Terms of Service

1. The Service

Solar Design Lab provides a software platform for designing residential solar, storage, and generator systems and producing permit-ready plansets. The Platform includes:

• A browser-based design editor with a built-in equipment library, electrical-design tools, and a live design-check engine that validates against the National Electrical Code ("NEC") and the rules of the relevant Authority Having Jurisdiction ("AHJ").
• Generation of plansets, single-line diagrams, bills of materials, and other engineering deliverables.
• A free tier of public engineering calculators that do not require an account.

The Platform is the product, and a planset you produce on it may be submitted stamped or unstamped, as your jurisdiction requires. For a planset you produce and submit without obtaining a stamp from us, the Platform is provided as a software tool, not as an engineering opinion, and the design and its use are your responsibility or that of your own engineer.

Optionally, Solar Design Lab offers a professional engineering review and stamp as a separate, separately-priced service. When we stamp a planset, it is a professional engineering opinion issued under the personal seal and individual license of our reviewing PE, and we accept professional responsibility for that stamp (see the PE Work Product and Stamps section). For projects outside our coverage we may arrange an outside licensed engineer; that engineer is responsible for their own stamp, and we will tell you when that is the case.

2. Eligibility, access, and accounts

Access to the Platform is by request. You may apply for access at solardesignlab.com/request-access. We review every application and may decline or revoke access at our discretion, including (without limitation) for competing-product evaluation, suspected misuse, or violation of these Terms.

You must be at least 18 years old and using the Platform in the course of a business engaged in solar installation, design, engineering, or related services. You are responsible for safeguarding your account credentials and for any activity on your account. You must notify us promptly at hello@solardesignlab.com of any suspected unauthorized use.

3. Fees, guarantee, and refunds

Pricing. Fees are charged per planset on a flat-rate basis. Current pricing is published at solardesignlab.com/pricing. Pricing is subject to change with notice. We do not invoice your first planset.

Design Check Guarantee. SDL’s design check verifies that a planset is internally complete and code-correct as produced. When the check passes, SDL guarantees the planset against deficiencies in its own contents: errors or omissions the check is designed to catch. If an AHJ rejects a check-passed planset due to such a deficiency, SDL will correct and reissue it at no charge.

This guarantee does not cover: (a) design decisions made by the user, the check confirms a planset accurately documents a design, not that the design is appropriate for the project; (b) jurisdiction-specific or extraneous requirements outside the planset’s contents, including documents, profiles, or methods a particular AHJ requires or prohibits; (c) rejections for administrative or submission-process reasons unrelated to the planset’s engineering.

Refund. If SDL cannot produce a planset that meets your project’s requirements, the per-planset fee is refundable. A planset that cannot be completed in SDL for reasons within the tool’s scope will not be charged.

4. Your content and license to us

You retain ownership of all project data, designs, photos, documents, customer information, and other materials you upload to or create within the Platform ("Your Content"). By submitting Your Content, you grant Solar Design Lab a worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable license to:

• Deliver the service. Host, store, process, transmit, display, and modify Your Content as needed to provide the Platform, route projects to PEs for review, generate deliverables, and communicate with you and the AHJs you submit to.
• Improve our products. Use Your Content to operate, develop, train, evaluate, and improve the Platform's AHJ rule engine, design-check engine, auto-routing, auto-string, auto-connect, equipment library, AI-assisted design features, and other current or future product capabilities.
• Generate aggregated and de-identified data. Create and use aggregated, anonymized, or otherwise de-identified data derived from Your Content for any lawful purpose, including industry benchmarking, research, publication of anonymized insights, and continued model training. We will not include personally identifiable information about you or your customers in any such aggregated or de-identified outputs.

Open-market commitment. Notwithstanding the license above, we will not use non-anonymized account data, including your customers, projects, volumes, or other business information visible to us because you use the Platform, as a source of sales targeting to compete with you or to solicit your customers. This commitment is described in our Open-Market Policy.

The license for aggregated and de-identified data survives termination of your account. The license for non-anonymized Your Content terminates when we delete the underlying data in the ordinary course (see the Term and Termination section, and the Privacy Policy for retention specifics).

You warrant that you have all rights necessary to upload Your Content and to grant the licenses above, including the right to share homeowner names, addresses, site photos, and other personally identifiable information ("PII") about your customers. You will obtain and maintain any consents required from your customers under applicable law.

5. PE work product and stamps

When Solar Design Lab provides a stamp, the stamped planset is a professional engineering opinion issued under the personal seal and individual license of our reviewing PE. We accept professional responsibility for the stamps we issue, and the reviewing PE is the engineer of record for that stamped work. Where a project outside our coverage is fulfilled by an outside engineer we arrange, that engineer is responsible for their own stamp.

Stamped deliverables are issued to you for the specific project they describe. You receive a perpetual, non-exclusive right to use, reproduce, and submit them to the relevant AHJ and your customer for permitting, construction, inspection, and record-retention purposes.

Stamped deliverables may not be modified after stamping without the issuing PE's written approval. Any unauthorized modification of a stamped deliverable invalidates the stamp and may constitute a violation of applicable state engineering law, including Florida Statutes Chapter 471 (Engineering).

The issuing PE retains records of stamped work as required by applicable law and professional rules. Solar Design Lab may retain copies of stamped deliverables and related project data to operate the Platform; this retention is not subject to your right to request deletion under the Your Content section or our Privacy Policy.

6. Our intellectual property

The Platform itself, including the editor, AHJ rule engine, design-check engine, equipment definitions, code-derived auto-sizing logic, AI models, templates, brand, and all software, content, and data we provide, is and remains the property of Solar Design Lab. Except for the limited rights expressly granted in these Terms, you receive no license to the Platform.

You may not (a) copy, reverse-engineer, decompile, or create derivative works of the Platform; (b) use the Platform to build a competing product or train a competing model; (c) use the Platform's outputs to seed or train any external generative AI model; (d) scrape, harvest, or extract data from the Platform other than your own project data; (e) circumvent any access, security, or rate-limiting measure; or (f) remove or alter any proprietary notice, including a PE stamp.

7. Acceptable use

You agree not to:

• Submit projects for which you do not have authority to act, or that misrepresent site conditions, equipment, customer information, or scope of work.
• Use the Platform for projects that are illegal under local, state, or federal law, or that you intend to use to fraudulently obtain permits or incentives.
• Upload malware, attempt to disrupt the Platform, or interfere with other users' access.
• Share your account credentials with parties outside your organization, or use a single account to mask multiple independent businesses.
• Use the Platform to evaluate, benchmark, or develop a competing product without our prior written consent.

8. Feedback

If you send us feedback, suggestions, or ideas about the Platform, you grant us a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free license to use and incorporate them into our products and services without restriction and without any obligation to you. Feedback is provided voluntarily and is not your confidential information.

9. Third-party services

The Platform relies on third-party services (for example, hosting, mapping, authentication, and payment providers) and may link to or interoperate with third-party sites and tools. We are not responsible for third-party services, and your use of them is governed by their own terms. AHJ and utility portals are operated by those authorities, not by us, and we do not control their decisions, timelines, or requirements.

10. Early access and beta features

Access to the Platform is currently provided on an early-access basis. Features may be added, changed, or removed, and some features may be labeled beta, preview, or experimental. Beta features are provided "as is", may be unstable, and are excluded from the Design Check Guarantee unless we state otherwise in writing.

11. Disclaimers

Platform disclaimer. Except for the express Design Check Guarantee set out in the Fees, Guarantee, and Refunds section and the PE Work Product and Stamps section, the Platform is provided "as is" and "as available". To the maximum extent permitted by law, Solar Design Lab disclaims all warranties, express or implied, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.

AHJ behavior. Authorities Having Jurisdiction may change their rules, interpret them differently, or require additional information at any time. The Platform reflects our best understanding of AHJ rules as of the design date, but we cannot guarantee approval outside the Design Check Guarantee in the Fees, Guarantee, and Refunds section.

Unstamped output. The "as is" disclaimer above is for the Platform as a software tool, including plansets you produce and submit without obtaining a stamp from us. It does not limit our responsibility for a stamp we issue, which is covered by the PE Work Product and Stamps section and the Limitation of Liability section.

Site conditions. The output of the Platform and any stamp are based on the information you provide about the site, equipment, and scope. You are responsible for the accuracy of that information and for any field verification required.

12. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Solar Design Lab's total cumulative liability arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Platform will not exceed the fees you paid to Solar Design Lab in the twelve (12) months preceding the event giving rise to the claim. In no event will Solar Design Lab be liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, lost profits, or business interruption, even if advised of the possibility of such damages.

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of certain damages, so some of the above limitations may not apply to you. In that case, our liability is limited to the maximum extent permitted by law.

The limitation above applies to Solar Design Lab in its role as a software provider. It does not limit our acceptance of professional responsibility for a stamp we issue: a stamp is a professional engineering opinion under the seal of our reviewing PE, and our professional liability for it is governed by applicable state law and carried by professional liability insurance. Where a stamp is provided by an outside engineer we arrange for a project we cannot cover, the professional liability for that stamp rests with that engineer.

13. Indemnification

You will defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Solar Design Lab and its officers, employees, and PEs from any third-party claim arising out of (a) Your Content, including any claim that Your Content infringes a third party's rights or was uploaded without proper authority, (b) your use of the Platform in violation of these Terms, and (c) your representations to AHJs, customers, or regulators about the work product we delivered.

14. Term and termination

You may terminate your account at any time by emailing hello@solardesignlab.com. We may suspend or terminate your access for any breach of these Terms, for non-payment, or for reasons relating to the integrity, security, or business of the Platform, with or without notice.

On termination: (a) your right to access the Platform ends; (b) you may request an export of Your Content for a period of 30 days after termination; (c) we will delete or de-identify Your Content within 90 days, except for stamped deliverables and supporting project data subject to our PE record-retention obligation under the PE Work Product and Stamps section; and (d) any aggregated or de-identified data derived from Your Content remains usable by us under the perpetual license in the Your Content section.

Sections that by their nature should survive termination (including those covering content licenses, intellectual property, disclaimers, limitation of liability, indemnification, and dispute resolution) survive.

15. Governing law and dispute resolution

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Florida, without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles.

Informal resolution first. Before filing any claim, you agree to contact us at hello@solardesignlab.com and to work with us in good faith to resolve the dispute for at least 30 days.

Venue. You and Solar Design Lab submit any dispute arising under these Terms to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in Palm Beach County, Florida.

Time limit. Any claim arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Platform must be brought within one (1) year after the claim arose; otherwise it is permanently barred, to the extent permitted by law.

16. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. When we do, we will revise the "Last updated" date above and, for material changes, send a notice to the email associated with your account or present the updated Terms for your acceptance on sign-in. Continued use of the Platform after a change takes effect constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

17. General provisions

Entire agreement. These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy, the Open-Market Policy, and any pricing or order page referenced here, are the entire agreement between you and Solar Design Lab regarding the Platform and supersede all prior agreements on the subject.

Severability. If any provision of these Terms is held unenforceable, that provision will be limited or removed to the minimum extent necessary, and the remaining provisions remain in full force.

Assignment. You may not assign or transfer these Terms without our prior written consent. We may assign these Terms in connection with a merger, acquisition, reorganization, or sale of assets. Any attempted assignment in violation of this section is void.

Waiver. Our failure to enforce any provision is not a waiver of our right to enforce it later.

Force majeure. Neither party is liable for any failure or delay in performance caused by events beyond its reasonable control, including acts of God, natural disasters, labor disputes, internet or utility failures, or government action. This does not excuse your obligation to pay fees that are due.

Notices. We may give you notices by email to the address on your account or by posting within the Platform. You may send notices to hello@solardesignlab.com.

No third-party beneficiaries. These Terms do not create any third-party beneficiary rights, except that the reviewing PEs are intended beneficiaries of the indemnification and PE-related provisions.

Relationship of the parties. You and Solar Design Lab are independent contractors. These Terms do not create any partnership, joint venture, agency, or employment relationship.

Electronic communications. You consent to receive communications from us electronically, and you agree that electronic communications satisfy any legal requirement that a communication be in writing.

18. Contact

Questions about these Terms can be sent to hello@solardesignlab.com.