Ever since the mainstream adoption of solar panels, the solar industry has been growing and changing at an incredibly fast pace. New technologies, installation methods, and software are constantly being developed and tweaked to both support that growth and keep the momentum going.
At Solargraf, we’re no different. What once began as a simple solar software to help small to mid-sized solar businesses price out and quote their systems has become an all-in-one solution for PV installers, solar designers, and sales professionals to quote and finance their solar systems, manage their teams and projects, and even order permits and stamps once the deal is done.
Now that we’ve developed and expanded on the online solar sales portion of the software, we’ve been hard at work at improving it and making it even faster and easier to use while also adding exciting features to the system – such as Virtual Site Assessment capabilities and Shading Analysis to our roster of tools at your disposal. Today, we’re happy to announce the latest improvement to our software: automatic pitch detection, or, AutoPitch.
Read on to learn more about our new pitch detection algorithm, how to use it and why it’s something every solar installer needs to have in their toolbox if they want to continue growing their business.
What is AutoPitch and how do I use it?
AutoPitch is exactly what you might think it is – it uses a proprietary algorithm that combines deep learning and 3D point cloud processing to estimate the pitch value of each drawn roof surface.
After drawing out the surface where you intend to install the solar panel system on a new project, all you need to do is click the “AutoPitch” button from the Tools menu and let it get to work. Within a few seconds, Solargraf will return three pieces of information:
- Mounting type, i.e, pitch roof, flat roof, or ground-mount.
- The pitch of the roof in degrees
- Panel angle
From there, all you need to do is confirm the values that the software returns, and you’re done! You’re now free to carry on with the quote by adding your choice of panel model, the fire offset, setting the azimuth, and adding or deleting any panels you would like. Need to change the panel angle after using AutoPitch? No problem, that can be modified from the same toolbar!
Why did we add this feature to the software?
We’re firm believers that the more a user can automate their workflow and day-to-day process, the more they can get done and we want to help with that in any way we can. Additionally, ever since many businesses have had to set up a remote sales process, we wanted to make improvements to our software that would facilitate this new way of doing business.
Since system production values are tightly linked to the angle at which the panels are placed on the roof, calculating the roof’s pitch will allow you to provide more precise production values of the system without having to make any unnecessary trips to the site to complete the solar quote.
Why using AutoPitch will benefit you and your business
Getting the exact pitch of the roof helps to provide you with more precise production values since the placement of the panels reflect an actual solar installation. This means that whether you’ve been talking to the homeowner about their project for a while, or all you have is their home address and a few electric bills, your quotes will now be more accurate than ever.
Fewer revisions to the price helps to build trust with the client and confidence in your proposal and work. While your competitors are sending out multiple quote revisions from before and after visiting the site, you can be sure that your quote is based on reality the first time.
Using AutoPitch also requires much less time and manual effort to get the job done while saving you money. Instead of sending someone out on-site to determine the roof pitch so that you can properly quote the homeowner, you can now get it done from your office or home in two clicks. No time or gas money wasted and no guess-work/eyeballing from Google StreetView involved!
If your company uses a third-party service to order roof measurement reports, you can also save on the extra expense and time spent waiting to get your measurements back. Now you can get your quotes done at twice the speed and be confident in the numbers you’re sending the homeowner.
The addition of AutoPitch to Solargraf is just one more feature that reinforces why using an all-in-one software will greatly improve the work you do. Not only do we strive to pack our program with everything you could possibly need to quote, sell, finance, and get your permits, but we also want to make sure that using Solargraf is ultimately the easiest tool out there to use on the market. Being able to both save time and calculate your pitch in one click means that anyone can complete a quote, from anywhere.
In closing
In addition to our robust project management, financing, customizable proposal generation, virtual site assessment, and permit ordering features, Solargraf is the only solar proposal software determined to help your company thrive in whatever situation the world throws at you. Whether you’re selling from home, the office, or on-site, we have everything you need to get the job done faster and more efficiently than your competition. Book a demo today and let us show you why we’re the best software choice for all your solar software needs.
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