Google’s Project Sunroof to use Google Maps data to calculate your roof’s solar energy p

Google has today launched a tool called Project Sunroof, which uses Google Maps data to calculate your roof’s solar energy potential.

Using high resolution satellite imagery, Google measures your rooftop area to calculate how much you could benefit from solar energy.

Project Sunroof is a new online tool Google is testing to help homeowners explore whether they should go solar. Currently the tool is available in the San Francisco Bay Area, Fresno (in central California), and the Boston area.

It’ll provide an estimate for the amount of sunlight your rooftop will have available per year, taking into account shade from trees and nearby buildings, as well as roof orientation and weather. You can also input your typical electricity bills to fine tune your results.

This information is then combined to calculate how much money you could save, and Google will link you to local solar providers.

“Google has always been a big believer in zero-carbon energy, and solar power has been a central part of that vision — from accelerating the growth of rooftop solar, to helping finance the largest solar farm in Africa, to building one of America’s biggest campus solar arrays here in Mountain View. While Project Sunroof is in a pilot phase for now, during the coming months we’ll be exploring how to make the tool better and more widely available. If you find that your address isn’t covered by the tool yet, you can leave your email address and we’ll let you know when Project Sunroof is ready for your rooftop, “said Carl Elkin, Engineering Lead for Project Sunroof.