Terms of Service

1. Scope and Contracting Party

(1) These General Terms and Conditions (hereinafter "Terms") govern the use of the web-based software platform PV-GlareCheck (hereinafter "Service" or "Platform"), accessible at https://pv-glarecheck.com, operated by PV-SimLab GmbH, Elbstraße 88/1, 22880 Wedel, Germany (hereinafter "Provider").

(2) The Service is directed at businesses, freelancers, and commercial users as well as at consumers within the meaning of § 13 of the German Civil Code (BGB) (hereinafter jointly "User" or "Customer"). Use of the Service requires the User to be of legal age. Consumers are entitled to the statutory right of withdrawal pursuant to Section 6 of these Terms.

(3) Geographic Restriction: Use of the Service from the United States of America (USA) or by individuals and companies domiciled in the USA is not permitted. By registering, the User confirms that they are not located in and do not have their domicile in the USA.

(4) Conflicting or deviating terms of the User shall not become part of the agreement unless the Provider expressly consents in writing.

2. Description of Services

(1) PV-GlareCheck is a web-based software for the analysis and assessment of potential glare effects from sunlight on photovoltaic installations. The Service enables Users to conduct glare analyses and generate reports.

(2) The results of glare analyses are based on mathematical models and simulations. The Provider makes no warranty regarding the accuracy, completeness, or suitability of the results for any particular purpose. The results expressly do not constitute legally binding expert opinions and do not replace professional advice from qualified experts.

(3) The Provider reserves the right to expand, restrict, or modify the functionality of the Platform at any time, provided that the essential usability of the Service is not unreasonably impaired.

(4) Available storage space is limited depending on the plan; the applicable limits are set out in the current service description on the plans page. If the limit is exceeded, new uploads and new simulations may be blocked until usage falls below the limit again; stored data will not be deleted solely because the limit is exceeded except after prior notice and a reasonable grace period. Restrictions of the limits with effect for ongoing contracts are governed by Section 12.

3. Registration and User Account

(1) Use of the Service requires the creation of a user account. The User is obliged to provide truthful and complete information during registration and to keep such information up to date.

(2) Access credentials must be kept confidential and must not be shared with third parties. The User is liable for all activities conducted through their user account.

(3) The Provider reserves the right to suspend or delete user accounts without prior notice in the event of a violation of these Terms or suspicion of misuse.

4. Token System and Payment

(1) The use of certain features requires tokens that can be purchased through the Platform. The type, scope, and prices of tokens are set out in the current price list on the Platform.

(2) Purchased tokens are non-transferable and not exchangeable for cash. For tokens purchased for consideration and not yet consumed, the refund rule in Section 11 (4) applies; the statutory right of withdrawal for consumers (Section 6) remains unaffected. Tokens granted free of charge (e.g. bonus, demo, promotional tokens or tokens allocated by the Provider) are excluded from any refund.

(3) The Provider reserves the right to adjust prices and token packages with effect for the future. Tokens already purchased remain unaffected by price changes.

(4) Payment processing is handled by the payment service provider Stripe (Stripe Payments Europe, Ltd.). The price, tax and payment details displayed during the order process are authoritative.

5. Pro Subscription

(1) The Provider optionally offers the subscription "PV-GlareCheck Pro", which unlocks extended features of the Platform. Scope and price are set out in the current price list on the Platform.

(2) The subscription has a term of one month and renews automatically for successive one-month periods unless terminated beforehand. Billing occurs monthly in advance via the payment service provider named in Section 4 (4).

(3) The User may terminate the subscription at any time without cause with effect from the end of the current billing period (via the account settings or the payment portal). The Pro features remain available until the end of the period already paid for. There is no pro-rata refund for the current billing period unless mandatory statutory provisions or the right of withdrawal under Section 6 provide otherwise.

(4) The Provider may adjust subscription prices with effect from the next billing period. Price increases will be announced to the User in text form at least four weeks before they take effect; in the event of an increase, the User may terminate the subscription before the increase takes effect.

(5) Upon termination of the subscription, the Pro features are deactivated. Created projects and results remain available within the free plan, insofar as its feature and storage limits permit.

6. Right of Withdrawal for Consumers

(1) Consumers within the meaning of § 13 BGB are entitled to the following statutory right of withdrawal for off-premises and distance contracts. This Section 6 does not apply to entrepreneurs.

(2) Expiry of the right of withdrawal:

a) In the case of a contract for the provision of services, the right of withdrawal expires if the Provider has fully performed the service and only began performing the service after the consumer gave their express consent thereto and at the same time confirmed their knowledge that they lose their right of withdrawal upon complete performance of the contract by the Provider (§ 356 (4) BGB).

b) In the case of a contract for the supply of digital content not on a tangible medium, the right of withdrawal expires if the Provider has begun performing the contract after the consumer expressly consented to the Provider beginning performance of the contract before expiry of the withdrawal period and confirmed their knowledge that by giving such consent they lose their right of withdrawal upon commencement of performance of the contract (§ 356 (5) BGB).

c) The corresponding consents and confirmations are expressly obtained and documented during the order process.

(3) Model withdrawal form:

7. Intellectual Property and Usage Rights

(1) All rights to the Platform, including software, algorithms, design, text, graphics, and other content, remain with the Provider or its licensors.

(2) The User is granted a simple, non-transferable, non-sublicensable right to use the Platform for its intended purpose for the duration of the contractual relationship.

(3) The following is prohibited:
a) copying, decompiling, reverse-engineering, or creating derivative works from the Platform or parts thereof;
b) making the Platform available to third parties, whether for a fee or free of charge;
c) conducting automated access (scraping, bots) to the Platform;
d) circumventing or manipulating security mechanisms of the Platform.

(4) The User retains all rights to project data created and content uploaded by the User. The Provider receives a simple right of use for the purpose of providing the Service.

8. Warranty, Liability and Limitation of Liability

(1) Purpose of results / preliminary screening only, not an expert opinion: The glare analyses, simulations and reports generated by the Service are solely a software-based, model-driven preliminary screening for rough orientation. They expressly do not constitute a glare report, an expert opinion or any technical or legally binding assessment and are not intended to serve as the direct basis for permitting, planning, investment or other decisions with external effect. Any use of the results mandatorily requires an independent expert review and counter-check by the User's suitably qualified experts; the User bears sole responsibility for the evaluation, interpretation and use of the results. Subject to mandatory statutory provisions and the liability rules in paragraph 3, no warranty whatsoever is given for the correctness, completeness or fitness of the results for a particular purpose. For entrepreneurs (Section 14 of the German Civil Code), use of the Service and of the results is — subject to the mandatory liability under paragraph 3(a) and (b) and under the Product Liability Act — at their own risk. Vis-à-vis consumers, the statutory provisions apply; the verification and cooperation duties under paragraph 2a remain unaffected.

(2) Warranty: Statutory provisions apply to the quality of the software unless otherwise stipulated below. The Provider does not warrant that the software meets the User's individual requirements or operates without interruption or error. The Provider's no-fault liability for defects already existing at the time of conclusion of the contract (Section 536a (1) alt. 1 of the German Civil Code) is excluded; liability under paragraph 3 remains unaffected.

(2a) User's duties to cooperate and verify; model basis:
a) The User is solely responsible for the accuracy, completeness and currency of all input data; this includes in particular the site location, geometry, orientation and tilt of the PV areas, height specifications, obstacles, terrain and surroundings data, module type and reflection properties, and the position and height of the observation points. Values determined or suggested automatically by the software (e.g. dimensions and heights derived from map material, aerial imagery or terrain models) are non-binding approximations; the User must verify them independently before each simulation and correct them where necessary. The Provider is not responsible for results whose defectiveness is due to incorrect, incomplete or unverified input data.
b) The User is obliged, before any use, to have all results generated by the Service independently reviewed, recalculated and validated by qualified experts for plausibility and suitability for the specific case. Use of unverified results is entirely at the User's own risk.
c) If the User detects irregularities, anomalies or implausible results, or has reasonable grounds to suspect such, the User must not use the results and must contact the Provider's support without undue delay.
d) The User acknowledges that the simulation is based on a parametric physical reflection model. The directed (specular) reflection is not modelled as an ideal point but as a direction-dependent reflection lobe with finite beam spread; this may be represented as elliptical (with separate spread along the major and minor axis), with an angular offset and in several concentric intensity zones, and evaluated on a luminance basis (cd/m²). The parameters of the reflection lobe depend on the selected module type and its stored reflection properties; ideal specular reflection (angle of incidence equals angle of reflection, without spread) is merely a limiting case. The quality of the results depends substantially on how well the stored reflection parameters represent the actual reflection behaviour of the modules used in the specific project; real photovoltaic modules may deviate from this. It is incumbent on the User to verify on their own responsibility, before using the results, whether the modules used in the specific project sufficiently follow this model behaviour (e.g. by comparison with manufacturer or measured BRDF / reflection data). Insofar as the modules used do not sufficiently follow the model, the results are not or only of limited significance. Simulation results are always only a model-based approximation of actual conditions; the quality owed for the Service consists in the correct implementation of the calculation methodology described in the documentation (Guide/Methodology), not in the correspondence of the simulation results with the actual glare conditions on site. The underlying assumptions and abstractions are summarised in the respective report (appendix “Assumptions & Notes”).
e) If the User breaches the foregoing verification and cooperation duties, this may be taken into account to reduce or exclude claims within the scope of § 254 of the German Civil Code (contributory fault). Mandatory liability under paragraph 3(a) and (b) and under the Product Liability Act remains unaffected.

(3) Liability: The Provider's liability for damages — on whatever legal ground — is governed as follows:
a) For damages arising from injury to life, body or health based on an intentional or negligent breach of duty by the Provider or its legal representatives or vicarious agents, the Provider is liable without limit.
b) For other damages, the Provider is liable without limit in cases of intent and gross negligence and for the absence of a guaranteed quality.
c) In the case of simple negligence, the Provider is only liable for the breach of a material contractual obligation (cardinal obligation — an obligation whose fulfilment is essential to the proper performance of the contract and on whose observance the User may regularly rely); in this case liability is limited to the foreseeable, contract-typical damage at the time of conclusion of the contract.
d) Any further liability is excluded.

(3a) Free use: Insofar as the User uses the Service or individual functions free of charge (in particular via tokens granted free of charge or in the free plan), the Provider is liable — subject to the mandatory liability under paragraph 3(a) and (b) and under the Product Liability Act — only for intent and gross negligence.

(4) Indirect damages: Within the liability under paragraph 3, the Provider is liable for lost profits, data loss, business interruption and other indirect damages only insofar as these qualify as foreseeable, contract-typical damage within the meaning of paragraph 3(c) or a case of paragraph 3(a) or (b) applies. Otherwise liability for such damages is excluded.

(4a) Data backup: The User is obliged to regularly download and independently back up generated reports and exports as well as the project data entered by the User. Within the limits of paragraph 3, the Provider's liability for loss of data is limited to the recovery effort that would have been incurred even if the User had performed proper, regular data backups.

(5) Availability: The Provider does not owe uninterrupted availability of the Service. Maintenance, technical failures or force majeure may cause temporary restrictions. Liability for damages from unavailability is governed by paragraph 3.

(6) Mandatory liability: Liability under the German Product Liability Act as well as any liability arising from the assumption of a guarantee or from fraudulently concealed defects remains unaffected.

(6a) Limitation period for business users: If the User is an entrepreneur (Section 14 of the German Civil Code), claims for damages against the Provider become time-barred twelve months after the statutory commencement of the limitation period. This does not apply to claims under paragraph 3(a) and (b), claims under the Product Liability Act or in cases of fraudulent intent; in these respects the statutory limitation periods apply.

(7) The above limitations of liability also apply in favour of the Provider's legal representatives, employees and vicarious agents.

(8) Limitation period vis-à-vis consumers: Vis-à-vis consumers (Section 13 of the German Civil Code), the statutory limitation periods apply to claims for damages. The reduction of the limitation period to twelve months under paragraph 6a applies exclusively vis-à-vis entrepreneurs.

9. Indemnification

(1) The User shall indemnify and hold harmless the Provider from and against all third-party claims arising from the User's unlawful use of the Service or any violation of these Terms. This includes reasonable costs of legal defense.

(2) The User is obliged to immediately inform the Provider of any third-party claims and to assist in the defense of such claims.

10. Data Protection

(1) The Provider processes personal data of the User in accordance with applicable data protection laws, in particular the GDPR.

(2) Details regarding data processing can be found in the Privacy Policy at pv-glarecheck.com/privacy.

11. Term and Termination

(1) The usage agreement is concluded for an indefinite period and may be terminated by either party at any time without cause. Section 5 additionally applies to the Pro subscription.

(2) The User may delete their account at any time through the account functions.

(3) The Provider may terminate the agreement without notice for good cause, in particular in the event of a violation of these Terms or applicable law.

(4) Upon termination of the contractual relationship, all usage rights shall expire. The User is solely responsible for backing up their data before the end of the contract. Tokens purchased for consideration and not yet consumed will be refunded to the User upon request; the calculation is based on the price actually paid for the respective package in proportion of the unconsumed to the total tokens purchased in that package. The refund is made to the means of payment originally used and is limited to the amount actually paid. Tokens granted free of charge (Section 4 (2) sentence 3) expire without compensation; for the purposes of the calculation, tokens granted free of charge are always deemed to be consumed first.

(4a) Simulation tokens; order of consumption: Simulation tokens included in a project package form part of the package's flat price and are excluded from the refund under paragraph 4; withdrawal from the project package itself is governed by Section 6. Only additionally purchased token packages are refundable under paragraph 4. When consumed, a project's simulation tokens are deemed to be used in the following order: first tokens granted free of charge, then the tokens included in the project package, and last additionally purchased token packages in the order of their purchase.

12. Amendments to These Terms

(1) The Provider is entitled to amend these Terms with effect for the future, insofar as this is reasonable for the User, taking into account the interests of the Provider.

(2) The User will be informed of any changes in a timely manner. The amended Terms will be presented to the User for renewed acceptance upon the next use of the Platform.

(3) If the User objects to the amended Terms, the Provider is entitled to terminate the contractual relationship.

13. Final Provisions

(1) The laws of the Federal Republic of Germany shall apply, excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG). In relation to consumers, this choice of law applies only insofar as it does not deprive the consumer of the protection of mandatory provisions of the law of the state of their habitual residence.

(1a) Mandatory consumer rights: Statutory mandatory rights of the consumer remain unaffected by these Terms; this applies in particular to the provisions on consumer contracts for digital products (Sections 327 et seq. of the German Civil Code), insofar as their requirements are met.

(2) If the User is a merchant, a legal entity under public law or a special fund under public law, the place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising from or in connection with these Terms shall be the registered office of the Provider (Wedel, Germany).

(3) Should individual provisions of these Terms be or become invalid, the validity of the remaining provisions shall remain unaffected. The invalid provision shall be replaced by a valid provision that most closely approximates the economic purpose of the invalid provision.

(4) No side agreements to these Terms exist. Amendments and additions require text form.

(5) The European Commission provides a platform for online dispute resolution: ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr. The Provider is neither obliged nor willing to participate in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board.

(6) In the event of discrepancies between the German and the English version of these Terms, the German version shall prevail.

Effective: 26 July 2026 | Version 1.6