Heatmap

The shading heatmap is the colour overlay on the 3D model that scores every placed panel for how much sun it actually gets. Each panel gets a single Reonic Score — a number from 0 to 10 rating its solar quality — and the panel is coloured to match, so you can scan a whole roof at a glance and find the weak panels before you wire strings.

Before you start

• You need 3D data for the building. A flat 2D map has no height information, so it can't produce real shading and the heatmap won't be meaningful.
• Place your modules first. The per-panel scores only exist once there are panels to score.
• For a clear read, place modules across the roof sides you're comparing. The heatmap is most useful when it can rank surfaces against each other.

Read the per-panel score

Each panel carries a Reonic Score from 0 to 10 that rates how much sun it receives. The score compares the sunlight the panel actually gets against the sunlight of a reference panel that perfectly tracks the sun and is never shaded:

• 10 is the ideal — a panel that perfectly tracks the sun with no shading at all.
• 0 is the worst — fully and constantly shaded.

Read the colour bands

The panel colour is a direct cue for its score, so you can spot problem panels instantly:

• Red — score below 4. Heavily shaded or poorly oriented. Flag these.
• Yellow — score below 5. Marginal; worth a closer look.
• Lime — score below 6. Acceptable but not ideal.
• Green — score 6 and above. Good panels; leave them.

Red and yellow panels are your candidates for an optimizer or for being dropped from the layout.

Tip: Run the heatmap before you finalize module placement. A surface that reads red in shade often produces more yield with one fewer panel plus an optimizer than with full coverage.

Act on what the heatmap tells you

The heatmap is a planning aid — it tells you where to intervene, then you make the change in string planning:

• Flag an optimizer on a red or yellow panel so it runs at its own operating point instead of dragging down the rest of its string. See the Optimizers page.
• Drop a panel position entirely when the score is so low the panel won't earn its place.

Things to know

• The Reonic Score guides your planning inside the 3D editor. It rates panels while you plan the layout. The offer your customer sees uses a separate shading factor, so the 0–10 score stays inside the editor and does not appear on the offer.

Need help?

• Step-by-step questions about this flow → contact your Reonic account manager.
• Feature requests / something missing → send a note to your Reonic account manager.
• Bug reports → include a screenshot and the page where it happened in your support email.

Last updated on August 4, 2026