ᐅ Online tool for planning a (hip) roof

Hello everyone,

We are at the beginning of our house planning and we like hipped roofs.
The development plan (for a weekend area) allows only 75 m² (807 ft²) of footprint and a maximum roof pitch of 30 degrees on the main roof surfaces.

Does anyone know of a tool that allows planning how large the surfaces of a hipped roof can be for a given footprint and roof pitch? For the trapezoidal sides of the hipped roof (south-facing), I would like to use the maximum 30-degree pitch, as I want to install photovoltaic panels there (positioned on east/south/west sides).

I hope an online tool could give me a better idea of how big the roof surfaces might be, as I want to calculate how many (or how few) photovoltaic panels could fit, and whether the combination of a hipped roof and a photovoltaic system even makes sense for a small footprint.

A few more details:
Footprint: approximately 9 x 8 m (9 m (30 ft) on the trapezoidal side of the roof)
Slope: planned as a full story, a garden level, and a basement
South-facing orientation
Free of shading
Additional planned surfaces for solar modules with a double carport (also free of shading) and possibly a garden shed

But you do know that permanent residence is not allowed in a weekend or recreational area?

What would a garden-level floor be?

The hipped roof has only three triangular roof surfaces, which is quite unfavorable for rectangular photovoltaic panels, especially for your small house.
With a gable roof, you would have two well-suited surfaces for installation plus the gable windows for natural light.

As the owner of a hip roof, I can tell you that I really regret not choosing a simple gable roof.
Not just for solar panels, but also for storage space, a gable roof (preferably with a studio truss) would be much more practical than a hip roof.
Nowadays, I think a hip roof has become almost the epitome of the pseudo-modern, cookie-cutter suburban house design that quickly becomes visually tiresome. A half-hip roof might still work aesthetically, depending on the region, but a gable roof is truly timeless (and you can also build it with a high knee wall if you’re worried about furnishing under sloped ceilings and if the building permit / planning permission allows it).

You can easily sketch that yourself and then place the modules onto the drawing.

How steep is the slope?

I can’t imagine two full stories plus a basement in a weekend or holiday home area. In my opinion, the photovoltaic system is your smallest concern.

You really don’t need any software for this. Once you have the dimensions of the modules, you can easily do it yourself.

This took about 20 minutes. Here you can see why the gable roof performs better. When the hipped roof is installed, you will have around 2 fewer modules if you cover it completely. So about 10 kWp.