Patent ID: 7500391

Claim:
A method for identifying the solar potential of rooftops comprising: entering, into a geographic information system, solar-potential criteria and three-dimensional spatial data and tabular data, including parcel addresses, for a selected area including parcels on which the rooftops are located; collecting three-dimensional aerial data of the selected area, including the rooftops in the selected area, wherein each of the rooftops comprises one or more rooftop shapes; calculating solar azimuth and altitude angles for regular intervals to generate XYZ shadow simulation data representing shade cast onto the rooftops by obstructions; intersecting the shadow simulation data with XYZ coordinates of the rooftop shapes to generate the shade cast by the obstructions onto the rooftops for specific intervals over a specific period of time; and using the tabular data and the shade cast by the obstructions to determine addresses and per-parcel specifications of buildings having said rooftops meeting the solar-potential criteria.