Copy page

Obstructions, roads, and parcels

Draw site features, detect rooftop obstructions, and check their dimensions.

Obstructions keep modules clear of objects and can affect shading. Draw them with the obstruction tools in the editor toolbar.

Draw an obstruction

The obstruction menu offers shape, rectangle, circle, line, and tree tools.

Use a polygon for an irregular footprint.
Use a rectangle or circle for regular rooftop equipment or other simple footprints.
Use a line for a fence, parapet, or other narrow feature.
Use a tree for a trunk and canopy.

Follow the selected tool’s drawing prompts. Finish a polygon or line with Enter, and return to Cursor when done.

Edit dimensions and setbacks

Select an obstruction to open its inspector. Set its type, height, and setback as appropriate. A tree has controls for its trunk and crown.

Move or reshape the object to match the site. Check its height in 3D and its setback in plan view. Obstruction templates provide reusable defaults.

On a 3D map, Match height to 3D or Match size to 3D can provide an estimate. See 3D measurements.

Roads and parcels

Use the site-infrastructure tools to draw roads and parcels. A road reserves space in the layout; review its width and setback. A parcel marks the property boundary and does not itself define an array.

Parcels appear in the Civil lane. Select them there or on the map to edit them.

ARGUS on roofs

ARGUS detects rooftop obstructions from imagery.

Select a Flat roof or Pitched roof field.
In ARGUS AI, click Detect obstructions.
Review the obstruction template and options in the dialog, then start detection.
Review the detected objects, their types, dimensions, and setbacks.
Correct missing or inaccurate objects before modeling.

A rerun replaces ARGUS detections on that field and keeps manually drawn obstructions. Detection is a starting point for review, not a confirmation of every object on the roof.

Sensitivity

Sensitivity controls how many detections are included. Increase it to include more possible obstructions, or reduce it to keep fewer. Review the result against the imagery after each change.

Use Match all heights to 3D to estimate the heights of the field’s detected obstructions, then inspect individual objects as needed.

Use fire-walkway spacing to reserve access at the distance you specify. Equipment walkways and module-removal controls are described in Design refinement.

New battery storage design is not available in v2. See Coming from v1 for preserved battery information.

Still stuck?

A person at Solesca answers every message.

Concierge in the app Email support