New Google Project Charts Your Solar Power Savings

Eric Chaney
Published: August 18,2015

Could your house benefit from solar power? Google's new Project Sunroof will tell you.
(Screenshot/Google Project Sunroof)

If you’ve ever wondered just how much money you’d save by installing solar panels on your roof, Google wants to help you out. The tech giant recently unveiled its latest innovation, Project Sunroof, which the company claims takes a lot of the guesswork out of going solar.“I’ve always been surprised at how many people I encounter who think that “my roof isn’t sunny enough for solar,” Carl Elkin, the software engineer behind the project, said in a blog post Monday.
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Thanks to Project Sunroof, you can now tell exactly how sunny (or not) your roof is, along with every other roof on the block. The new website (available here) superimposes a color-coded layer over Google’s familiar aerial images, with rooftop areas of full sun in bright yellow and shady areas in purple.
The software uses Google Maps’ 3-D modeling to get an idea of your roof’s size and orientation and the amount shade cast by nearby buildings and trees, reports Slate. It combines that data with historical weather information to come up with your estimated number of sun hours each year.

Carl Elkin, the software engineer behind the project, said he hopes Project Sunroof will help people realize that installing solar panels on their homes is cheaper than many expect.
(Screenshot/Google Project Sunroof)

But Project Sunlight does more than just provide raw data. The site will calculate how many panels you need, how much you would save over a 20-year span, and even gives you the names of a few companies who can install them. Elkins, a self-described solar geek, began developing the tool as part of Google’s “20 percent project” in which employees are encouraged to spend a portion of their work time on ideas that inspire them, says Silicon Beat.
The site is still in the pilot stage, Elkins says, covering only San Francisco, Boston, and Fresno thus far, but plans are in the works to expand.
“If you find that your address isn’t covered yet, you can leave your email address,” he says in his post. “We’ll let you know when Project Sunroof is ready for your rooftop!”

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