Comparison
Ritwerk and PVsyst, side by side.
PVsyst is a simulation program for detailed studies of PV systems. The designer is a solar design tool for the salespeople and system designers at an installation company.
Updated
What PVsyst is
PVsyst comes from PVsyst SA in Switzerland and runs on Windows only. PVsyst describes the program as a package for studying, sizing and analysing PV systems, aimed at architects, engineers and researchers. The licence is per workstation.
The database holds around 12,500 modules and 4,500 inverters. The 3D scene is drawn in the program or imported from a CAD program, the map image comes from Bing and the elevation data from a separate service, and far shading is taken as a horizon from Meteonorm or PVGIS.
Side by side
| Ritwerk | PVsyst | |
|---|---|---|
| Runs in | The browser, on a computer and iPad, with no account | Windows, licence per workstation |
| Components | Register of 570 products (120 panel models, 415 inverters, 35 batteries) from many manufacturers, with product sheets and datasheets; you can add your own panels | Around 12,500 modules and 4,500 inverters |
| Base data | Aerial imagery from Esri; the outline is traced on the photo and Inner edges raises the roof in 3D | Maps from Bing and OpenStreetMap, ground image and elevation data; 3D scene drawn or imported from CAD |
| Shading | The sun’s path every month plus sky view, at nine points per panel; the loss per panel | Near shading in 3D, horizon via Meteonorm and PVGIS, electrical shading loss |
| Strings | Longest strings within Voc at −25 °C, Vmp at 70 °C and the current per MPPT, with an explanation | Conditions against the inverter (Voc at −10 °C by default, MPPT window); automatic proposal: not stated |
| Yield data | PVGIS 5.3 from the European Commission, simulated hour by hour | Meteonorm 9, NASA-POWER, PVGIS, NSRDB, Solcast, SolarAnywhere, Solargis |
| Mounting and loads | Snow and wind loads to the Swedish BFS 2024:6 in the designer: zones, fixings and largest c/c spacing for 12 systems from Nordmount, SOLTOP and Weland; ballast in the manufacturer’s software | Not stated |
| Battery | Battery sizing tests every size hour by hour; control by hourly price in SE1–SE4 | Storage and self-consumption; EV: not stated |
| For the customer | PDF report in A4 at three levels, with a 3D view, strings, yield, shading and economics | Final report with NPV, LCOE, ROI and payback period |
| Interface | Swedish, English and German | Twelve languages, including German, Spanish and Italian, not Swedish |
| Price | Designer at no cost; Pro €49 per user per month excl. VAT, with volume discount (pre-order) | CHF 700 per year (PVsyst 8 Professional), excl. VAT |
The details on PVsyst come from the vendor’s own pages and were checked on 14 November 2026; the sources are listed at the end of the page. "Not stated" means the detail could not be verified there. The Ritwerk column describes the designer as it is today.
When PVsyst is the better fit
For detailed energy studies ahead of large projects, and when the client or the financier asks for a PVsyst report. PVsyst calculates the electrical shading loss with a partition model or a detailed module layout, and weather data can be taken from seven providers or imported.
PVsyst also suits systems whose 3D surroundings already exist as a CAD model, or when the economics are to be presented with NPV and LCOE in a report that can be customised.
When Ritwerk is the better fit
In the installer’s sales work, when a proposal is to be produced from an aerial photo. The outline is traced on the photo, Inner edges raises the roof in 3D and the panels are taken from a register of 570 products. The strings are checked at −25 °C and 70 °C, and the designer proposes the longest strings the limits allow.
Mounting and loads, savings and payback period are included, and the PDF report is made to be handed to the customer. Ritwerk runs in the browser, on an iPad too, with an interface in Swedish, English and German.
Shading loss per panel
The shading analysis follows the sun’s path every month and also counts the part of the sky that dormers, chimneys and walls hide, at nine points per panel. The loss is shown in colour panel by panel and is deducted from the yield when the analysis covers all the panels.
Sources
- PVsyst – product page (Windows, weather data, languages, economics) – checked 14 November 2026
- PVsyst – shop (licences and prices) – checked 14 November 2026
- PVsyst – subscription contract (PDF, 2 October 2026) – checked 14 November 2026
- PVsyst – help: about the program – checked 14 November 2026
- PVsyst – help: modules in the database – checked 14 November 2026
- PVsyst – help: inverters in the database – checked 14 November 2026
- PVsyst – help: ground image and topography – checked 14 November 2026
- PVsyst – help: import from SketchUp and other CAD programs – checked 14 November 2026
- PVsyst – help (version 7): the partition model for electrical shading – checked 14 November 2026
- PVsyst – help (version 7): voltage conditions against the inverter – checked 14 November 2026
- PVsyst – help: economic evaluation – checked 14 November 2026
Questions and answers
Questions and answers
What does PVsyst cost?
PVsyst 8 Professional costs 700 Swiss francs per year according to the PVsyst shop, with a discount from two licences. According to the contract, prices exclude VAT, and customers in the EU with a valid VAT registration number are invoiced without VAT.
Which languages is PVsyst available in?
According to the PVsyst product page, the program is available in twelve languages, among them English, German, French, Spanish and Italian, but not Swedish. Support is given in English and French.
Does PVsyst work on a Mac?
PVsyst states that the program runs on Windows only and refers to instructions for anyone who wants to use it on a Mac.
Can Ritwerk replace PVsyst?
Ritwerk is built for the installer’s proposal to the customer, with yield from the PVGIS weather year, a loss chain and shading per panel. If the client or the financier requires a PVsyst report, you need PVsyst.
Read next
- Shading analysis per panelSun path, sky view and shading loss per panel – with dormers, chimneys, trees and walls.
- Energy and batteryConsumption profile or hourly readings, PVGIS 5.3, an hour-by-hour simulation and the battery sized against hourly prices.
- String designVoc at −25 °C, Vmp at 70 °C, current per MPPT – and the longest strings the limits allow.
Try it on a real roof.
The designer opens in your browser, with no account. Search for an address and start drawing.