One third of the U.S. energy consumption is from buildings and houses. It would make sense to incorporate on site solar energy generation from these buildings. However, in order to plan the most efficient deployment of solar systems it is important to know which buildings represent the best application for solar investment. This is why solar mapping is so important.
The technology is here to be able to plot the exact height and distances of structures in real time using Airbourne LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging). LiDAR is a sensing technology that measures the properties of scattered light to find range and other information from a distant target.
Combining LiDAR and GIS tools offers city planners and owners a way to more precisely plan for solar investment. Combined data helps us to see if an area is adequate for solar panels to be installed. Of course making sure the building isn”t in shadow from another building. These solar maps show this right away.
Many of the major cities like New York, Minneapolis, Denver and Boston are building Solar Maps complete with interactive solar calculators. Any building owner could login and see how his building would perform and what the investment would be. All this to help spur more interest and conversation about going solar.
The cost for solar panels is coming down and the efficiency of the photovoltaic cells are increasing. Now is a perfect time to start looking at this data.
