US technology major Google has launched a new program called ‘Project Sunroof’ which will help people assess how much energy the rooftop solar pannels will generate.
The project will help the homeowners in calculating potential solar energy output from their building.
Initially rolled out in Boston, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Fresno, the project has invited residents to enter their address at the Project Sunroof landing page to check for the quantity of available sunlight enjoyed by their house.
It eventually also lets them calculate their possible savings for a year if they chose to install solar panels in all of that available area.
According to Google, the calculations are done with the help its aerial maps database.
The firm does 3D modeling of the rooftop, considers casting of any shadows by nearby trees or structures, and runs that against ‘all possible sun positions over the course of a year’ and ‘historical cloud and temperature patterns that might affect solar energy production’, in order to derive accurate and personalized results.
The idea behind the project came from Google employee Carl Elkin, who expects that the tool will encourage more people to opt for solar PV installations.
This project is likely to be implemented across all the US states if successful, and then be furthered into other countries.
"We recommend an installation that covers less than 100% of your electrical usage because, in most areas, there is little financial benefit to producing more power than you can consume," Google added.