Availability: Expert Design Services is an add-on service – contact your account admin to confirm access. Requires Expert Design credits on your account.
Aurora's Expert Design Services gives you a professionally built 3D site model without any manual drawing. Aurora's team of trained designers builds the model for you — including roof faces, manually drawn trees, and nearby structures that affect shading — then delivers it to you in Sales Mode for review. Every model is individually checked by Aurora's QA manager before delivery.
In this article
- Before you begin
- How to request an Expert Design in Sales Mode
- How Expert Design handles trees and shading
- Turnaround time
- If the model needs corrections
- Data requirements
- Requesting outside of Sales Mode
- Note for LightReach users
- FAQs
Before you begin
- Expert Design Services models residential projects only. Commercial projects aren't supported at this time.
- The project has a valid residential address with usable aerial imagery.
- Make sure your project pin is placed precisely over the correct structure. A misplaced pin is the most common reason Expert Design requests are rejected. Confirm the pin is on the right building before submitting.
- You don't have an existing 3D model you want to keep — submitting a new request will replace any current design on the project.
How to request an Expert Design in Sales Mode
- Click the System Design icon in the top navigation bar.
- Click the house icon. An Add roof modal will appear.
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Click Request Expert Model.
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Select a Standard or Expedited turnaround time, then click Send request.
- Aurora's design team will build your 3D model — including roof faces, manually drawn trees, and any nearby structures that affect shading. You'll receive an email and an in-app notification when the model is ready.
- Return to the project and go to the Design section of the Project dashboard.
- Click on Review model, then review the completed model in 3D.
- If the model looks accurate, click Accept. You're now ready to add modules.
How Expert Design handles trees and shading
Expert Design Services uses object-based shading, not LIDAR shading. LIDAR shading is disabled for all Expert Design requests — instead, Aurora's design team manually draws individual trees and structures directly on the site model, and shading is calculated from those objects.
This gives Expert Design models high visual accuracy and means the model doesn't rely on LIDAR shading data.
The design team models structures as follows:
- All structures within the property are modeled.
- Neighboring homes outside the property are modeled partially if they will cast shade on the main home or another structure on the property.
Turnaround time
- Standard: Typically returned within 3 hours.
- Expedited: Available on some plans; returned within 30 minutes.
- Revisions: All resubmissions are returned within 45 minutes, regardless of whether the original request was standard or expedited.
📝 Note: The Expert Design team works 24/7, with the exception of Christmas and New Year's. There are no other time-of-day or day-of-week restrictions on turnaround.
If the model needs corrections
If the delivered model has errors — missing roof faces, inaccurate obstructions, or other issues — you can request revisions before accepting.
- From the model review screen, click Resubmit or reject
- Select one or multiple reasons why you are resubmitting or rejecting the model
- Include notes describing what needs to be corrected
- Click Reject for refund or Resubmit
- If you resubmitted the request, the team will revise based on your feedback and return the model for review within 45 minutes
Data requirements
Expert Design combines Aurora's design suite with the best imagery and LIDAR sources available for your project. The team may review multiple imagery and LIDAR sources to get the clearest view of the roof and make sure everything is accurately accounted for.
Expert Design works best when there is LIDAR and HD imagery at the address. When imagery is limited, the team can still build a model, but accuracy may drop:
- If there is LIDAR and other (non-HD) imagery sources, the team can build a model, but the accuracy rate will drop.
- If there is no LIDAR but Google Street View is available, the team uses the Street View ruler to estimate roof pitch where possible.
- If there is neither LIDAR nor Google Street View, the team applies a default roof pitch based on the project's location.
📝 Note: For custom imagery, Expert Design only accepts a drone image paired with corresponding custom LIDAR that has been scaled. Requests submitted with a blueprint or an unscaled drone image with no corresponding custom LIDAR will not be modeled by the Expert Design team. See Drone Mapping for more detail.
If you're modeling a new construction project from blueprints or plan sets, that's a manual Design Mode workflow rather than an Expert Design request. See How to model for new construction for instructions.
Requesting outside of Sales Mode
You can also request an Expert Design from the Project Dashboard without entering Sales Mode. See Submitting a request to our Expert Design Service for instructions.
Note for LightReach users
LightReach requires LIDAR shading to be enabled on its projects. Because Expert Design models use object-based shading rather than LIDAR shading, confirm your shading configuration meets LightReach's requirements before submitting a proposal built on an Expert Design model. If you're unsure how to reconcile this for your account, contact your account team.
FAQs
My Expert Design request was rejected. What does that mean?
The most common reasons a request is rejected are:
- Incorrect pin location — the designer can't determine which property to model.
- New development with no imagery — there's no usable aerial imagery of the home yet.
- The home is obstructed by trees — the main structure is blocked, so the designer can't see the outline of the home.
If your request is rejected, address the issue noted and resubmit. Resubmissions are returned within 45 minutes.
What if I don't receive an email notification?
Check your spam folder first. If the model still hasn't arrived after 3 hours on a standard request, contact Aurora Support.
Does Expert Design place modules or do any system design?
No. Expert Design builds the 3D site model only — it does not place modules or design the system. Once you've accepted the model, you place modules yourself in Sales Mode.
Can the design team see my customer's personal information?
No. The Expert Design team works in a data-anonymized version of Aurora that removes sensitive lead, appointment, and project data, so your customers' personal information is protected throughout the design process.
Can I request an Expert Design for a commercial project?
Expert Design models residential projects only at this time. For commercial projects, model the site manually in Design Mode.
Can I request Expert Design if I already have a partial roof model?
Yes, but submitting a new request will replace the existing design. Make sure you're ready to start fresh before submitting.
I'm getting an error when I try to request an Expert Model. What should I do?
First, confirm you have Expert Design credits available — an Out of Credits error means your account has no remaining credits, and you'll need to contact your account team to add more. If you're seeing a different error, try logging out, clearing your browser cache and cookies, updating your browser to the latest version, and logging back in. If the error persists, contact Aurora Support.
Why can't I access Design Mode from Sales Mode?
Your account administrator may have restricted your role from accessing Design Mode. When this setting is off, Design Mode is hidden and you can only view designs within Sales Mode. Contact your account admin if you need Design Mode access. See User Management: Advanced Roles for more information.