Nearmap and OpenSolar Create a One-Stop Product for Solar Installers to Sell, Map and Design their Next Project

The Nearmap on OpenSolar platform combines high resolution vertical and oblique aerial imagery with remote solar design software in a game-changing way that helps installers win more customers

Before solar panels ever go on a house, installers can now find everything under one roof to effectively plan, sell and design their next solar project with the Nearmap on OpenSolar application. Nearmap and OpenSolar have joined forces to give installers a single tool that combines the latest nationwide aerial images and solar design software to wow customers and demonstrate the benefits of investing in solar.

The new product brings Nearmap’s best-in-class, high resolution aerial imagery together with the OpenSolar team’s 25-year history of expertise and innovation in solar. The application is accessible to both Nearmap and OpenSolar customers and offers installers access to Nearmap’s unparalleled library of imagery, including oblique imagery—aerial photography captured at a 45-degree angle. 

With that imagery, designers can view a project from multiple angles and see and measure the tops and sides of buildings. They can also view shadows created by trees or other structures, even at different times of the year.

Those images can be incorporated into site designs and models, giving installers precise information for panel placements and energy output, and resulting in customers having confidence in their return on investment (ROI) calculations.

“Solar intelligence meets aerial imagery to give solar installers both the imagery and design tools they need to rise above their competitors,” said Rob Newman, Nearmap CEO. “There is no quicker or more compelling way to show customers the many benefits of solar energy than with Nearmap on OpenSolar.”

The solution provides an interactive experience for residential customers, allowing them to select different solar design options online and learn their ROI projections. The precise designs and current imagery can speed up sales and installations by reducing site visits, permitting delays and change orders. Proposals can even be updated in real-time during calls with customers.

The new tool offers the following advantages over the competition:

• Comprehensive. Users can design, model, share, propose and close solar business deals from one application that’s accessible from any device.
• Accuracy. It is the only tool that provides a library of recently captured, high resolution vertical and oblique imagery. This allows precise roof geometry measurements, solar panel designs and ROI estimates.
• Experience. The customer-friendly tool enjoys all the benefits of the OpenSolar platform, and is customizable to incorporate solar company brands and adapt to the specific needs of solar companies and their customers.

The end-to-end sales toolkit makes everything available through one annual subscription, including imagery, design tools, customer relations management, proposals, branded templates, equipment catalog with full specs, energy estimators, pricing tools and financial modeling.

“This full-service solar design solution bundles the ability to view, measure, design and bid on a project without ever leaving your tablet or computer,” said Andrew Birch, OpenSolar’s Co-Founder. “Nearmap on OpenSolar can provide sky-high savings on every solar bid and installation.”
Nearmap on OpenSolar was announced at the Solar Power International North America Smart Energy Week conference in Salt Lake City and will be available for use on Sept. 24. Visit us in booth #3829 to learn more.

About Nearmap

Nearmap brings the real world to you. The company delivers high resolution aerial imagery as a service to businesses across the world, powered by industry-leading geospatial intelligence technology. Using its own patented camera systems and processing software, Nearmap captures wide-scale urban areas in the U.S., Australia, Canada, and New Zealand multiple times each year, making fresh content instantly available in the cloud via web app or API integration. Every day, Nearmap helps thousands of users conduct virtual site visits for deep, data-driven insights—enabling informed decisions, streamlined operations and robust bottom lines. Founded in Australia in 2007, Nearmap is one of the ten largest aerial survey companies in the world by annual data collection volume and is publicly listed in the ASX 200.

For more information, visit www.nearmap.com.

About OpenSolar

OpenSolar is a solar design and sales application, providing solar professionals with a highly sophisticated yet easy-to-use software tool that services their end-to-end needs, from marketing and lead management to solar system design, sales, installation, and service. OpenSolar also provides a paid bespoke-software service for solar manufacturers and solar finance companies to better serve their dealer networks. Adam Pryor and Andrew Birch, OpenSolar’s co-founders, are solar industry veterans and pioneers of solar innovation who are on a determined mission to accelerate the world’s transition from fossil fuels to solar energy.

For more information, visit www.opensolar.com.