Solar Calculator Review
Before I begin writing about this application, keep in mind that it will only be of use to you if you already have solar panels or if you are planning to install solar panels. As a disclaimer, friend of mine asked me to review this application, he is involved with progressing solar panel implementation so it was of no surprise when he told me what the application was about. It is a basic solar toolkit for calculations and conversions that will help you decide if solar panels will benefit your personal situation.
When launching, it provides you with three basic options, “Build New System, Load Last Results, and Solar Toolkit.” Selecting to build a new system will present you with various options from DC Size to CO2 Offset. The developer really thought of everything in this application when it comes to features and calculations but falls short in expanding those features to not require other resources or research.
Selecting Electrical Bill Info presents you with a lot of options, even allowing you to select Peak Sun Hours. Despite allowing you to insert them manually, it would be a lot more helpful if it was able to automatically calculate them based on your current location. Besides that, when you click Results it does a lot of explaining if the terms either skip your mind or you are trying to learn a thing or two about solar panels. Displaying ‘i’s next to the terms “DC Size Desired” allow you to select them and see an explanation. When selecting “Load Last Results” it actually will only show you the last result, not a list of former results. You can email the results to yourself but that is a hassle. A built-in database of past results with an exportable CSV is without-a-doubt necessary for this application.
Utilizing the Solar Toolkit for “DC to kWh Gen” allows you to find out your local sun hours, but it doesn’t do it automatically using GPS which just makes it confusing. The Solar Incentives Calc is probably one of the most useful at first glance, until you open it and realize that it doesn’t actually tell you about the incentives in your area but rather gives you calculations and breakdowns. It forces you to put in the percentage of a federal tax credit manually and does not provide information on where to find additional resources.
Overal, great little toolkit application to have with you if you are either an advocate of solar electricity or interested in purchasing it for your house. It is nifty to find when browsing the application store, but not worth paying for. A better solution would be a free version with iAd’s or a Lite and Pro version. The user interface is clean but has a lot of wasted space on the first half and it does not utilize basic iOS design resources which make it seem like it was built for Android and not iOS.
Solar Calculator can be purchased for $2.99 from the iTune Store
