SolarReviews, a Denver-based home solar resource company, released an AI-powered solar estimator on its website, Solar-Estimate.org. Also referred to as a ‘solar calculator,’ the cutting-edge software completely changes the way homeowners buy solar. There have been many startups founded in recent years that have aimed to use AI in hopes to revolutionise various sectors of the home improvement industry, but this is the first polished output that truly achieves that goal. The image represents how Solar-Estimate.org’s artificial intelligence interprets a typical roof. This interpretation shows how the AI can differentiate between the different segments of a roof as well as the direction each segment faces. This product has emerged in a sector that is arguably the most difficult to generate online estimates for. Solar panel power output varies due to the specific characteristics of each roof, which include direction, angle, and available roof space. Once the panel layout is created for a specific roof, there is still the issue of several-thousand electric utility companies with even more rate plans to take into consideration.

Accounting for all of these factors is extremely complex and has meant that, to date, a consumer could not find the solar savings potential of their home unless they spoke to a solar company. This is no longer necessary, as a consumer using Solar-Estimate.org can generate an accurate estimate simply by entering their address and the dollar amount of their most recent power bill. It is amazingly simple, given the complexity of the factors that need to be measured. With the new home solar estimator, machine-learned artificial intelligence has been utilised to measure each individual […]