• Problem
• Lifetime Savings
• Timeline of Savings
• “Synthetic” Bill
• Usage and Production Graph

Problem

Solar customers have no way of knowing whether their solar system is actually producing enough energy to save them money.

To solve this problem, Genability needed to demonstrate to various audiences with varying levels of understanding of their energy usage. The method to do this was a report capable of comparing what they are spending now, to what they could be spending had they not installed solar.

This was formatted into a "What If" scenario that could be applied to any number of questions:

• What if I installed solar?
• What if I installed solar and battery storage?
• What if I got a hot tub and an electric car, would solar still make sense if my energy usage increased drastically?
• What if I didn't change rate plans with my energy provider?

The design challenge involved creating a system that worked across thousands of rate plans and rolled up charges (similar to a receipt) into meaningful groups depending on the touchpoint. Residential customers typically don't understand the difference between Consumption and Demand charges, nor the unique ways they can be billed across rate plans.

A quick overview could be displayed in quotes, while a line by line breakdown would be more appropriate in the contract phase of reviewing rates.

With the two “bills” comparable, then the next requirement was displaying savings, which is really just the difference between what you paid, and what you would’ve paid had you never installed solar. Since savings is really more money in your pocket at the end of the month, we wanted to show it as a tangible object, rather than the negative space between the height of two bars on a graph.

Lifetime Savings

How much you’ve saved since installing your system, since you won’t see savings every month (such as winter when sunlight is less and cloud coverage will diminish a panels effectiveness) but can see if over time you are reaping the promised rewards.

Timeline of Savings 

An interactive chart that shows each billing statement over an annual basis that you can use to hide and show utility costs, solar costs, and month to month savings or losses, which also functions as a way to dive into a particular billing period.

“Synthetic” Bill 

A way to line up as closely as possible what you were charged, and compare to what you would have been charged, with cost items grouped into categories that are comparable across rate plans where individual costs and rate structures may differ.

Usage and Production Graph 

Shows customers how much they consumed and when, and where their solar system helped offset some of that usage with cheaper solar power rather than grid power.