Specially designed software tools have long since replaced the work the solar industry used to perform in Excel and CAD, and managing leads, creating sales proposals, designing projects and tracking operations has never been easier. But what is the future of software in the ever-growing solar market?
What’s on Offer?
It’s easy for large companies to develop their own internal software programs to handle their projects from start to finish, but how can smaller scale installers working on a residential level compete? Installers have so far been left to bring together disparate programs designed to perform separate functions, which often leads to problems communicating between different platforms. These firms clearly need an integrated package – and that’s exactly the direction the industry is heading in.
Some examples of end to end software solutions include MODSolar, SolarNexus, and ENACT, among others. Certain developers such as Energy Toolbase have even thought more about the complex, specific functions required in the solar industry, and have included in depth avoided cost analysis and utility rate analysis as part and parcel of their software program.
These comprehensive software solutions have helped to straighten project paths and therefore simplify an installer’s job, allowing them to develop and focus on providing solar power to more and more people. The market has been booming over the last few years as the price of these technologies becomes more accessible to more people, and end to end installation software is partially responsible for this shift.
Providing solar panels has become an increasingly busy industry, with free solar panels and roof leasing agreements becoming more common, as reported by the BBC in 2013. Under the green subsidy deal, some companies offer free solar panels to homeowners in exchange for their roof space – homeowners get to use the energy produced by the panels for free, while the installers get to keep any profit from the energy that goes back into the grid. Sometimes they even work on your electrics to make sure they are all compatible with the system. What you might want to do is get an electrician cardiff company to come in before hand and check all your circuits and install any new wiring you may need with options like evergreenelectricalandbuildingservices.co.uk/.
Programs like these are becoming more common, and it’s clear that the solar market is really growing. As that growth continues, the need for specialist software solutions to make installations easier and more efficient is evident, and the response from the software side of the industry is heartening.