Google Introduces Project Sunroof

Does it make sense to install solar panels on your roof? You probably have no idea. But as of today, Google knows. It has launched a new tool called Project Sunroof.

It will use data you may not have realized that Google even had to tell you how much money you can save by turning your roof into a photon harvester. Google calculates the amount saved by taking into account typical utility rates, relevant federal and state tax credits, utility rebates, and whatever renewable energy credits might be available in your area. Meanwhile, the power that the panels can theoretically produce is modified by what Google knows about local weather patterns on a day-to-day basis.

Google’s calculator will keep you off your rooftop because it has done most of the hard work for you. You need to know nothing besides your address and the amount of your typical monthly electric bill. Most significantly, Google is able to estimate not only the size of your roof, but also its orientation and slope and whether trees or other buildings may block the sun at certain times during the day.

This tool is certainly valuable for anyone thinking about a solar panel installation, and for anyone who wants to know whether he or she should be thinking about it. It’s a potentially valuable tool for Google as well, since those suggestions for companies to install solar panels for you are sponsored by the companies themselves.

Read more at IEEE Spectrum

Image Credit: Google

-jk-