Today, we’re excited to announce the release of Solar Professional 2026, delivering groundbreaking innovations that will transform how solar engineers, installers, and project managers design and implement photovoltaic systems. This major update introduces powerful AI-assisted design capabilities, extended reality workflows, and enhanced project automation that significantly boost productivity while maintaining the accuracy and reliability Solar Professional users demand.
AI-Powered Solar Assistant: Your Intelligent Design Partner
The centerpiece of Solar Professional 2026 is our revolutionary new Solar Assistant, an AI-powered tool that understands solar engineering principles and helps automate complex system design and optimization tasks while ensuring compliance with electrical codes and utility requirements.
“Solar Assistant represents the biggest leap forward in solar design productivity since the introduction of 3D modeling,” says Jennifer Martinez, Director of Solar Professional Product Management. “It works alongside designers, learning from their approaches and preferences to become an increasingly valuable design partner.”
Intelligent System Optimization
Solar Assistant analyzes site conditions, building characteristics, and regional climate data to automatically generate optimized PV system layouts. The system intelligently places modules, inverters, and balance of system components to maximize energy production while meeting structural and electrical requirements.
Natural Language Design Commands
Solar Professional 2026 introduces a powerful natural language interface that allows you to describe solar systems in plain English. Simply type or speak commands like “design a 15kW rooftop system with premium efficiency modules and microinverters with maximum southern exposure” or “optimize the array layout for minimum shading between 9am and 3pm year-round,” and watch as Solar Professional models your intent.
Automated Code Compliance
The new intelligent compliance system automatically checks your design against NEC requirements, local building codes, and utility interconnection standards, ensuring proper setbacks, structural loading, electrical safety, and grid integration requirements are met throughout the design process.
Extended Reality for Connected Installation
AR/VR Design Review
Teams can now enter a virtual reality environment for design review sessions, walking through the solar installation to identify potential issues, evaluate constructability, and make real-time modifications. The AR mode allows field crews to overlay the design onto actual site conditions for enhanced coordination.
Holographic Installation Guidance
Installation teams using AR devices can see holographic overlays of module placement, racking systems, and electrical connections directly on the worksite, reducing errors and improving quality control for complex installations.
Mixed Reality Performance Verification
Combining thermal imaging with augmented reality, teams can visualize predicted versus actual system performance in real-time, streamlining commissioning and troubleshooting processes across residential, commercial, and utility-scale projects.
Enhanced Design and Project Automation
Advanced Component Integration
Our next-generation component library now includes intelligent solar equipment with parametric controls for modules, inverters, optimizers, racking systems, and storage solutions. The system automatically adapts these components to specific project requirements while maintaining design intent.
Smart Solar Asset Management
Solar Professional 2026 introduces IoT-enabled asset tracking that connects your design to the installation and ongoing system monitoring. Digital twins generated during design carry complete installation, commissioning, and maintenance information accessible through mobile devices and monitoring platforms.
Automated Documentation Generation
The new documentation automation engine uses AI to understand jurisdictional requirements and automatically generates permit-ready plan sets, electrical diagrams, structural calculations, and energy production estimates that match specific AHJ requirements. The system learns from user feedback to continuously improve output quality.
Integration and Performance Breakthroughs
Cloud-Based Collaboration
Multiple team members can now work simultaneously on the same solar project with real-time synchronization. The system intelligently manages workflow coordination between sales, design, engineering, permitting, and installation teams.
Advanced Conflict Resolution
Solar Professional 2026 pro-actively prevents design conflicts before they occur. As you design, the AI system identifies potential issues between structural elements, electrical systems, and architectural features, suggesting optimal positioning alternatives.
Performance Optimization
Our new simulation engine delivers 10x faster performance when modeling complex utility-scale projects or detailed roof-mounted systems, handling models with thousands of components while maintaining accurate energy production analyses even with advanced grid integration requirements.
Early Adopters Share Their Experience
Companies participating in our beta program have already seen impressive results with Solar Professional 2026.
SunPeak Energy, a leading solar installation company, reports significant productivity gains. “The AI-powered Solar Assistant has reduced the time required for system design by approximately 60%,” says Michael Rodriguez, Engineering Director at SunPeak Energy. “This allows our teams to focus more on optimizing system performance rather than manual design tasks.”
GreenLight Solar highlights the visualization improvements. “The extended reality capabilities have transformed how we communicate complex solar designs with our customers and installation teams,” notes Lisa Chen, Operations Manager at GreenLight Solar. “We’ve seen installation issues reduced by 40% and significantly fewer change orders related to unforeseen site conditions.”
Availability and Licensing
Solar Professional 2026 will be available starting May 30, 2025:
- Available in Designer, Engineer, and Enterprise configurations
- Flexible single-user and team license options
- Included in SolarTech Solutions Suite subscriptions
- Special upgrade pricing for existing license holders
Current Solar Professional software subscription holders will receive an automatic upgrade to 2026 as part of their benefits.
Getting Started with Solar Professional 2026
To help users quickly master the new features, we’re providing comprehensive resources:
- Online courses through Solar Professional training
- Market-specific training webinars for residential, commercial, and utility-scale applications
- Regional guides for different code jurisdictions and utility requirements
- Migration assistance and workflow optimization services
Looking Forward
“Solar Professional 2026 represents our vision for the future of solar design that seamlessly blends human expertise with artificial intelligence while extending the workspace beyond the computer screen,” says Martinez. “We’re empowering solar teams to achieve unprecedented levels of efficiency and accuracy while reducing the barriers between design intent and installed reality.”
This release marks the beginning of an exciting new era for Solar Professional, with our development team already working on additional AI capabilities, expanded cloud services, and deeper integration with the SolarTech Connected Renewable Energy ecosystem.
Solar Professional 2026 Training Course
Join us to explore our Solar Professional 2026 Course, the most advanced version of industry-leading solar design software. This comprehensive course is designed to help solar engineers, designers, and installation teams master cutting-edge features like AI-powered system design, natural language commands, automated documentation, and extended reality workflows. Whether you’re working with residential, commercial, or utility-scale projects, you’ll learn how to optimize your designs using intelligent tools that boost accuracy, reduce manual tasks, and improve collaboration across design and installation teams. With real-world examples and hands-on training, this course ensures you’re fully equipped to harness the power of Solar Professional 2026 in your daily workflows.
