E.ON and Google will begin jointly to create a web platform called Sunroof in Germany to determine potential solar capacity in urban German regions, the company announced Wednesday.
The collaboration between E.ON, Google and software producer Tetraeder will be a first ever outside the U.S. to promote the expansion of solar energy by calculating how much sunlight falls on a roof during the course of a year.
The Sunroof platform, which will be exclusively available on the E.ON website, brings together technologies like Google Earth & Maps, 3D models, and automated software optimization in order to answer solar potential inquiries as precisely as possible.
According to the company's statement, approximately seven million buildings are covered by the web platform, including those in major urban areas like Munich, Berlin, Rhine-Main and the Ruhr valley.
Homeowners can easily and precisely determine their home's potential solar capacity and generate plans for installing a solar system. All they need to do is enter their address online.
'It takes into account weather data, the position of the sun in different seasons, the area and slope of the roof as well as shadows from surrounding buildings or trees. Then Sunroof 'converts' the data on sunlight into energy and calculates the potential cost savings,' the statement read.
According to the website, interested homeowners can determine their solar potential, and can also assemble a suitable all-in-one package consisting of a photovoltaic module, an Aura battery storage unit and E.ON's SolarCloud application for its customers.
Karsten Wildberger, COO of E.ON said in the statement that with Sunroof, they will be able to digitize sales of solar systems more intensively and thereby increase the appeal of photovoltaics.
“It clearly demonstrates the potential benefits of digitalization for the ongoing shift in energy production. Along with Sunroof and E.ON SolarCloud, we will be developing additional digital products in order to offer our customers the highest degree of independence and security through E.ON solar systems,' he added.
In the U.S., Sunroof has been in operation since 2015, covering some 60 million buildings.
By Gulsen Cagatay
Anadolu Agency
gulsen.cagatay@aa.com.tr