[RE-wrenches] Proposal Sketching Tool/Software

Jason Szumlanski jason at fafcosolar.com
Wed Jun 18 04:47:15 PDT 2014


That's easy to talk through. We tell the prospect in advance that we make
an initial assessment based on aerial imagery to show the maximum possible
(trees can be cut usually, and plumbing can be moved). When we arrive, if
there are any obstructions, we talk about that with the homeowner. It's
really quite simple. No embarrassment.

The opposite of what you describe is often the case - we assume that there
is a serious shading issue, only to arrive and find out that tall trees
have been cut since the images were taken. Some conversation at initial
lead intake can reduce that possibility.

Fortunately, around here we usually have pretty crisp and recent imagery so
at least we know if there will be an obstruction in advance. Like you said,
the location and height is hard to pinpoint on a drawing in advance.

It's incredibly easy to revise the drawings according to what is discovered
at the site visit. Usually we will will do an electronic presentation on an
iPad, then revise the drawing if necessary before emailing the PDF to the
homeowner.​




On Wed, Jun 18, 2014 at 4:20 AM, William Miller <william at millersolar.com>
wrote:

> Jason:
>
>
>
> Very impressive.  Thanks for sharing.
>
>
>
> If you do your design from a satellite image, aren’t you afraid you might
> miss a plumbing vent or other obstruction, or the shade from a tree that
> you cannot judge the height of accurately?  One foot can make the
> difference of 3 modules on a 3 row install.  Is it embarrassing to sell the
> customer x number of modules and arrive to find out you can only fit <x?
>
>
>
> William
>
>
>
>
>
> [image: Gradient Cap_mini]
> Lic 773985
> millersolar.com <http://www.millersolar.com/>
> 805-438-5600
>
>
>
> *From:* RE-wrenches [mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] *On
> Behalf Of *Jason Szumlanski
> *Sent:* Tuesday, June 17, 2014 2:17 PM
>
> *To:* RE-wrenches
> *Subject:* Re: [RE-wrenches] Proposal Sketching Tool/Software
>
>
>
> Rather than sharing individual presentation examples, I did a screen
> recording of preparing a model in Sketchup Pro and Layout from start to
> finish. This is me preparing a real presentation package that will be used
> tomorrow at an in-house presentation by a sales rep. I ignored roof
> obstructions in the interest of time, but you can see in the video that I
> completed a viable presentation package in 10 minutes showing the maximum
> PV possible on a roof. The magic happens at 2:25 when the Instant Roof
> script does it's work. Here is a link to the video:
>
>
>
> http://youtu.be/vs3ypUOe2_c
>
>
>
> This is not sped up. I did take some minor liberties in the interest of
> time - I would typically spend about 5 minutes extra making sure dimensions
> are as accurate as possible. This particular address didn't have the
> sharpest imagery from Google Earth, but it was passable. I'll be well
> within 1' on all roof dimensions based on my past experience, and a few
> measurements from the ground can confirm accuracy level. I used Bing Maps
> to estimate a roof pitch of 5:12, which is pretty typical of the
> neighborhood I know this house to be within. Google street view is not
> available in this gated community. I assumed an 18" eave, which I generally
> use as a generic dimension unless I know homes in a neighborhood to have
> different overhangs. This home had a raised entryway and a lower beam
> height for the garage, so it was not the easiest home to model, but far
> from the hardest. I took a few minutes to set up my rendering scenes and
> elevations because I am anticipating this actually being used eventually
> for construction and permitting docs in Layout, but that's totally
> optional. I skipped some minor steps in Layout, too, like changing the
> quantity of modules in the legend. I'll go back and clean things up before
> sending to the sales rep. I showed off some of the shading analysis
> capabilities, even though it wasn't necessary for this unshaded roof.
>
>
>
> ​You can see the mouse clicks, but what you don't see is my keyboard
> presses - I have shortcuts set up for most tools and actions to speed my
> workflow.​
>
>
>
> Preparing models from PDF or DWF plans results in a mode every bit as
> accurate as AutoCAD. I use essentially the same techniques. That can really
> blow away a homeowner (and sometimes an architect).
>
>
>
> Hopefully that answers your questions about the viability of Sketchup for
> doing solar energy presentations!
>
>
>
>
>
> ​Jason Szumlanski
>
> Fafco Solar​
>
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> List sponsored by Redwood Alliance
>
> List Address: RE-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org
>
> Change listserver email address & settings:
> http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org
>
> List-Archive:
> http://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/maillist.html
>
> List rules & etiquette:
> www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm
>
> Check out or update participant bios:
> www.members.re-wrenches.org
>
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org/attachments/20140618/22356795/attachment-0002.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 1460 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org/attachments/20140618/22356795/attachment-0005.jpg>


More information about the RE-wrenches mailing list