Unlocking the Future of Solar: A Deep Dive into OpenSolar 3.0 Features
Exciting news from OpenSolar! We’ve officially launched OpenSolar 3.0 (OS 3.0), marking what we consider to be a pivotal evolution in the solar industry. This release transforms OpenSolar from a leading solar design and sales tool into a comprehensive operating system for your entire solar electrification business. Driven by powerful new capabilities, OS 3.0 is designed to streamline every aspect of your operations, making your business more efficient and effective.
At the very heart of OS 3.0 is Ada, our integrated AI assistant, which is set to revolutionize how you work. Ada is a key component across many of our new features, enhancing efficiency and intelligence in several core areas of the platform.
This launch comes at a crucial time. As CEO and Co-founder Birchy covered in his 3.0 launch event keynote, solar energy is projected to account for more than 50% of energy within 10 years, specifically by 2035 — a significant jump from just 3% in 2023. This growth presents an immense opportunity, with a global spend of $15 trillion and the potential for $100 trillion in lower energy costs. OS 3.0 is built to help your business seize this future.
Here’s a detailed breakdown of the features we announced today as part of OpenSolar 3.0, designed to make your solar business thrive:
AI Lead Generation (Beta)
Powered by Ada (currently in Beta), AI Lead Gen lets you effortlessly generate leads and engage potential customers directly from your website, by visually demonstrating the tangible financial benefits of going solar. This personalized approach helps qualify leads more effectively and sparks genuine interest. Fresh, hot leads automatically sync with your built-in OS CRM, or into a 3rd party CRM via our API if you still need to pay for one… (see below)
AI Lead Gen is in beta and available worldwide. Account admins can enable this feature by following these instructions or learn more in this help center article.
Whole Home Electrification
OS 3.0 extends beyond solar PV systems, providing tools to manage and analyze total home energy usage. Tracking consumption from natural gas, transportation and electricity in one place offers you a complete, holistic view of a family and property’s energy profile. This functionality paves the way for designing and implementing whole home electrification solutions that optimize energy efficiency across the entire property, beautifully brought to life in our next-generation proposals (see Sales Machine below).
Auto Design (Beta)
The auto design feature has been significantly enhanced with Ada’s intelligence, leading to faster and more accurate solar designs. Our AI assistant intelligently creates optimal solar layouts by automatically considering critical factors such as panel placement, array configuration, and shading. This advanced capability is further supported by OpenSolar’s partnership with Google, ensuring high precision and efficiency in the design process.
Every design uses pre-defined system templates that you control including system sizes, equipment and pricing so you get complete, standardized control over what Ada is designing for you and your team.
Auto Design is in beta and available worldwide. Account admins can enable this feature by following these instructions or learn more in this help center article.
Sales Machine (Beta)
The all-new Sales Machine empowers your sales team with robust tools designed to Improve your close rate and shorten your sales cycle. This lifestyle-oriented, slideshow-style customer proposal tool helps you present clear, impactful lifetime savings projections alongside flexible payment options such as upfront cash payments or structured monthly payment plans. Sales Machine makes it easier than ever for your customers to visualise going solar.
Sales Machine is currently in closed beta. Please fill out this form to join the early access waitlist or learn more in this help center article.
CashFlow
Introducing your powerful financial management tool that handles all your invoicing needs within OpenSolar. Seamlessly integrated into your customer proposal, CashFlow gives your whole team visibility of project finances by tracking and categorizing payments by status and consolidating them into a centralized dashboard. Xero and QuickBooks accounting integrations cut manual data entry and keep your financial records up to date effortlessly. Plus, flexible payment options let customers pay their way, from debit and credit cards, to ACH transfers and digital wallets like Google Pay and Apple Pay.
CashFlow is available now in the UK, US & Australia. Visit the CashFlow section of our Help Center to learn more or start your CashFlow application here.
Marketplace – Shop
For pros in Australia, the UK and the US, our expanded Marketplace now features a dedicated Hardware Shop. Buy everything you need for your installs using your automatically calculated Bill of Materials, from panels and inverters to mounting equipment and batteries. Compare live pricing and availability from leading distributors, with a single checkout experience. Say hello to your simpler, centralized procurement process that helps you source everything you need for your projects without leaving OpenSolar.
The UK, US & Australia Shops are live. Visit the Hardware section of our Help Center to learn more or click here to start exploring.
Marketplace – Expo
Expo is a year-round virtual conference where you can explore stands from top manufacturers, finance lenders, and service providers at your convenience. Each stand showcases the latest products and services complete with videos, spec sheets, and downloadable collateral. Live chat with teams to get quick answers, and book demos and follow-up meetings. And with direct partnerships between manufacturers and distributors, you can even place hardware orders straight from the Expo stand.
Expo is live worldwide. Click here to explore your local virtual Expo stand.
Project Management CRM
To ensure your projects run smoothly and efficiently, OS 3.0 includes a comprehensive Project Management CRM. Our built-in CRM provides a clear Kanban view of all your projects, intelligently categorized by customizable stages and advanced filters. This visual workflow management, coupled with task assignment and tracking, and some slick document management and sharing capabilities, should mean that many solar pros can stop using expensive, third-party systems, and switch their project management workflow to OpenSolar, saving thousands per year.
Visit the Project Management CRM section of our Help Center to learn more or explore the new functionality here. Action assigning and UI updates launching early Q4.
As part of OpenSolar 3.0, we also made some significant quality and performance improvements. You can read more about these recent speed, stability, and polish enhancements in this article.
OpenSolar 3.0 really has become the operating system for your solar electrification business. Embrace the future of solar and revolutionize your business operations with OS 3.0!
