Aurora is built on aerial imagery.
Forge is built on the roof under your feet.
Aurora Solar is the category leader for aerial-imagery solar design and proposal — fast, repeatable, parametric, and well-suited to residential PV at volume. Forge is built for a different solar operator: the contractor whose dormer Aurora can't model is the dormer that loses the bid, and the commercial PV side needs engineering-stamped permit packages and certified-payroll compliance the residential workflow doesn't carry.
Side by side. Honest about both.
Hyperion is in-field LiDAR. Forge reads aerial imagery as a fallback for unreachable sites; Hyperion is the primary measurement.
Industry-leading. Aurora's aerial-imagery + shading-study workflow is the standard for residential PV at volume.
Yes. Hyperion — iPad Pro M-series LiDAR captures geometry and obstructions in-field, generates shading study and string layout same-day.
Not in scope. Aerial-only.
Plate native. Single-line, panel schedule, NEC calcs, structural letters, AHJ-specific permit packages. The interconnection submittal that took three weeks lives in three days.
Strong residential-permit packages; commercial-PV stamped engineering typically requires a separate workflow.
Treasury native. Davis-Bacon on commercial solar, OCIP/CCIP-aware reporting, prevailing wage WH-347.
Not native.
Federation native. The same chest carries the roofing assembly the solar attachment sits on, and the electrical install for the array.
Solar-only.
Public list: $599 / $1,499 / $2,999 per month. Charter at $27,000 prepaid for 36 months.
Tiered, residential-friendly pricing.
Where Aurora Solar is the right call.
- 01.Residential solar lead-gen and design-at-volume workflows where speed of proposal trumps in-field measurement.
- 02.Operators with a dedicated solar-only crew and no commercial PV with stamped-engineering submittal exposure.
- 03.Operators whose roofs are typically simple residential geometry where aerial imagery captures the shape accurately.
- 04.Solar dealerships layered on top of installer relationships — Aurora's lead-to-design workflow is the deepest in residential.
The honest line.
If the work is residential solar lead-gen at volume with simple residential roof geometry and no commercial PV side, Aurora Solar is the right choice and the workflow is meaningfully more accessible than Charter. Charter is built for the operator running commercial PV with engineering-stamped submittals and a roofing or electrical attachment.
Aerial imagery is a tool. The roof under your feet is the older one. Pick the chest built for the work.