Aerial Roof Scan

An aerial roof scan refers to the use of high-resolution aerial imagery—captured by satellites, drones, or manned aircraft—to analyze and measure rooftops for solar design. These scans provide accurate data on roof dimensions, slopes, obstructions, shading objects, material types, and usable area, enabling solar designers to create precise layouts without visiting the site in person.

Aerial roof scanning has become a cornerstone of modern solar workflows, particularly for remote design, lead qualification, automated layouts, and volume-based residential solar design. With today’s high-resolution imagery and 3D modeling, aerial scans often replace physical measurements entirely.

Key Takeaways

Aerial roof scans use satellite, aircraft, drone, or LiDAR imaging to analyze rooftops remotely.
They provide accurate measurements for roof planes, pitch, shading, obstructions, and usable solar area.
Essential for remote solar design, proposal generation, and layout automation.
Reduce or eliminate site visits, speeding up the sales and engineering process.
Enable high-accuracy shading and production modeling when combined with tools like SurgePV.

What Is an Aerial Roof Scan?

An aerial roof scan is a digitally captured, high-accuracy overhead image of a building’s roof. The scan includes dimensional and spatial information that solar design software can use to:

Measure roof planes
Identify ridges, hips, and valleys
Detect shading objects (trees, chimneys, HVAC units)
Calculate roof pitch
Determine usable solar placement zones

It creates a digital snapshot that designers, EPCs, and sales teams can immediately turn into a full solar layout—often within minutes.

Aerial scans are foundational to remote solar design tools like SurgePV’s solar designing platform and help eliminate the need for expensive site visits early in the sales process.

How Aerial Roof Scans Work

Aerial roof scanning relies on multiple imaging and mapping technologies:

1. Satellite Imagery

Captured from orbit
Good for large-scale mapping
Resolution varies (30–10 cm typical)

2. Aircraft-Based (Ortophoto) Imagery

Very high resolution (5–7 cm)
Ideal for roof measurement accuracy
Often used in professional solar design platforms

3. Drone Roof Scans

Extremely detailed images and 3D point clouds
Precise measurements for complex structures
Useful when satellite imagery is outdated or obstructed
See related: Drone-Based Solar Survey

4. LiDAR Scanning

Uses laser pulses to create a 3D elevation model
Shows roof surfaces, tree heights, shading, slopes
See: LiDAR Roof Model

5. AI Interpretation

Modern solar software (like SurgePV) uses AI to automatically detect:

Usable roof faces
Setback areas
Obstructions
Racking layout zones

This dramatically reduces design time and human error.

Types / Variants of Aerial Roof Scans

1. 2D Orthographic Roof Imagery

Top-down aerial photos used for general measurements.

2. 3D Point Cloud / Mesh Models

Generated by drones or LiDAR for highly accurate roof structure analysis.

3. Oblique Roof Imagery

Angled images showing roof faces for elevation and pitch detection.

4. Multi-Spectral / Infrared Imagery

Used occasionally for identifying roof material or heat signatures.

5. AI-Based Roof Scan Interpretation

Software automatically identifies roof geometry, pitch, edges, and shade.

How It’s Measured

Aerial roof scans produce several measurable parameters:

SurgePV’s platform also integrates roof pitch calculators and sun position tools:

Typical Values / Ranges

Practical Guidance for Solar Designers & Installers

1. Use aerial scans for preliminary and full solar designs

Aerial scans eliminate early site visits, speeding up proposals and lowering cost.

2. Validate imagery age

Older imagery may miss:

Roof replacements
New HVAC units
Neighboring structures or trees

3. Use 3D scans for complex roofs

Multifamily and commercial buildings benefit from LiDAR or drone scans.

4. Confirm fire setbacks

Setbacks differ by AHJ.

See: AHJ Compliance

5. Combine roof scans with shading tools

SurgePV’s shadow analysis produces accurate month-by-month shading predictions.

6. Integrate scans into automated design workflows

SurgePV’s auto-design engine converts scans → layout → 3D model → proposal in minutes.

Real-World Examples

1. Residential Solar Sales Team

A sales rep uses an aerial roof scan inside SurgePV to measure a home’s roof and automatically place solar panels. A proposal is generated in under 5 minutes—without a site visit.

2. Commercial Building Assessment

A warehouse with complex rooftop HVAC is analyzed via orthographic imagery + AI-based segmentation. Designers identify ideal east/west planes for maximizing annual yield.

3. Utility-Scale Feasibility Study

LiDAR scans help engineers detect tree heights and terrain slopes before site grading decisions are made.