is high, OpenSolar’s free, quick workflow and polished proposals are hard to beat.
SolarPlus does not match OpenSolar’s global footprint. It serves eight markets, while OpenSolar is available in more than 185 countries. If you operate where SolarPlus is not offered, OpenSolar may be your only option of the two.
SolarPlus does not include an integrated hardware marketplace or a partner-funded Shop. That independence is deliberate, but it means SolarPlus does not connect you to supplier partners the way OpenSolar’s Shop does.
SolarPlus models one load profile per project, and its forward load-growth and multi-site portfolio capabilities are limited. If your work centres on portfolio-level operations across many sites, that is a genuine boundary.
Markets and coverage
OpenSolar is available in more than 185 countries and is used by more than 28,000 solar professionals, which is a wider reach than SolarPlus. SolarPlus serves eight markets.
SolarPlus draws its weather and irradiance data from Meteonorm’s global climate database, so its yield modelling is not limited to any one country. Its electrical-compliance checking is jurisdiction-specific: it applies the relevant design frameworks for the market you work in (for example AS/NZS in Australia and New Zealand, and MCS in the United Kingdom). Its market-linked energy-price modelling accepts imported price data for any market, and automatically retrieves up to three years of price history where a market feed is supported, currently the Australian NEM and WEM.
Switching and onboarding
Moving across does not mean starting from scratch. SolarPlus imports interval consumption data by CSV, and imports external production data through a four-column CSV, accepting PVsyst, HelioScope and PVWatts output, so modelling work you have already done can be brought in. Redrawing one roof is rarely what costs time when you change platforms. The work is populating your equipment list, setting up pricing and building the system packages you quote from, and SolarPlus does that part with you.
SolarPlus offers two guided onboarding packages. QuickStart covers 90 minutes of one-to-one online training, your inventory populated with up to 60 components and quoting items including wholesale pricing and mark-up, up to eight priced system packages, and your branding applied. KickStart runs to three hours across two sessions, with up to 150 components, 20 priced system packages, and one proposal template customised to your business. Custom onboarding adds separate sessions for design, install and sales teams, and there is a self-guided path at no cost if you would rather set the account up yourself. Training and support are delivered across all time zones, so onboarding is scheduled around your working hours.
| QuickStart | KickStart | |
|---|---|---|
| Training | 90 minutes, one-to-one online | Three hours across two sessions |
| Inventory built for you | Up to 60 components and quoting items, with wholesale pricing and mark-up | Up to 150 components and quoting items, with wholesale pricing and mark-up |
| Priced system packages | Up to 8 | Up to 20 |
| Branding | Logo and company profile applied | Logo and company profile applied |
| Proposal template | Standard templates | One template customised |
| Also included | Onboarding video series | Priority support in the first month |
Frequently asked questions
Is SolarPlus a good alternative to OpenSolar?
SolarPlus is a strong alternative to OpenSolar when your projects are getting more complex. Both platforms design systems, model batteries and generate proposals, but SolarPlus models the energy side in more depth (five-minute simulation, battery return optimisation, tariff and market analysis, off-grid economics) and turns it into a clear customer investment case, from residential up to large commercial. If your work is mainly straightforward residential, OpenSolar's free core platform may serve you better.
Is OpenSolar really free?
Yes, the core is. OpenSolar's design, sales and project workflow, including standard imagery, is free and has remained free through 2026, funded by hardware and finance partners rather than a per-seat licence. The paid parts sit around that core: since 16 April 2026 OpenSolar charges for API access and connectors that move data to external systems, and premium high-resolution imagery such as Nearmap is a pay-as-you-go add-on via an in-app wallet. None of these is needed to run the core workflow.
What can SolarPlus do that OpenSolar cannot?
SolarPlus models the energy decision in more depth. Before design, it can search many solar and battery sizing combinations against the site and optimise to a financial objective. It simulates at five-minute resolution, optimises battery selection against the site's actual load and tariff, models off-grid economics including generator runtime and diesel displacement, and analyses market-linked pricing, then turns all of it into a lifetime investment case with NPV, IRR, payback and levelised cost of energy. It also scales up to full commercial electrical design when a project needs it.
Can SolarPlus design off-grid and hybrid systems?
Yes. SolarPlus designs residential, commercial and remote off-grid and hybrid systems, and models the economics that decide them: generator (diesel) displacement savings including running and maintenance costs, battery hours of autonomy, and a grid-connection-versus-off-grid comparison with payback and cashflow. It sizes against poor-solar periods rather than the annual average. OpenSolar supports off-grid design and off-grid proposals and can size backup around specific appliances; generator-runtime economics are not a documented OpenSolar feature (verified 10 September 2026).
What energy modelling resolution does each use?
SolarPlus runs its solar, battery and energy simulation at five-minute resolution. OpenSolar simulates battery behaviour hour by hour, and although it accepts uploaded consumption at 15, 30 or 60-minute intervals, its utility-bill calculations resolve to hourly profiles. Higher resolution matters most where short-duration demand peaks drive commercial demand charges or where battery dispatch responds to the shape of the load.
How large a system can each platform design?
OpenSolar recommends keeping detailed 3D designs under 500 kW for performance and stability, suggests 2D for 500 kW to 1 MW, and notes users have designed up to about 5 MW by reducing simulation complexity. SolarPlus renders arrays at around 3 MW on a capable laptop and 8 MW or more on a high-specification desktop, with no software licensing cap on design capacity.
Does SolarPlus lock me into particular brands or suppliers?
No. SolarPlus is an independent, subscription-funded platform with an all-brand product library. You build your own inventory, choose your own products and suppliers, and set your own pricing logic. OpenSolar also supports a broad equipment database and custom hardware, but its free model is funded through a partner ecosystem and an integrated Shop connecting installers to selected supplier partners.
Can I move my OpenSolar work into SolarPlus?
Modelling data can come across. SolarPlus imports interval consumption data by CSV and imports external production data through a four-column CSV, accepting PVsyst, HelioScope and PVWatts output. You then rebuild your product library, pre-build packages and pricing logic inside SolarPlus so it reflects how your business buys and sells.
Which should I choose, SolarPlus or OpenSolar?
Choose OpenSolar for a capable, accessible sales and design platform with no core software cost, especially for straightforward residential and small commercial work. Choose SolarPlus when the energy decision is becoming complex: batteries, tariffs, off-grid and hybrid systems, and customers who need a clear investment case, with the same platform scaling up to full commercial electrical design when you need it.
MOVE FROM OPENSOLAR
It's easy to make the switch from OpenSolar to SolarPlus
Every day we help installers move across to SolarPlus without losing the work they have already done. Bring your consumption and production data across, and our team of solar industry professionals will help you set up your inventory, packages and pricing so the platform reflects how your business runs. Reach out to get started.
Why energy professionals love SolarPlus
"By using SolarPlus to design complex renewable solutions, our company has more than tripled its turnover in the past 12 months".
Dave Gregor
Union Power, South Africa
"SolarPlus helps us create impressive, professional proposals that build customer trust and convert more sales".
Tinus Lotz
Astra Energy, South Africa
"Knowing that my designs are valid, compliant and look professional makes SolarPlus a no-brainer."
Andrew Lindsay
Signature Solar, Australia
"I always recommend SolarPlus to anyone coming into the industry. It’s the best solution on the market, hands down"!
Steven Zilm
EnergyPlex, Australia
"SolarPlus has provided design accuracy and reliability and an easy-to-use workflow that has saved me a lot of time".
Quentin Bligh
The Natural Grid, Australia
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