One Design Platform, All Skill Levels
At Scanifly, we’ve always understood that different roles need different design tools. That’s why we’re excited to announce SimpleDesign – a simplified view for creating and presenting PV designs that complements our more technical design environment.
All Scanifly customers, whether you use PrelimDesign, DroneDesign, or Design Services (or all products), now have access to two distinct interface options:
- ProDesign: Our comprehensive design environment with full customization capabilities, most commonly used by PV designers, CAD drafters, engineers, and more technical sales reps
- SimpleDesign: A simplified interface that makes solar design approachable for everyone, most commonly used by sales reps, project managers, and with homeowners
While SimpleDesign is available as a toggle option in both products, it is primarily used with PrelimDesign and the selling motion, helping teams create compelling customer presentations without overwhelming technical details.
Secondarily, it can be used by sales reps and project managers during design verification meetings before or after the sale closes.
As our CEO, Jason Steinberg, explains, “We started with drone designs, which is our origin and the most technically rigorous, complex, and accurate PV design type possible. Given the feedback from many contractors and knowing we had all the foundational PV system design features already in our software (i.e. map layers, shading and array building tools, etc.), we realized the need to create a preliminary design tool using remote data that pairs well with a proposal. The natural efficiencies of centralizing your entire design process in one software is unmatched, especially in an era when consolidating software bloat and reducing expenses is so key. Furthermore, SimpleDesign fulfills our mission of helping anyone become a PV system designer as well as providing contractors with technology to elevate the quality of work they do and lead with educational, informative, and engaging PV outputs and capabilities.”
Why We Built SimpleDesign
SimpleDesign was created based on direct customer feedback, particularly from companies with:
- Less technical sales representatives who need an intuitive tool for preliminary designs
- Teams that want to impress homeowners with polished visual presentations
- Organizations looking to streamline the design-to-proposal workflow (without overpaying!)
SimpleDesign was built to simplify the software interface, primarily for less technical users and client-facing interactions. With fewer buttons and clicks, it’s more intuitive and approachable for sales conversations.
Sales leaders will also appreciate the built-in guardrails that maintain quality and accuracy while giving their teams confidence during customer presentations. The main focus is PrelimDesign for sales interactions, though it’s also available in DroneDesign.
Even experienced solar professionals find SimpleDesign valuable for cleaner customer presentations, less overwhelming post-sale follow-ups, and faster system modifications during conversations.
Jason also notes, “The ProDesign environment shows technical expertise well, but if you want something more visually digestible for kitchen table selling or design follow-ups, this simplified environment provides significant benefits.”
How SimpleDesign Works
SimpleDesign offers two permission levels to match your team’s technical abilities:
Level 1: Grid Mode
Perfect for less technical team members, Level 1 keeps things simple by allowing users to:
- Turn individual modules on/off with a simple click or drag
- Enable/disable roof planes with a just double-click
- View real-time production values and utility bill offset percentages
- Select different module types when needed
With these guardrails in place, there’s no risk of users accidentally removing trees, violating AHJ-specific setbacks, or placing modules on obstructions.
Level 2: Non-Grid Mode
For more technically adept team members, Level 2 adds functionality while maintaining safeguards:
- Select and shift entire arrays
- Copy and paste design elements
- Try different module orientations
- Make custom adjustments while respecting setbacks and obstructions
Both levels include powerful visualization tools like time-of-day shading simulations and a new irradiance map that wow clients while providing valuable technical insights.
Hassle-Free Integration with Your Workflow
SimpleDesign isn’t just a new look and feel – it’s fully integrated into our ecosystem:
Generate AI Designs in Seconds: Produce AI-based layouts with just a property address, right from the homeowner’s kitchen table.
Faster Design Services Ordering: Order Site Models and MaxFill designs directly from your proposal tool or CRM through our API integrations.
Embeddable Design Environment: Embed and access SimpleDesign from within your proposal software or CRM, keeping sales teams on one platform.
Compare Designs Side-by-Side: Easily compare preliminary designs created in SimpleDesign with detailed drone-based models, allowing you to:
- See what was originally proposed versus what can actually fit, like an automatic true-up
- Check for missed obstructions or vegetation
- Visualize accurate shading compared to LIDAR or Google 3D estimates
- Communicate necessary changes with customers transparently
“You can clearly see what was proposed and check if the system actually fits. This allows you to catch any missed obstructions and show customers accurate shading compared to LIDAR or Google 3D estimates,” explains Scanifly Sales Engineer, Santiago Jaramillo, who helps onboard and train new Scanifly users.
Export to Proposal Tools: We’re expanding our direct integrations with leading proposal tools, with current support for:
- Subcontractor Hub (residential)
- Energy Tool Base (commercial)
- SunRaise Technology (financing)
- Plus three more integrations coming this quarter!
The Path Forward: What’s Next for SimpleDesign
This is just the beginning for SimpleDesign. In the coming months, we’ll be adding:
Additional AI enhancements to further speed up design while minimally eroding quality and accuracy
- Automatic fire setbacks by roof edge
- Better connectivity across roof segments
- More intuitive module library management
- More accessible export options
- Optimized performance for lower bandwidth computers, addressing load times and calculations
- Additional AI enhancements to further speed up design while minimally eroding quality and accuracy
Experience SimpleDesign Today
Ready to see how SimpleDesign can simplify your sales motion and help you close more deals? Current Scanifly customers can access SimpleDesign right now – just look for the toggle in the lower right corner of your design environment in both PrelimDesign (remote design) and DroneDesign (on-site design) products.
Not a Scanifly customer yet? Contact our team for a personalized demo of SimpleDesign and our full suite of solar design tools.
