Case Study 1: Residential Solar Installer

Niklas

Niklas

— 3 min read

Professional Profile:

Sarah Martinez, Senior Sales Engineer at SunVantage Solar


Company:
Mid-size residential installer (85 employees) serving Arizona, Nevada, and California

Background:
6 years in solar sales, previously spent 3 hours per residential proposal

Current Pain Points:
Customer acquisition costs hit $0.87/Wdc, permitting delays average 35 days, proposal creation bottlenecks reducing conversion rates

Project Scenario:

Suburban Phoenix Home Installation

Client: The Rodriguez family in Ahwatukee, Arizona
Home: 2,400 sq ft single-story ranch built in 2008
Current Usage: 1,200 kWh/month ($180 average electric bill)
Challenges: Complex roof with multiple dormers, mature trees causing shading, HOA restrictions on panel placement

Traditional Workflow Pain Points

Sarah's current process involves multiple disconnected tools and significant time investment:

  1. Site Assessment (2-3 hours): Manual roof measurements using Google Earth, followed by physical site visit for shading analysis
  2. System Design (3-4 hours): Aurora Solar for 3D modeling, manual iterations for optimal placement around roof obstacles
  3. Financial Analysis (1-2 hours): Separate spreadsheet for financing options, utility rate calculations, and ROI projections
  4. Proposal Creation (2-3 hours): Manual compilation of technical specs, financial projections, and permitting documentation
  5. Client Communication: Multiple follow-up calls to explain technical details and address concerns

Total Time Investment:
8-12 hours per proposal with 13-17% conversion rate

SolarScope.io Project Agent Solution

Initial Setup (5 minutes)

Sarah opens SolarScope.io and inputs: "2847 E Desert Willow Dr, Phoenix, AZ 85048"

Project Agent Response: "I've located your site and retrieved NASA solar radiation data. This location receives 6.57 kWh/m²/day average daily irradiance - excellent for solar. Please proceed to input your site assessment data for system analysis."

Location Analysis (Instant)

The Project Agent automatically provides:

  • NASA solar data: 6.57 kWh/m²/day irradiance with monthly variations
  • Climate data: Temperature coefficients and weather patterns for production modeling
  • Geographic context: Latitude/longitude for optimal tilt angle calculations

Intelligent Data Collection (10 minutes)

Project Agent Prompts:

  • "What's the available roof space for solar installation? Please provide square footage."
  • "Are there any shading obstacles like trees or neighboring buildings? This helps optimize production estimates."
  • "What's the customer's current monthly energy usage in kWh?"
  • "Please input roof orientation and tilt angle for accurate production modeling."

Sarah inputs data from her site assessment: 1,800 sq ft of usable south-facing roof space, some afternoon shading from trees, customer uses 1,200 kWh/month. The Agent validates data in real-time and provides contextual guidance.

AI-Powered Analysis (2 minutes)

System Recommendation (based on site data and energy usage):

  • Size: 7.8 kW DC system (22 panels)
  • Production Model: Calculated using NASA irradiance data and user-provided site conditions
  • Annual Production: 13,150 kWh (112% of current usage, accounting for reported shading)
  • Components: 400W panels recommended for the available roof space

Financial Modeling:

  • System Cost: $21,840 before incentives
  • After Tax Credits: $15,288 (30% federal ITC)
  • Monthly Savings: $158/month
  • Payback Period: 6.8 years
  • 25-Year Savings: $47,400

Conversational Interface (Pro Tier)

Sarah: "The customer is concerned about production during monsoon season. Can you explain the impact?"

Project Agent: "Great question! During Arizona's monsoon season (July-September), solar irradiance drops about 15% due to increased cloud cover. Based on the NASA data for this location, the system will still generate about 1,020 kWh monthly vs. 1,200 kWh in peak months. The 400W panels I've recommended are well-suited for variable light conditions. Would you like me to show month-by-month production estimates?"

Export and Proposal Generation (1 minute)

The Agent automatically generates:

  • Technical Specification Sheet: System layout, component details, production estimates
  • Financial Summary: Multiple financing options including cash, loan, and PPA
  • Permitting Package: Pre-filled applications for City of Phoenix and HOA approval
  • Customer Presentation: Professional slides with visualizations and ROI analysis

Results and Impact

Time Savings: Proposal creation reduced from 8-12 hours to 20 minutes
Conversion Improvement: Professional presentation and instant answers to technical questions increase conversion rate to 22%
Customer Experience: Interactive visualizations and real-time analysis build trust and confidence
Revenue Impact: Additional 9% conversion rate × $21,840 average system = $1,965 additional revenue per 100 leads


Sarah's Testimonial: 
"The Project Agent transforms every customer interaction. Instead of spending days creating proposals, I can focus on relationship building and closing deals. The AI handles the technical complexity while I handle the human connection."

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