Is Diaz Editor really cheaper than Aurora Solar over 5 years?

Aurora Solar Basic at $159/month = $9,540 over 5 years. Aurora Premium $259/month = $15,540 over 5 years. Diaz Editor founding lifetime is €99 once. Even at the regular €1,000 Pro price, you save €8,000-€14,000 over 5 years per seat.

Does Diaz Editor have LIDAR shade analysis like Aurora?

No. Diaz Editor supports manual shade objects and horizon shading. For 90% of residential and small-commercial installs, this is sufficient. For utility-scale or NEM 3.0 compliance work, Aurora's LIDAR pipeline is the right tool. Honest fit: Diaz Editor is for solo and SMB installers doing 5-30 residential systems per month.

Can I generate permit packs and string calculations?

Yes. Built-in PDF permit pack includes layout, electrical single-line, BOM, and performance report. String sizing calculator is available free at /tools/calculator. For NL: NEN1010-aligned references. For US: NEC inverter sizing. For ES: RD 244/2019 references.

What about battery sizing and heat-pump integration?

Component library includes batteries (Sessy, Sungrow, Sigenergy, Tesla Powerwall, Victron), inverters (SolarEdge, Enphase, GoodWe, Growatt), and heat pumps. Place them on the building model, get cable runs and BOM in one project. Sizing is rule-of-thumb based — for engineering-grade calculations, PV*SOL premium still has the depth. Diaz covers design + handoff.

CAD for solar installers

Solar installer use cases

Residential PV + battery (0-30 kW): Sketch the roof, place panels, drop the battery in the meter cupboard, run cable paths. Generate the client PDF in 15 minutes.
Solar + heat pump + EV integration: One project covers PV, ATW heat pump, EV charger, and home battery. Cable runs visible across disciplines.
String sizing and permit packs: Built-in string calculator + PDF permit pack. NL: NEN1010 references. US: NEC inverter sizing. ES: RD 244/2019.
Post-saldering 2027 design (NL): Battery-first sizing for households losing salderingsregeling. Three household profiles pre-modelled.
Client proposals: 3D view of the proposed system wins jobs against shops sending Word docs. Founding members report 20-40% close-rate uplift.
Sub-contractor handoff: DXF export to electricians + roofers separately, layer-per-discipline.

Why solar installers choose Diaz Editor over Aurora / OpenSolar

Vs Aurora Solar: €99 founding vs $9,540-$15,540 over 5 years. Aurora wins for utility-scale + LIDAR + NEM 3.0; Diaz wins for solo + residential + EU markets.
Vs OpenSolar: Both affordable, but OpenSolar is cloud-only with hardware-distributor monetisation pressure. Diaz is local-only, no upsells, no API price changes (which happened April 2026).
Vs PV*SOL premium: PV*SOL wins for engineering-grade simulation. Diaz wins for design + permit-pack delivery at one-time price.
Vs Solar Monkey NL: Solar Monkey is proposal-focused cloud. Diaz is desktop CAD for the full design-to-handoff workflow.
Multi-discipline: solar + battery + heat pump + electrical + plumbing + structural in one project. Single-discipline tools charge $79-$200/month each.
Local-only — client roof images, addresses, system designs stay on your machine. GDPR-friendly by architecture.

Compare in detail: vs Aurora Solar · vs OpenSolar · vs PVsyst · vs Helioscope · vs SketchUp Solar.

Tool	5-year cost (1 seat)
Aurora Solar Basic ($159/mo)	$9,540
Aurora Solar Premium ($259/mo)	$15,540
HelioScope Basic ($159/mo)	$9,540
SurgePV ($633/user/yr)	$3,165
OpenSolar (free + API fees post-April 2026)	variable
Diaz Editor Founding Beta	€99 (once)
Diaz Editor Pro (regular)	€1,000 (once, 3 seats)

Frequently asked questions

Why pay €99 if OpenSolar is free?

OpenSolar is cloud-only, monetised via hardware distributors. Your client data lives on their servers, you see upsell prompts, you're locked in (April 2026 they introduced paid API access). Diaz is one-time, fully local, no upsells.

Is Diaz Editor really cheaper than Aurora over 5 years?

Aurora Basic $159/mo × 60 = $9,540. Aurora Premium $259/mo × 60 = $15,540. Diaz Editor founding €99 once. Save €8,000-€14,000.

Does it have LIDAR shade analysis?

No. Manual shade objects + horizon shading. For 90% of residential installs, sufficient. For utility-scale or NEM 3.0, Aurora is the right tool. Diaz is for solo + SMB doing 5-30 residential systems/month.

Can I generate permit packs?

Yes. Built-in PDF with layout, single-line, BOM, performance report. NL: NEN1010. US: NEC. ES: RD 244/2019 references.

Battery sizing and heat-pump integration?

Library includes batteries (Sessy/Sungrow/Sigenergy/Tesla/Victron), inverters, heat pumps. Place on building model, get cable runs + BOM. Rule-of-thumb sizing — for engineering-grade, PV*SOL premium has depth.

What you get for €99

One-time. Lifetime. 3 seats. No subscription.

Diaz Editor Pro — lifetime license for your full workday ~~€1.000~~
3 seats — you + your foreman + your work-prep ~~+€600~~
All trades in one tool — building, carpentry, electrical, plumbing, mechanical, solar 4 tools saved
DXF + IFC import — works with any architect, contractor, or installer Included
1-click PDF export — quote, work-drawing, and BOM in one pack Included
DXF + CNC export for the workshop — cut lists, sheet layouts, mill paths Included
All future updates — v0.4, v0.5, v0.6... Included
Founding-member feedback board — your voice on the roadmap Exclusive

Built for self-employed tradespeople + small teams (1-10 people). Not for architects or utility-scale engineering — AutoCAD and Aurora are better at those.

Regular price (after founding):

~~€1.000~~ €99 today

Become a founding member — €99 →

100 spots total. Stripe checkout. Instant download after payment.

CAD for solar installers
Panels + battery + heat pump + inverter on one building model. €99 lifetime.

Solar installer use cases

Why solar installers choose Diaz Editor over Aurora / OpenSolar

5-year cost: solo solar installer

Pricing

Founding Beta

Pro

Team

Frequently asked questions

Try Diaz Editor — €99 lifetime

For other trades

What you get for €99

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