Artificial intelligence tools are making their way into the solar industry, from small rooftop residential solar projects to the largest utility-scale solar facilities. Three new AI-supported tools were introduced by the residential solar industry, including two announced in late June.
First, solar quote and marketplace operator EnergySage and solar design and field operations software provider Scanifly announced the two have partnered to bring AI solar designs to EnergySage’s platform.
The initial integration is expected to enhance EnergySage’s Autoquote service with Scanifly’s AI design technology, enabling homeowners to receive quotes with array layouts and more accurate production estimates while allowing installers to customize the project and quote parameters.
The partnership is expected to help create high-fidelity array layouts quickly without the need for a site visit. Often, solar projects at this stage in the process are modeled using Google’s Project Sunroof data without panel placement, which can lead to unrealistic expectations and costly change orders during installation, said Scanifly.
The AI-supported tool integrates PVWatts for production data, produces visual solar layouts in under 15 seconds, and uses 3D image processing.
“The solar industry has been waiting for marketplace technology that matches the accuracy of the leading PV design tools,” said Jason Steinberg, CEO of Scanifly. “Our AI technology simulates thousands of panel layouts in seconds to calculate what’s actually achievable on each roof.”
Scanifly said future updates will allow installers even more control to customize quoting parameters based on factors such as regional requirements, total solar resource fraction and annual solar access limits, and panel placement and orientation preferences.
Next, large residential solar installer Freedom Forever announced it launched a tool for project support and pipeline management. The AI product, called Raya, integrates with the company’s customer relationship management (CRM) software, called Lightspeed.
Raya is designed to deliver automated issue resolution and 24/7 phone support to Freedom Forever’s sales partners nationwide. The company said the tool provides real-time project updates, actionable insights and instant ticket resolution.
“Lightspeed has been the cornerstone of our success, enabling unmatched efficiency and scalability. Raya takes this to the next level by giving our sales partners real-time, AI-driven access to project details and support, and this is just the beginning,” said Rob Richardson, vice president of product, Freedom Forever.
The residential solar company, founded in 2011, operates in 29 states and offers 25-year production guarantees.
In April, residential solar CRM software provider Bodhi announced the launch of Bodhi AI Assistant, a 24/7 virtual support agent for customer service. The company said its software is trained on thousands of real customer conversations and integrated with documentation from across the solar industry.
Bodhi highlighted a 2023 National Renewable Energy Laboratory study that found 40% of new solar customers struggle to interpret their monitoring data, while a 2022 survey of engineering, procurement, and construction firms showed that only 12% of solar businesses have a dedicated post-install support budget.
Bodhi said the AI assistant can answer customer questions like:
- “What’s the status of my project?”
- “Is my system still producing power?”
- “I received an error about my system. What do I do now?”
“By harnessing tens of thousands of real customer conversations and incorporating the knowledge bases of leading inverter manufacturers like Enphase, SolarEdge, SMA, and APSystems, we’re enabling solar companies to deliver empathetic, accurate answers—day or night—without overburdening their teams,” said Scott Nguyen, chief executive officer, Bodhi.
Example of the Bodhi AI assistant:
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