Roof space, installation, actual savings - there’s a lot of things to consider when going solar. Maybe that’s why just 10% of Australians choose solar, even though it could save them hundreds of dollars a year on their power bill. So to make it easier we created ‘Rate My Roof,’ an online tool that for the first time ever let people find out their roof’s solar value simply by drawing around it.
With no breakthrough products we needed a simple truth to address the barriers and niggling questions around solar uptake. So we settled on the humble roof. Everyone has one, most see it as something functional, but what if we could reframe it as an asset. Something of real value - if you use solar energy.
A mobile first experience, we started by exploring present functionality inside Google’s My Maps. The ‘Draw Shape’ feature was something that existed yet seemed underutilized to date. Users could simply tap to place points on the map and draw out any shape. In our case, the shape of a roof.
Using the devices geolocation we now had a way to let you trace your very own roof and calculate it’s square meterage. Couple this with Origin’s current solar pricing data and factors like amount of sunlight and instantly we had a way to measure the approximate dollar value of having solar power for up to 30 years. It was personalised data that gave people all the incentive they needed to switch to solar.
Because of the new perceived value of their roof, people bragged about their dollar value on social media. This was supported with outdoor and press pointing out the solar value of rooftops around the nation. All encouraged people to head online and find the value of their very own roof.
In the first three months 150,000 people visited the site and the number of people considering solar power went up 70%. In fact, it wasn’t long before Google USA cottoned on to the idea and launched their very own version - Project Sunroof. But they do say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.