If you’re a contractor in the solar market you know the time it takes to pull together a good site assessment and proposal for your customer. Renewable Sales has invested in a tool for you, the solar contractor, which produces a professional project layout, proposal and payback schedule and you never
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have to climb a ladder to measure a roof or put pencil to paper, making simple architectural renderings a thing of the past.
For example, once a homeowner decides to make that step towards renewable energy one of the first questions asked is about the look of the solar panels on their home – where are they going to go, will they work with my roofline and finally how is it going to look? We now have Q*Sol (Quick Solar Design Tool) on the American Choice Solar website.
With Q*Sol the installer’s client can see exactly how the panels will look and where they will be placed on the roof. The first step is to use the project’s address to get a satellite image of the project building. The platform technology then allows the installer to map out the solar array on the roof ideally using the southern or southeastern facing angles. A picture is generated so the installer and the client can see how many panels will be needed and how the building will look from the street.
This platform is ideal for both residential and commercial applications. There is no project too big or cumbersome. Q*Sol can map the array across the flat roof of a building as well as panels on a mounting system on the ground, allowing for the space needed for the angle of the panels.
Q*Sol uses a patent pending Panel Layout Technology that runs “the most sophisticated layout algorithm in the industry.” Instead of the installer trying to determine which panel layout makes the most sense, Q*Sol helps to pick the optimal panel layout. This system not only shows how many and what size panels are needed, but also has a transparency function allowing the installer to make sure there are no obstacles situated below the panels. This program allows an installer to show a prospective buyer how the panels will look in under 3 minutes!
Once the mapping is completed, a report is created detailing all of the paybacks and the incentives that apply to that proposal showing the actual costs of the system once the state and federal rebates and SREC’s are applied. The amount of energy generated versus the amount of energy saved is also highlighted.
The team behind Q*Sol is constantly striving to enhance and improve their platform capabilities. Many of the upgrades have been in response to questions and suggestions from renewable companies who use this site. The incredible technology of Q*Sol has to be seen to really be appreciated. For a demonstration and more specific information go to the American Choice Solar website and click on the PV array designer link in the center of the page.
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Kevin Price, CEO Renewablesales 