Solar Design Professional Services
At CAD Drafters, we provide total solar system design solutions for every phase of your project from an initial site review to permit-ready plan sets. Whether you’re installing residential solar panels, commercial PV systems, or off-grid assemblies with storage, our professional drafters and partnering engineers provide electrical drawings, production studies, accurate and compliant schematics so you’ll experience swift approvals and long-term energy savings.
Permit-Ready, Code-Compliant Designs
We provide you with high-quality electrical schematics, site plans, and structural drawings that fulfill utility and local jurisdiction requirements–to help you get through permit approval, and inspections, quickly.
End-to-end solutions
All our plans are customized for your needs, whether it’s a grid-tied system, off-grid solar plus storage, or something else, with shading analysis, PE stamped designs (as needed), and branded documents in the end.
Support to DIY & Installers
Whether you’re a contrator or a farm DIY smart person, we make the installation easy with accurate material lists, installation instructions, technical support, and our trusted partners.
Quality Civil Engineering Drafting For Project Performance Down To Site Condition
CAD Drafters offers civil engineering drafting services that are built on a foundation of trust and reliability to help in offering worthy infrastructure that withstands the test of time. Our team brings decades of local knowledge and experience while working across all sectors to support developers, engineering teams, and project managers with the collaborative expertise needed to produce drawings that are well-coordinated, compliant, and in a constructibility form that satisfies today’s demands.
We work with clients across multiple disciplines and professions with headquarters across the globe which includes clients in the U.S.A., U.K., Canada, and the Middle East. Our projects have also included a wide range of developments that include residential developments, commercial developments, roadways, water management, and public utility development. CAD Drafters has the capability as a partner to navigate through the entire process from concept to final permitting while respecting project scope and the requirements of local authorities having jurisdiction to build in their area.
Utilizing modern software and platforms such as AutoCAD Civil 3D, Revit, BIM 360, and MicroStation, CAD Drafters provides grading plans, drainage plans, erosion control plans, utility coordination plans, and site plans specifically developed with constructibility in mind – allowing stakeholders to reduce rework, stay on schedule, and progress with meaningful next steps.
Solar Design Drafting Services by CAD Drafters
CAD Drafters offers expert solar design drafting services that facilitate every step in the solar project you can think of starting with the overall conceptual layout to the final installation. Whether you are a solar project developer, installer, contractor or solar architect, CAD Drafters will accurately develop your solar design plan while meeting the technical specifications, code compliance, and individual requirements of residential, commercial, and industrial solar systems. CAD Drafters uses the latest version of AutoCAD, PVsyst, Helioscope, and other tools and services to draft working plans that expedite permits, mitigate field-related complications, and maximize energy production.
Solar Panel Layout Drawings
CAD Drafters provides accurate solar panel layout drawings that graphically depict the optimum orientation, tilt, and arrangement of panels taking into consideration the space available, allocated energy the customer is striving to achieve, and the shading study. Our drawings assist our clients with developing installation plans best optimized to realize the maximum production of the solar panels while ensuring compliance with the local municipality relevant regulations and safety standards.
Single-Line Electrical Diagrams
CAD Drafters produce precise single-line drawings to outline the electrical route of an installation from solar panels to electrical inverters, disconnects, and the utility tie-in. The single-line drawings are critical to utility approval, obtaining permits, and to electrician when installing the solar system.
Ground Mount System Design
We offer ground mount system drawings that can be fixed-tilt or tracking system, including specifications for trenching, racking layout, the type of foundation, and as-needed access paths. Our ground mount designs can be used for utility scale or off-grid solar farms and open commercial land.
Roof Mount System Design
We have extensive designs for pitched and flat roofs that take into account wind load, obstructions on the roof, and fire setbacks, as well as engineered roof load. Our roof mount designs include racking details and anchoring installation details to ensure safe and modified installation methods.
Battery Storage Integration Drawings
With solar and batteries at the forefront of energy evolution for homes, businesses and utilities, we have battery integration drawings that incorporate structural ratings if necessary, wiring diagrams, load calculations, and control configurations for systems like Tesla Powerwall, LG Chem and others.
EV Charger Integration Plans
We provide designs for combined solar and EV charger systems for residential or commercial installation. Our designs specify the routing of electrical conduits, charger placement, and capacity considerations for distributing both EV infrastructure and solar energy.
Solar Permit Plans
We will develop complete or partial permit drawing sets according local jurisdictional requirements. Typical permit sets can be complete or partial site plans, electrical schematics, structural analysis and fire compliance. Permit ready drawings speed up approval and sign-off from AHJs and Utility companies.
As-Built Solar Plans
After an installation, we develop As-Built documents to account for the defined layout and connections of the solar system. An As-Built plan is key to have for documentation, inspections, and future maintenance or expansion projects.
Solar Shading & Performance Studies
As part of our shading and irradiance studies, we use industry-standard software like PVsyst and Helioscope, to model the amount of solar access and performance of a solar system. The reports can then be used to make design decisions taking into account both losses in solar production as well as generating the greatest return on investment.
Load Calculations for Solar System Mounting
When it comes to load calculations, we can partner with structural engineers to help us pair the direct cost of structural load calculations with wind uplift and snow load calculations as part of our solar drafting package. Our goal is to ensure the systems configuration is durable, and meets building codes.
Commercial Solar Project Design
We design complicated commercial solar systems for office buildings, schools, warehouses and retail shopping centres. As a solar developer, our designs system are scalable and we produce complete designs with power joules produced by the proposed solar equipment, type (generic) of equipment, and a guide for representatives to follow during installation.
Utility-Scale Solar Drafting
For utility-grade drafting for large solar farms/grid connected systems, we provide utility drafting support services such as substation layouts, high voltage routing, utility coordination documents, and putting together sub-category maps for large area sites using GIS software.
Sample CAD Works
CAD Drafting Project & Sample
Land Scaping
Shop Drawing
Plumbing Sample
Mechanical Sample
Low-Cost, High-Flexibility, High-Quality Solar Design - On Demand
Utilizing freelance solar design is a smart strategy for companies seeking to lower overhead costs while not sacrificing quality or reliability. CAD Drafters freelance solar design professionals will provide fees-based drafting services with clean and accurate drafting, quick revisions, and expertise on all major solar design software programs regardless of whether you are designing rooftop residential systems, commercial solar arrays, or utility-sized projects. CAD Drafters will work remotely but provide a seamless solution to your team, helping to keep your project on time, compliant, and installation-ready.
Pay-As-You-Go Service for Solar Installers and Developers
Since CAD Drafters operates on a freelance basis, you only pay for the solar drafting support you need and only when you need it. This flexible model is attractive to solar installers, contractors (EPC), and independent developers who want to add professional design to its business model but do not want to pay for a full-fledged design team.
Efficiency, precision, and regulation without the overhead
Our process has been devised to keep revisions down, streamline AHJ approval, and improve field installation, while providing the kind of responsiveness and flexibility that is only available through a freelance service.
Trusted Clients
How We Draft
- Organize your sketches and design ideas
- Build backup CAD 3D Model
- Review for accuracy
- Review codes and project requirements
- Add notes and dimensions
- Make shop-ready drawing sets
- Generate the first round in CAD 2D
- Add service and structure details
- Deliver in your requested format
What Customers Say
Why Choose CAD Drafters for Freelance Solar Design Services?
CAD Drafters is one of the most trusted partners of solar companies, contractors, and engineers searching for reliable, affordable and expert-level, freelance design services. Our team has extensive experience in residential, commercial, and utility solar design, from the simple PV layouts and single-line diagrams all the way to permit-ready documentation and Interconnection drawings. Our team works under the same or similar software platforms regularly used by solar professionals; including AutoCAD, Helioscope, PVsyst, and Aurora Solar, to fairly and accurately ensure that your project is compliant with jurisdictional codes, utility requirements and your integration needs. Our team will offer flexible engagement models and reasonably expedient turnaround times while providing you with a solid commitment to accurate and compliant designs. CAD Drafters has the resources and commitment to make it easier to develop your solar projects and remove roadblocks and errors associated with turnaround times, costs, risks and timelines.
Industries We Serve with Expert Solar Design Professional Services
Residential Housing
Commercial Builders
Hospitality and Hotels
Mixed-Use Development
Industrial Facilities
Institutional Projects
Frequently Asked Questions
What types of solar projects can your freelance designers work on?
Our freelance solar designers can handle many types of solar projects. This includes residential rooftop systems, commercial solar installations, ground mounted systems, and even utility scale PV arrays. Each project is different, and our freelance designers take into account the immediate design, layout, and compliance requirements for each project.
Can you provide permit-ready solar drawings for any jurisdiction in the U.S.?
Yes! We are very familiar with jurisdiction-specific permitting requirements in the U.S. Our freelance designers can create permit-ready permit documentation, including PV layouts, electrical single -line diagrams, structural details and NEC compliant designs.
What solar design software do you use to generate your designs?
Our designers use a variety of solar design software, including AutoCAD, Helioscope, Aurora Solar, PVsyst, and SolarEdge Designer, to create precise, compatible, and code-compliant drawings and simulations.
What is the turnaround time for a project?
Delivery turnaround times vary for each project based on complexity but because of our freelance model, we are able to deliver projects faster than average. For typical residential design projects we can turn around most projects in 24-48 hours, while larger projects take a few days. We always talk about timelines upfront and deliver on what we promise.
Do you provide ongoing freelance support or do you do one-off projects?
Both! We provide one-off design projects as well as long-term freelancing partnerships. Whether you need support on occasion when you have a higher workload, or you want a continual, remote design resource, CAD Drafters can help to flex with your needs.