Google, E.ON to extend “Sunroof” solar mapping tool to Britain, Italy

Germany-based energy company E.ON has announced that its partnership with Google to bring the latter’s Sunroof platform to Germany has been extended for another year, and will now be offered across Great Britain, and potentially soon after in Italy.

In August of 2015, internet behemoth Google announced Project Sunroof. The company famously allows its employees 20 per cent of their paid work time to cultivate their own projects, and one of these resulted in Project Sunroof – a tool using Google Maps to calculate potential rooftop solar energy potential.

Google quickly ran with the project and began making partnerships with SunPower, SunEdison, and Sungevity.

In March of 2017, Google announced a partnership with German private energy company E.ON which would make Project Sunroof available to German residents.

“With Sunroof, we are able to digitise sales of solar systems more intensively and thereby increase the appeal of photovoltaics,” said Karsten Wildberger, COO of E.ON at the time.

“It clearly demonstrates the potential benefits of digitalisation 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.”

Just over a year later and the two companies have revealed that not only will they be extending the project until the end of 2018, but that they are going to make Sunroof available to homeowners across Great Britain in the coming weeks.

In addition, the Google and E.ON are also preparing to launch the project in Italy.

Since Project Sunroof was brought to Germany well over 10,000 customers have visited www.eon-solar.de to determine the solar potential of their own roofs.

The mapping tool has been so successful that E.ON reported that it’s solar business has grown by 150 per cent, and is helping the company to reach its goal of becoming the leading solar PV company in Germany.

German residents can use Sunroof not only to gauge the solar potential of their rooftop, but can also request a complete solar and battery storage package from E.ON, using the company’s SolarCloud technology and Aura’s battery storage.

Further, E.ON has also provided customers with a “sunshine guarantee” in which they compensate customers if their rooftops do not produce the calculated yield of solar power.