Pros
Cons
Quick answer
PVcase is a set of four solar tools: Prospect for site selection, Ground Mount and Roof Mount for design inside AutoCAD, and Yield for energy modeling. PVcase does not publish prices; its site says it sells customized packages. The design tools need AutoCAD on a Windows PC and will not run on virtual machines. Checked October 2026.
Comparing PVcase with SurgePV?
PVcase prices are on request and its design tools need AutoCAD. Book a guided demo to see SurgePV design and proposals on a web workflow.
Book a Free DemoChecking cost first? See the SurgePV pricing page.
SurgePV publishes this page and is a vendor in this category. SurgePV competes with PVcase and is compared in the table below. The facts here come from PVcase’s public pages and SurgePV’s pricing, checked October 2026. Last checked: October 2026.
What does PVcase do?
PVcase is a set of four tools for solar developers and engineers. PVcase sells four products. Each list below comes from the vendor’s own pages, read in October 2026. The links go to the page used.
Ground Mount (utility-scale design)
Ground Mount is described as an AutoCAD plugin for utility-scale solar design. The Ground Mount plan page shows one plan, called Professional. It lists:
- Layout: frames, setbacks, spacing, several PV areas in one project, and capacity iteration (adjusting the layout to reach a target size).
- Ground work: slope analysis, collision analysis, ground grading with heatmaps, and piling analysis.
- Electrical: stringing, preliminary and detailed electrical design, cable sizing and voltage drop, and 2D and 3D cabling.
- Documents: export of single line diagrams (SLDs, simple drawings of how the system is wired) and bills of materials (BOMs, lists of the parts to buy).
- Other: shading and irradiance analysis, a quick energy estimate called QuickYield, and battery storage design, AC and DC coupled, for hybrid or standalone designs.
- Export: to PVcase Yield and to PVsyst (an energy modeling program from another company).
Roof Mount (commercial and industrial rooftops)
The Roof Mount plan page also shows one plan, called Professional. It lists:
- Import: rooftop data from several sources, DWG and DXF (CAD drawing file) conversion, and drone image conversion.
- Roof rules: setbacks, parapets, no-go zones and obstructions.
- Layout: a library of modules and inverters, layout optimization, several roof areas in one design, and a mounting calculator.
- Electrical: stringing, MPPT setup (assigning strings to the inverter’s power tracking inputs), cable trays, SLD export, cable sizing and voltage drop, and 3D cabling.
- Other: shading analysis, irradiance analysis, energy simulation, BOM export and export to PVsyst.
The commercial solar page also mentions “Integrated financial modeling and reporting” for Roof Mount. The plan list does not name it, so ask the vendor what is included.
Yield (energy modeling)
The Yield plan page has two plans, Essentials and Professional. Both list import of Ground Mount layouts, bifacial modeling (counting light that hits the back of the panel), complex terrain modeling, 15-minute simulation steps, and PDF and time series export. The page says Yield has “built-in probability scenarios (P50, P90)”. P50 is the output you expect in half of all years. P90 is the lower output you expect in nine years out of ten.
Only Professional lists high resolution optical modeling, electrical design from Ground Mount, module current mismatch simulation, DC cabling loss simulation, a 3D performance viewer and cell string simulation.
Prospect (site selection)
The Prospect plan page lists three plans: Essentials, Professional and Premium. It covers GIS map layers, grid maps, buildable area analysis, a permitting matrix and project pipeline tracking. Professional and Premium add zoning analysis and landowner phone records. Prospect picks sites. It makes preliminary panel layouts on Professional and Premium, but detailed plant design is done in Ground Mount.
What does your computer need for PVcase?
The PVcase system requirements article sets these rules for Ground Mount and Roof Mount:
- Windows 10 (x64) is the minimum.
- 3.0 GHz CPU or faster, 12 GB of RAM or more, and a 4 GB graphics card.
- AutoCAD 2019 to 2027 are listed as the best-supported versions. AutoCAD 2018 is listed as compatible for Ground Mount only.
- The article says: “PVcase Ground Mount and Roof Mount will not run on virtual machines.”
How much does PVcase cost?
PVcase does not publish a price; you request a quote from sales. On its home page the vendor says: “We don’t offer a complete price list online because we offer customized packages to suit each client’s specific needs.” The pricing page says the price depends on enterprise needs, geographic scope, team size and platform scope.
| Product | Plan names on the vendor page | Price shown |
|---|---|---|
| Prospect | Essentials, Professional, Premium | Not published |
| Ground Mount | Professional | Not published |
| Roof Mount | Professional | Not published |
| Yield | Essentials, Professional | Not published |
Checked October 2026. The plan pages show “Talk to sales” and “Request pricing” buttons, with no amount, currency or unit. Prices you may see on other websites do not come from PVcase, so this page does not use them.
AutoCAD is made by Autodesk. The PVcase pages read give no AutoCAD price and do not say if AutoCAD is included. Ask PVcase and Autodesk before you plan a budget.
PVcase also offers an educational license for Ground Mount and Roof Mount to qualified students and teachers, for the length of their courses.
Key facts above come from the PVcase pricing and plan pages, checked October 2026.
Does PVcase have a free trial?
One PVcase page, solar-engineering-workflow-automation-platform, shows a “Request free trial” button next to “Request a demo”. It does not say how long a trial lasts. The plan pages above show “Request pricing”, “Talk to sales” and “Request a demo”.
Who should choose PVcase?
The PVcase pricing page names a main user for each product:
- Ground Mount: utility-scale EPCs (engineering, procurement and construction firms) and engineers.
- Roof Mount: C&I (commercial and industrial) designers and sales teams.
- Yield: energy yield engineers.
- Prospect: developers and GIS (map data) specialists.
You may want to look elsewhere if:
- You do not use AutoCAD, or you do not work on Windows. The design tools run inside AutoCAD and need Windows 10 (x64) or newer.
- You want to see a price before you talk to sales. PVcase gives none online.
- You want one tool that also writes proposal documents. The Ground Mount and Roof Mount plan lists do not name a proposal tool. The Roof Mount page talks about a faster path “from design to proposal”, so ask what is included.
PVcase vs SurgePV: scope, price and requirements
SurgePV sells competing software. The SurgePV facts below come from its product scope and its pricing page.
| PVcase | SurgePV | |
|---|---|---|
| What it covers | Site selection (Prospect), ground-mount design, roof-mount design and energy modeling (Yield) | 3D roof modeling, solar array layout, shading analysis, energy-yield modeling, financial modeling, electrical workflow support, bill-of-materials output and proposal generation |
| Price | Not published | USD, per user per year: 1,899 (1 user), 1,499 (3 seats), 1,299 (5 seats) |
| How you try it | Request a demo; one page has a Request free trial button | Guided demo; no self-serve trial |
| Stated limits | Design tools need AutoCAD and Windows, and will not run on virtual machines | Results depend on source data and assumptions. Outputs do not replace approval by the responsible engineer, authority, lender, insurer or utility |
If you need terrain grading and piling analysis for utility-scale ground projects, PVcase Ground Mount lists those tools. They are not on SurgePV’s scope list.
Need design and proposals without AutoCAD?
SurgePV lists 3D roof modeling, array layout, shading, yield, financials and proposals with per-user prices. Bring one of your project types to a demo.
Book a Free DemoChecking cost first? See the SurgePV pricing page.
Bottom line
Choose PVcase if your engineers already work in AutoCAD on Windows and need ground-mount grading, piling and yield tools for utility-scale projects. Choose SurgePV if you want published per-user pricing and a web workflow that ends in a proposal. Book a Free Demo or see the SurgePV pricing page.
Other Options
- PVcase vs RatedPower: two utility-scale design tools side by side.
- PVcase alternatives: other tools people consider.
- HelioScope vs PVcase: two design tools side by side.
- PVcase vs SurgePV: the direct comparison.
Frequently asked questions
How much does PVcase cost?
PVcase does not publish prices. Its site says: We don’t offer a complete price list online because we offer customized packages to suit each client’s specific needs. The pricing pages show no amount, currency or unit, only Request pricing and Talk to sales buttons. Ask the vendor for a quote (checked October 2026).
Does PVcase need AutoCAD?
PVcase Ground Mount and Roof Mount run inside AutoCAD, which is an Autodesk product. The PVcase help center lists AutoCAD 2019 to 2027 as the best-supported versions, with AutoCAD 2018 also compatible for Ground Mount only. The pages we read give no AutoCAD price and do not say if AutoCAD is included, so ask PVcase.
Does PVcase have a free trial?
One PVcase page, solar-engineering-workflow-automation-platform, has a Request free trial button next to Request a demo. It does not state how long a trial lasts. The pricing pages only show Request pricing, Talk to sales and Request a demo. PVcase also has an educational license for qualified students and teachers.
What does PVcase Ground Mount include?
The Ground Mount plan page lists layout tools, slope, collision, grading and piling analysis, stringing, cable sizing and voltage drop, and single line diagram (SLD) export. It also lists shading analysis, battery storage (AC and DC coupled), bill of materials (BOM) export, and export to PVcase Yield and PVsyst. The page shows one plan, called Professional.
What is PVcase Prospect and what does it cost?
Prospect is the PVcase tool for finding sites. It has map layers, grid maps, buildable area analysis and a permitting matrix. Its plans are called Essentials, Professional and Premium. The vendor does not publish a price for any of them.
What does PVcase Yield do?
Yield models how much energy a solar plant will make. The vendor page lists bifacial and complex terrain modeling and built-in probability scenarios (P50, P90). The Essentials and Professional plans differ in detail. Only Professional lists mismatch, DC cabling loss and cell string simulation.
Is PVcase better than SurgePV?
It depends on the work. PVcase lists ground grading, piling and AutoCAD-based design for utility-scale plants, while SurgePV lists web-based layout, shading, yield, financials and proposals at published per-user prices. PVcase prices are not published. Sources: PVcase plan pages and the SurgePV pricing page, checked October 2026.
Sources
All pages were read in October 2026.
- PVcase home page and FAQ
- PVcase pricing page
- Ground Mount plan page, Roof Mount plan page, Yield plan page, Prospect plan page
- Ground Mount, Roof Mount and Yield product pages
- Commercial solar design software page and CAD solar systems page
- Free trial request page and Educational license page
- PVcase Help Center: system requirements and compatibility
- SurgePV pricing
About the Contributors
Editorial contributor · SurgePV
Rainer Neumann is credited as an editorial contributor on SurgePV content. This profile does not assert engineering credentials, project totals, software-testing experience, education, speaking engagements, or media citations because independent verification evidence is not retained in the publication record.
CEO & Co-Founder · SurgePV
Keyur Rakholiya is identified by SurgePV as its CEO and a company co-founder. His SurgePV author page lists only role information that can be tied to the public profile below; credentials, project totals, testing claims, media appearances, and speaking engagements are not asserted without retained evidence.
