How Reslink's 3D Solar Design Works: Site to Bankable Output

The Problem With How Most EPCs Handle Solar Design Today

The typical solar design process at a mid-size EPC works like this. A sales rep visits the site, takes photos and measurements, and returns to the office. The photos go to a design engineer who builds the layout in AutoCAD or a design tool. The layout goes to another person who prepares the proposal in PowerPoint or a PDF template. The proposal pricing goes to procurement, who calculates the BOM in Excel. The BOM and layout then go to an external consultant who prepares the Single Line Diagram and other documents required for bank financing. At each handoff, data is re-entered, errors are introduced, and time is lost.

For a project that takes 90 days from site visit to commissioning, 20 to 30 of those days are typically consumed by this handoff chain before a single panel is procured. Reslink is built to eliminate this chain entirely. The design the field rep builds on-site becomes the single source of truth for every document that follows.

Stage 1: Roof Capture and 3D Model Generation

The Reslink workflow begins with the field rep opening the mobile app at the customer's site. Using the satellite imagery, the rep captures the roof geometry. The software then builds 3D model, supporting multiple roof profile types including flat, pitched, multi-section, and complex commercial roofs.

The 3D model captures the actual dimensions, angles, and obstructions of the specific roof. Water tanks, parapets, AC units, lift structures, and adjacent building shadows are all modelled as physical objects in the 3D space. This is the step that makes everything downstream accurate. A generation forecast built on an accurate 3D model is credible.

Stage 2: Panel Placement and Auto-Stringing

With the 3D model built, the rep places panels on the roof surface within the app. Reslink's auto-stringing engine determines the optimal string configuration based on the panel layout and the selected inverter. The stringing is adjusted automatically when panels are added or removed. The system flags any configuration that falls outside the inverter's operating parameters before the design is finalised, preventing the most common electrical design errors that lead to site rework.

For commercial and industrial projects, the rep can design across multiple roof sections, set inter-row spacing for shadow avoidance, and specify different inverter configurations for different sections. The same mobile workflow applies from a 3 kW residential system to a multi-MW commercial installation.

Stage 3: Shadow Simulation and Energy Yield Report

Once the panel layout is set, Reslink runs shadow simulation across the roof's full obstruction profile. The simulation models shadow movement hour by hour across all 8,760 hours of the year, identifying which panels are affected by obstructions in each season and at each time of day. The output is an energy yield report that shows annual generation, monthly generation breakdown, and the specific loss percentage attributable to shading.

This is the output that makes the proposal credible. A customer who sees a shadow analysis showing how the water tank affects the east-facing panels in December, and how the layout was optimised to minimise that impact, understands immediately that the generation numbers in the proposal are not estimates. They are site-specific calculations. The trust this builds is qualitatively different from a proposal that shows a round generation number with no source.

Stage 4: Proposal, BOE, and Bills of Structure

With the design complete, Reslink also generates the proposal directly from the 3D model. The proposal includes the site-specific generation report, the shadow analysis output, a rupee or local-currency ROI projection, the system specification with equipment details, and the pricing and financing section.

Simultaneously, Reslink generates the full Bills of Electrical (BOE) and Bills of Structure from the design. The BOE includes AC and DC cables with sizing and lengths calculated from the actual string layout, AC distribution boards, DC distribution boards, lightning arrestors, MC4 connectors, and earthing components. The Bills of Structure include purlins, rafters, mounting dimensions, and panel layout specifications. Both documents are extracted from the 3D design, with no manual BOM preparation.

Stage 5: Bank-Ready Document Output

The final stage produces the documentation required for project financing. Reslink generates Single Line Diagrams (SLDs), layout drawings, and string drawings that meet the submission standards required by banks and financial institutions without requiring modification after export. For EPCs and developers managing project financing, this eliminates the typical post-design engineering rework that delays financing applications by weeks. The documents are ready at the point of design completion, not after a separate documentation cycle.

How This Differs From the Conventional Workflow

In a conventional solar EPC workflow, the five stages above involve five different tools (field notes, AutoCAD or design software, PowerPoint or PDF template, Excel for BOM, and an external engineering consultant for SLDs), three or four different people, and multiple days of calendar time between stages. Reslink replaces all five tools with one platform, all four people with one field rep on a phone, and multiple days with one site visit.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. Can Reslink's 3D solar design really be done entirely on a mobile phone?

Yes. Reslink's mobile design capability is not a simplified version of the desktop tool. It is a fully optimised mobile workflow where the rep uses the satellite imagery to capture the roof geometry, builds the 3D model in the app, places panels, runs shadow simulation, and generates all output documents without needing a laptop or desktop at any stage. This is one of the capabilities that distinguishes Reslink from most other solar design platforms globally.

Q2. What types of roofs does Reslink support for 3D design?

Reslink supports multiple roof types including flat, pitched, hip, gable, multi-section, and complex commercial geometries. It also supports ground-mount utility-scale projects. Obstructions including water tanks, parapets, AC units, skylights, and adjacent structures are modelled as 3D objects within the design environment, ensuring that shadow analysis and panel placement account for real-site conditions.

Q3. How accurate is Reslink's shadow analysis and energy yield report?

Reslink's shadow simulation models shadow movement across all 8,760 hours of the year using location-specific irradiance data. Generation accuracy and shadow analysis in Reslink meet or exceed global industry benchmarks. The outputs are used directly in financing documentation submitted to banks, which is the most demanding accuracy standard in the industry.

Q4. What are bank-ready documents and why do EPCs need them?

Bank-ready documents are the technical drawings and reports required by banks and financial institutions before approving project financing. These include Single Line Diagrams (SLDs), layout drawings, and string drawings. Most platforms produce outputs that require post-processing or reformatting by an engineering consultant before they meet bank submission standards. Reslink generates these documents directly from the 3D design in a format that is submittable without modification, eliminating the external consultant step and compressing the financing timeline.

Q5. Does Reslink work for ground-mount and utility-scale projects, or only rooftop?

Reslink supports projects from small residential rooftops to 1 GW utility-scale ground-mount installations, all within the same platform and the same workflow. The design engine handles both rooftop and ground-mount project types with the same accuracy and the same downstream output (proposal, BOE, Bills of Structure, bank documents).

Q6. How long does it take a new user to become proficient in Reslink?

Sales representatives and design engineers typically become proficient Reslink users within 1 to 2 days of training. The interface is designed for non-technical sales professionals as well as engineers, which means field teams can be onboarded and productive significantly faster than with complex desktop-first design platforms that typically require weeks of training.