In today’s latest blog post, Google announced that they have unleashed their latest tool, Project Sunroof, in the San Francisco, Fresno and Boston areas to help homeowners decide whether or not investing in solar is a great idea for them.
Project Sunroof incorporates the same technology that Google Earth uses, making it easily able to calculate your roof’s solar energy potential without even going on your roof. In the blog post Carl Elkin states, “Google has always been a big believer in zero-carbon energy, and solar power has been a central part of that vision – from accelerating the growth of rooftop solar, to helping finance the largest solar farm in Africa, to building one of America’s biggest campus solar arrays here in Mountain View.”
Quite the feat indeed. Elkin also said that Project Sunroof is able to crunch your solar power numbers if you are outside of the test regions as well, “Simply enter your address and Project Sunroof will crunch the numbers. It first figures out how much sunlight hits your rooftop throughout the year, taking into account factors like roof orientation, shade from trees and nearby buildings, and local weather patterns.
Its not surprising Google would invest time and capital into a tool like this as they have been interested in solar energy for quite some time now. This brings up the question if Google has plans to enter the solar power market commercially; Project Sunroof seems to be an indicator that they may.
Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons | http://bit.ly/1PhRfZO
Recent Comments