Solar energy is rising in popularity every day as the tides are turning regarding the overall consensus on the importance of sustainability. Having all of that in mind, as the solar industry grows, professionals in the field are constantly working on finding better ways to do things, and as a result of that, a lot of solar-specific software options have entered the market. These software options are of great benefit to the users of solar energy all around the world as they help reduce costs, improve accuracy, and also allow the industry to scale.

All of that being said, many people aren’t really sure how this software works exactly and in what way can they utilize it in practice. That is why, in this article, we are going to tackle that exact topic. 

System design (proposal generation) software

As this type of software is one of the most useful ones regarding the solar energy industry, let’s talk about it first. As experts on solar design software from https://siliken.com/ explain, system design software is meant to help both residential and commercial solar construction plans, as well as to accumulate accurate predictions when it comes to performance. Naturally, providing customers with proposals that are as accurate as possible is vital in every industry out there, and software like HelioScope and Aurora Solar make that possible when it comes to solar panels by automating system design. 

The way in which this is done is, in the case of HelioScope, by integrating system layout and performance modeling in order to simplify both engineering and selling. It utilizes various programs such as Sketchup, PVsyst, and AutoCAD in order to help engineers to work faster so that they can deploy a larger number of projects at a lower cost, while also making estimations regarding performance way easier.

Energy management software

This category is oftentimes also called operations or asset management software. Its role is to help developers, as well as any other system owners, be able to monitor and manage solar sites more efficiently. There are various software programs that can help reduce demand charges for systems that come with storage. Other types are more focused on improving the efficiency and accuracy of already existing asset management by automating the entire process.

Geli, a popular software of this sort works in the manner explained above - basically, it allows developers to automate and analyze various sites with energy storage more efficiently. These platforms are able to track the way in which changing utility rates and shift energy use away from the times of the day that happen to be the most expensive, that way reducing demand charges and, on the other hand - increasing project economics

The thing is, while Excel, Outlook, and other traditional methods can also be used for tracking project performance, utilizing asset management software is going to ensure that the same tasks end up getting done more quickly and accurately.

Financial risk management software

In most cases, one of the most important aspects when it comes to whether someone is going to end up opting for solar energy or not lies in the financial prediction regarding this investment - and that’s where financial risk management software comes in. The software of this type is able to access and further analyze the latest data regarding electric rate schedules and tariffs, as well as rebates and other incentives that vary depending on the state or town in question. 

This data compilation is extremely valuable as it enables customers to understand just how a solar array is going to affect their electric bills in the long run.

One of the popular software in this category is called enACT, and it offers the developers and installers options to compare possible financing options, as well as to apply them directly with lenders. 

Customer management software

Customer management is extremely important when it comes to running a business, but everyone that has been in charge of tracking progress from various proposals knows just how much work and organization do such a task requires. By utilizing customer relationship management (CRM) software, the entire process made way easier for navigation and organization.

One such software named Sighten, can be used not only for benefiting from residential and commercial customer management functions, but also for various different types of software, all of them combined in such a manner that they can support the whole solar lifecycle including both system design and asset management as well.

While there are a lot of different types of software in the area of solar energy, as the industry continues to progress - a lot more are surely yet to come. That being said, in order for progress to continue, it’s important that methods that we already have get perfected, and hopefully, by reading this article, you have learned something on this topic that you didn’t know before. Keep doing your research and keep pushing for a greener future - good luck!