Generaytor, an online community for people thinking about going solar, has launched of its Virtual Solar web app that lets people virtually try solar on their home or business before they buy and install it. The app was recently put in use at IKEA stores in the United Kingdom and is now available for free to homeowners in the United State and worldwide.
Millions of families are already producing their own clean energy from the sun. But because people tend to avoid long-term, unfamiliar decisions, word of the exceptional returns solar can provide often falls on deaf ears. As a result, the vast majority of suitable rooftops are left baking in the sun instead of saving money for their owners.
With Virtual Solar, users get a live simulation of their savings, powered by actual data from solar systems of nearby community members. It’s “try before you buy” for solar. Generaytor empowers people to make informed decisions by combining clear savings forecasts with shared experience from solar homeowners.
“We’re excited to see our community inspiring people to help the environment while slashing their electric bills,” says Generaytor CEO and co-founder, Amit Rosner. “Virtual Solar lets people see for themselves how much they could save, and come to a decision at their own pace.”
Generaytor’s Big Data engine processes actual solar power samples from individual homeowners who have connected their solar system monitoring to the community. It then adjusts the data to fit Virtual Solar users’ specific roof characteristics. The company’s personalization algorithms take into account factors like roof location, size, azimuth, pitch, shading, and local electricity rates and available solar rebates. Because Virtual Solar runs on nearby, actual data, it automatically and continuously accounts for weather and intensity of sunlight.
“We’ve been impressed by the enthusiasm and pioneering spirit of solar homeowners bringing transparency to rooftop solar by sharing their data,” says Rosner. “Together they are leading the way for friends and neighbors to become the solar homeowners of tomorrow.”
Energy and financial experts are predicting continued rapid growth for solar in the United States, but some homeowners are skeptical. They gain confidence from their Virtual Solar roof, which shows exactly where the money comes from, even on a daily basis for people interested in comparing sunny and cloudy days, or tracking their savings progress over time.
For people who may have explored solar in the past, the time is right to take another look. Solar panel prices have dropped to their lowest ever and have now stabilized.
Generaytor’s role is to reduce the “soft costs” of solar by breaking down barriers for homeowners and solar installers alike.
Beyond financial simulations, Generaytor provides a social experience. Some users become more familiar with solar through fun-spirited competition – Generaytor enables people to compare their virtual production with friends or see how it stacks up against an actual solar home nearby. Others take pride in their performance by sharing solar achievements in the community or on Facebook.
The community can also guide people to installers who have a track record of happy customers and the performance data to back it up. Solar installations are available for cash purchase, through a loan, or in many states through a $0 down lease.
Learn more about Generaytor in our interview with the site’s co-founder Amit Rosner.
Dinesh Narayanappa says
Hi, How about storage Batteries, which of them are the best & longer in life.
Nick Roman says
Seems like a decent model.
Loads of calculators rely on weather stations and all sorts of mathematical calculations. What’s better than to take your neighbour’s system and see how they produce (if you’re not too far away, it’s safe to say that the weather stays the same, no?).
If they can later connect people to recommended installers, based on my neighbour’s suggestions, it’ll be a home-run.
I’ll keep me eye on it 🙂