Shade mitigation means designing and equipping a solar array so trees, chimneys, vents and neighbouring buildings destroy less annual energy. On Australian roofs, chronic shade is one of the fastest ways to ruin payback — especially when FiTs are low and you needed every self-consumed kWh. Fix shade with layout and technology, not wishful marketing.
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Hard shade (solid objects) can collapse string current. Soft shade (thin branches, light dirt) is less severe but still costly over a year. A morning site photo set across seasons beats a single noon visit.
Move strings away from shade cones, drop cursed modules, or use separate MPPTs for different planes. Sometimes fewer panels in full sun beat more panels in partial shade on annual kWh.
Microinverters and power optimisers limit how much one shaded module punishes its neighbours. Pay for them when modelling shows material gains — not as default jewellery on a clean north plane.
Pruning agreements with neighbours and planting choices matter. A sapling today is a winter shade wall in ten years. Document who maintains trees near the array.
Panels include bypass diodes that help with partial shade patterns, but they do not make shade free. Hot-spot risks rise when chronic shade is ignored.
Demand a shade report or at least a written assumption. CEC-accredited designers introduced via MrSolar should show annual kWh with and without mitigation options so you can price microinverters against a simpler layout.
Design around shade with evidence — compare CEC-accredited roof plans on MrSolar.
Written and reviewed by Daniel (Marketplace lead, Epic Unicorn Pty Ltd). We build pages from Australian solar datasets and regulatory references, then map you to CEC-accredited installers only.
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