Jul 11 2014
Sungevity, Inc., a recognized leader in the global solar market, today announced the first technology capable of generating residential solar installation quotes instantly based on nothing more than a street address.
The company's new Instant Solar Quote (Instant iQuote) tool is being piloted at select Lowe's stores in California. Sungevity has been Lowe's exclusive solar partner serving the U.S. residential solar market since 2011.
Sungevity's Instant iQuote in use on an iPad. (PRNewsFoto/Sungevity, Inc.)
Both Instant iQuote and Sungevity's earlier-generation iQuote technology eliminate the need for time-consuming and capital-intensive home visits to design and price residential solar installations. The new instant quote ability speeds the process of closing individual solar sales by providing an immediate proposal without the previous 24-hour wait. It can also be used to rapidly assess the solar potential of entire cities, counties and countries for retailers, utilities and other partners.
The new quoting platform utilizes proprietary technology that combines LIDAR, aerial imagery and real estate parcel data to produce a 3D model of the property at a given address. Hundreds of design variations may be generated for that address, based on factors such as roof pitch and shading. Instant iQuote immediately provides the consumer with the most optimal solar configurations, installation cost, and estimated savings. Results can be modified on the spot based on customers' design preferences, actual energy usage and other variables.
"When a homeowner starts to consider solar, the same questions always arise: How much will I save? How much will it cost? How much will it produce? What will it look like? Due to vast differences in roof shape and size, utility, shading and electricity usage, it has always been next to impossible to provide immediate answers to any of these questions," said Andrew Birch, Sungevity's Chief Executive Officer. "By overcoming those hurdles, Instant iQuote can expedite solar adoption as well as provide a unique competitive advantage for us and our partners."
The Instant iQuote technology currently covers more than 1.5 million homes in California, will expand to four states by the end of the summer, and will eventually be utilized internationally.
About Sungevity
Sungevity is a global solar energy provider focused on making it easy and affordable for homeowners to benefit from solar power. Leveraging proprietary remote solar design technology, Sungevity can deliver a quote instantly without a home visit and provide homeowners with immediate visibility to savings on their electricity bills. The company continues to grow its global customer base and now services nine U.S. states, the District of Columbia, the Netherlands and Australia. Sungevity also is Lowe's exclusive US partner in residential solar, and was recently recognized by B Corp as one of the "Best for the World" companies for using the power of business to solve social and environmental problems.