WhyProve a real team uses this every day
Aurora, OpenSolar and Arka are 100x our size. Prospects doubt that a smaller tool is stable and that it was designed by people who know the work. Heaven Designs answers both doubts: we run a real design team that uses SurgePV every day on real projects. These videos put that team on camera.
The two videosOne shoot day, one site, a full feature library
Video 1
Designers' favourite feature
One Heaven engineer per clip names one SurgePV feature they use, says what it saves them, and stops. 1–4 sentences, 10–25 seconds, in their own language with English subtitles. Aim for 12–20 clips across nationalities, genders and languages.
Video 2
Designer walkthrough on an installed HGE site
A Heaven designer screen-records a real HGE site in SurgePV and narrates each feature as they use it. Each step cuts to drone and ground footage of the same roof, already installed. 6–10 min master; every chapter also exports as its own feature demo.
Video 1: the three prompts (no script)
- Which feature do you open first on a hard project?
- What did you do before it existed, or in the tool you used before?
- What does it save you: minutes, a redraw, a site revisit, an argument with the client?
Video 1 shoot spec
- 4K landscape, face centred with headroom, so 9:16 and 1:1 crops work from the same file.
- Same background and lighting for everyone, so the clips read as one team.
- Lav mic, clean room audio, 10 s of room tone per person.
- At each person's desk with SurgePV behind them. Record a 30 s screen capture of their feature for B-roll.
- Lower third: first name, role, city/country, years designing.
- Written release from each person before the shoot. Ask the team; don't assign people.
Video 1 cut map
| Cut | Length | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Master | 2–3 min | Homepage, About, sales deck, YouTube |
| Feature singles | 10–25 s | Feature pages, social posts, in-app tooltips |
| Language cuts | 60–90 s | Country pages and regional ads |
| Montage | 30 s | Paid social (9:16, 1:1) |
| Supercut by feature | 45–60 s | Three designers on one feature; battle cards |
| Onboarding inserts | 15 s | "<name>'s tip: …" first-run tips |
Section 1Which features go on camera
The ruleFilm only what a real user gets on the live app today, and only what the Heaven team actually uses.
Heaven designers rated SurgePV 6–7/10 against SketchUp on 13 Oct. If a designer praises a feature they don't use, it will show on camera, and an Arka user will point it out in the comments. So this list is a menu for the engineers to choose from, not a script.
Feature status comes from the ClickUp mirror (last synced 12 Oct) and the requirements register (20 Oct, addendum 25 Oct).
Tier 1
Live on the app, safe to film
Listed in the order a design is built, which is also the order Video 2 follows.
| # | Feature | Live since | Likely angle (in the engineer's own words) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Google 3D imagery + Fit to 3D for roof heights | R1/R2 | Building heights come from the 3D mesh, not site photos or a tape-measure visit |
| 2 | Composite roof / pitch tool, flat roof with parapet and setbacks | R1–R3 | Complex roofs drawn in minutes; setbacks start at the parapet |
| 3 | Obstructions and trees, azimuth-aligned snapping when repeated | 10 Aug | Water tanks, staircases and trees placed fast and casting real shade |
| 4 | Walkways, handrails, safety lines | R1–R3 | Things that get forgotten in SketchUp but a real rooftop needs |
| 5 | Snap system plus mirror / repeat / copy | R2–R4 | Repeating blocks across a building without redrawing them |
| 6 | Fill face and add table / lasso add table | R1–R3 | A full roof filled in one action, with spacing rules applied |
| 7 | Right-click orientation (landscape/portrait) while placing | 21 Sep | A layout change that used to mean redrawing the whole table |
| 8 | Remove single panels without breaking the structure | R1 | Clearing panels around a vent without rebuilding the table |
| 9 | Structure types with editing (TSL: fixed tilt, shed, flush) | 6 Oct | The structure HGE actually installs, shown in 3D and editable |
| 10 | Semi-automatic stringing | 12 Oct | Strings done in minutes, with inverter limits checked as you go |
| 11 | SLD generated from the design, PDF and DXF export | R2 | The single-line diagram comes from the design, not drawn in AutoCAD |
| 12 | Conduit and cable tray | 12 Oct | Cable routing on the roof, for C&I jobs |
| 13 | Sun simulation, heatmap, solar access | R1–R2 | You see the shade before you commit to a layout |
| 14 | Bill upload (PDF) into the energy page | Aug | Consumption entered from the bill instead of typed in |
| 15 | Module/inverter search by size and AI datasheet upload | 17 Sep | Finding the right Waaree module without scrolling 50 pages |
| 16 | Customizable proposal + 3D link (mobile) | R2 | The customer opens their roof in 3D on their phone |
| 17 | Design sharing in the org and duplicate design | Aug | Two designers on one project, or a v2 option for the client |
| 18 | SketchUp and AutoCAD export | Aug | The design goes into the tools the rest of the job still uses |
Tier 2
Confirm on the live app before filming
These were on dev at the last sync. Someone has to open the live app and check each one before it's filmed.
Battery in the studioP90 / P75 / P99Hourly/monthly data exportShift multi-select & drag-selectManual table editsBill AI for ToU & tiered ratesMulti-inverter SLDSize-based incentives3D model importPanel textureBOM revampRecommender revamp3D link button on proposal pageFeet-inch input
Check before booking any screen recordingsThe UI revamp was already on dev on 3 Sep. If it ships soon after we record, every recording will show the old interface. Ask engineering for its release date. If it's within a month, record after it ships.
Do not film yet
| Feature | Why |
|---|---|
| Smart Fill | Prototype and spec only (27 Oct) |
| Pitched roof / Smartroof | Dev in progress; 41 open Smartroof bugs |
| 3D editing, push/pull, erase part of a polygon | HGE's own requirements, not built yet |
| Editable/welded structures, carport, truss, ground mount | Planning or backlog; editable structures are HGE's top complaint |
| Fill to a kW capacity limit | Backlog |
| AI roof / obstruction detection, Clara | Roof geometry still has bugs and there's no PRD. Prospects already ask "where is the AI" |
| DXF import, PVsyst export, CRM, BESS, Structure BOM | Not shipped |
| Solar access on large projects | Slow. On camera, use a residential or small C&I roof only |
Video 1How to hand out features
- Ten-minute poll with the Heaven team. Show the Tier 1 list. Each person picks two: the one they use most, and the one that saved them the most time on a real job.
- Assign from the poll so the 18 features are covered. Each person gets one of their two picks. Cover every stage (site, panels, structure, electrical, energy, proposal) so the master runs in design order.
- Two people on the same feature is fine for the big ones (fill face, stringing, structure, 3D link). That gives the "three designers, one feature" supercut.
- Before the shoot, each engineer opens their feature on the live app and records the 30 s screen clip on a real Heaven project. If it misbehaves, they swap to their second pick.
- Ask who has used Arka, Aurora, OpenSolar, PVsyst or SketchUp professionally. Their "what I did before" line becomes the clip for that "Switching from" page.
Section 2Video 2: designer walkthrough on an installed HGE site
2.1 Pick the site (one day)
Choose from the approved sites using these criteria, in this order. Keep one backup in case the first fails the as-built check.
- The as-built matches a design we can show. Panel count, table layout, structure type, inverter and string count all match the install photos.
- Flat RCC roof or shed. Pitched roof isn't live yet.
- Shows several Tier 1 features: more than one roof level, a parapet, an obstruction (water tank, staircase, tree), walkways, a TSL-type structure, a string inverter, and cable tray or conduit if possible.
- Residential or small C&I (under about 100 kWp), so solar access and heatmaps compute quickly on camera.
- Has generation data from the inverter portal covering a few months. This is optional, but very strong if we have it (see 2.4).
- Good drone access: no airspace restriction, roof visible from above, safe for a ground crew.
2.2 Pre-production (about 4 days)
| Step | What | Who |
|---|---|---|
| As-built check | Compare the design with install photos: panel count, rows, structure legs, inverter location, strings. Write down any differences. | Presenting designer + HGE site engineer |
| Redraw on the live app | Rebuild the site in SurgePV on the app build, not dev, using only Tier 1 features. Save a copy at the end of each chapter (VIDEO-01-site, VIDEO-02-roof, …) so any chapter can be re-recorded from a clean start. | Presenting designer |
| Clean demo org | Customer name and street hidden or replaced (keep the city). No other customers visible in project lists, no test data in the inventory. | Presenting designer |
| Chapter outline | One line per chapter: what's on screen, the one point to make, the matching real-world shot. Bullet points, not a script. | Presenting designer + producer |
| Real-shot list | Each feature visible on the real roof (parapet, walkway, structure legs, inverter, ACDB/DCDB, cable tray), so the crew films the match for every chapter. | Producer |
| Shadow time | In the sun simulation, pick a date and time when a clear obstruction shadow falls on the array. Film the real roof at the same time of day for the match cut. | Presenting designer |
2.3 Chapters (6–10 min master; each chapter also exports alone)
| # | Chapter | On screen | Real-world match | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Cold open | 3D view, slow orbit | Drone orbit of the installed array, same angle; match cut | 5–8 s |
| 1 | The site | Project page: location, roof type, customer goal, sanctioned load | Designer on the roof or at the gate, one line to camera | 20 s |
| 2 | Imagery and heights | Map, Google 3D, Fit to 3D | Drone top-down, north-up, same framing as the 2D view | 30–45 s |
| 3 | Roof, parapet, setbacks | Composite / flat roof with parapet; setbacks applied | Ground shot along the parapet | 30–45 s |
| 4 | Obstructions and trees | Water tank, staircase, tree, azimuth snapping | The same water tank and tree in real life | 30–45 s |
| 5 | Walkways and handrails | Walkway placement | The walkway on the real roof | 20–30 s |
| 6 | Panel layout | Fill face or add table, orientation change, removing single panels | Drone pass over the rows | 45–60 s |
| 7 | Structure | TSL structure in 3D, one edit | Close-up of the real legs and purlins | 30–45 s |
| 8 | Stringing | Semi-automatic stringing, inverter limits | The installed inverter, its label, string wiring | 45–60 s |
| 9 | SLD and cabling | SLD generated, conduit / cable tray | ACDB/DCDB and cable tray on site | 30–45 s |
| 10 | Shade | Sun simulation at the chosen time, heatmap, solar access | Real shadow at the same time of day, side by side | 30–45 s |
| 11 | Energy | Bill upload, tariff, expected generation | Inverter portal: actual generation (only if 2.4 passes) | 30–45 s |
| 12 | Proposal | Proposal pages and the 3D link on a phone | Customer or HGE rep holding the phone on the roof (optional) | 30–45 s |
| 13 | Close | Proposal page next to a photo of the installed system | Designer's one closing line | 10–15 s |
Optional chapter 14: SketchUp/AutoCAD export, for the "works with your tools" message.
2.4 Predicted vs actual generation (decide before the edit)
Putting SurgePV's predicted monthly generation next to the inverter's real figures is the strongest proof we could show, and also the riskiest. Pull the real data first and compare it privately:
Within about ±10% on annual energy
After allowing for real downtime and soiling: put it in chapter 11.
Further off
Leave it out and don't publish it. Raise it with engineering as a calibration case: it relates to the known "global irradiance too high" issue.
2.5 Recording spec
Screen
- 2560×1440 (or 1080p) at 60 fps in OBS. Browser at 110–125% zoom so the UI is readable on a phone.
- Clean Chrome profile: no bookmarks bar, no extensions, notifications off.
- Highlight the cursor and show keystrokes. Shortcuts are part of the story.
- One take per chapter, each starting from that chapter's saved copy. Cut out waiting time in the edit, but don't make the app look faster than it is.
Face-cam & audio
- Face-cam on its own track (same 4K spec as Video 1), for a corner overlay or a full-screen cut.
- Lav mic, the same one as Video 1. 10 s of room tone per session.
Site
- Drone: a top-down shot matching the 2D view, an orbit matching the 3D camera, a low pass along the rows, and a 2–3 min shadow time-lapse.
- DGCA-registered pilot; check the Digital Sky zone the day before.
- Ground: every item on the real-shot list, plus 30 s of the designer walking the roof.
- Morning or late afternoon, with one session timed to the shadow match.
ScheduleFour weeks, both videos in parallel
| Week | Video 2 | Video 1 (same weeks, shares crew and kit) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pick the site, as-built check. Confirm the UI revamp date. Redraw on the app. Chapter outline. | Team poll; assign features; collect release forms |
| 2 | Screen recordings: two half-day sessions, chapters 1–13. Site day: drone, ground shots, shadow time-lapse, designer on the roof. | Shoot day at the Heaven office, 15 min slot each; screen clips the same day |
| 3 | Edit the master; check every match cut lines up; English subtitles | Edit the 2–3 min master; subtitles per language |
| 4 | Export each chapter as its own feature video; thumbnails | Singles, language cuts, 30 s montage, onboarding inserts |
Roles
| Role | Does |
|---|---|
| Producer | Owns the schedule, shot lists, releases, final check |
| Presenting designer | As-built check, redraw, recordings, narration, closing line |
| HGE site contact | Site access, install photos, inverter portal data, roof safety |
| Drone operator | DGCA-registered; flies the shot list |
| Editor | Masters, chapter exports, cutdowns, subtitles |
| Engineering contact | Confirms Tier 2 features and the UI revamp date; on call during recordings |
RisksWhat could go wrong
| Risk | What to do |
|---|---|
| The UI revamp ships right after recording | Get the date in week 1. If it's close, record after it ships. |
| The app breaks or is slow on camera | Record on the app build from per-chapter saved copies; retake. Small residential or C&I site only. |
| Design and install don't match | The as-built check catches this. If a difference remains, the designer says on camera what changed on site and why. Being upfront about it keeps the video credible. |
| Actual generation embarrasses the prediction | Check privately first (2.4). Leave it out if it's off. |
| Customer is identifiable | Blur house number and gate signage; city only in the lower third. |
| A feature on camera changes soon | Chapters are standalone, so re-record only that chapter. |
Website add-on"Switching from" footer
Like Attio's "Import from" footer, which names the tools customers leave: Switching from: Arka · Aurora · OpenSolar · HelioScope · PVsyst, with each name linking to its own migration page.
One honest constraintSurgePV has no project import from these tools, so the footer must not say "Import from". The better offer: Heaven Designs redraws your existing projects in SurgePV. That answers the most common Arka objection ("I'll have to redraw my previous projects") with a service no software-only competitor can match.
Each "Switching from X" page carries:
- a 20 s Video 1 clip of a Heaven designer who used X before;
- what carries over (equipment database, proposal template, structure types) and what Heaven redraws for you;
- the offer: "Send us your last N projects and we'll redraw them."
NextDecisions still open
- Which approved site, plus a backup: chosen with the 2.1 criteria and the as-built check.
- Who presents Video 2: someone who uses SurgePV daily and is comfortable on camera, ideally also in Video 1.
- The UI revamp release date: from engineering, before any screen recording is booked.
- Who produces and who edits: in-house or external.
- Which languages and markets come first: this decides which language cuts get made first.
- The redraw offer: how many past projects it covers, and whether it's free or paid.