AI can write you a solar app.
It can’t sign a $65,000 imagery contract for you.
AI coding tools can build a convincing demo in a weekend. A platform you can run an installation company on takes years of solar, electrical and 3D engineering, plus data contracts priced for platforms rather than single installers.
Credit where it is due
What building your own does well.
A self-built tool is a reasonable idea for a narrow job. Done well, it offers:
- It fits your process exactly
- Every screen and field matches how your team already works.
- You own the code
- No vendor roadmap to wait on and no subscription to renew.
- A prototype costs almost nothing
- A quote calculator or job tracker can come together quickly.
The demo is the easy part.
What separates a prototype from software a solar company can sell, design and install with is everything behind the screen.
Years of solar knowledge
Powerlily has been in daily development since 2023, built by a team with decades of experience at successful solar EPCs and distributors, and grown from the software that runs a working installer. The single-line diagram generator and validator alone took over 1,000 hours, much of it industry professionals designing the electrical systems and rules, not just code being written. It cannot be put together on vibes.
A 3D engine polished by game developers
The design tool is thousands of hours of refinement: roof modelling, shade, snapping, stringing and the details installers only notice when they are missing. We brought in former developers from large video game studios to polish the renderer. Roofs, terrain, trees, shade and arrays render live in the browser, at a level of polish we believe no other solar platform matches. Open a live proposal and judge for yourself.
Data that only pays off when shared
Premium imagery providers sell API access on annual commitments, around $65,000 USD a year for Nearmap, and unused volume does not roll over. Shared across many installers, it costs each one a small slice. For a single company, HD imagery alone outweighs the rest of its software budget.
What it really costs to run.
Running software with this many features is enormously expensive. Each line below is a contract, a server or years of specialist work, and none of it is optional. Powerlily carries all of it and spreads the cost across every installer on the platform. See Powerlily pricing ↗
| What it takes | Building it yourself | Powerlily |
|---|---|---|
| Real-time 3D design tool | Thousands of hours of refinement by solar designers and graphics specialists, then constant tuning as browsers and devices change | Essentials and above, refined every week |
| SLD generator and validator | Over 1,000 hours, much of it electrical professionals designing the systems and NEC and CEC rules. An AI cannot invent code compliance | Pro, built with in-house electrical engineers |
| HD aerial imagery, DSM and LiDAR | Nearmap commitment of around $65,000 USD a year before your first proposal, with no rollover | Nearmap on Pro; EagleView on Standard |
| Google Solar elevation data and maps | Metered per request, plus your own keys, quotas and billing alerts | Essentials and above |
| Parcel boundaries and property data | A Regrid API license for the US and Canada | Included |
| Drone site surveys | A GPU photogrammetry server to run, scale and keep fed | Drone survey processing on Pro |
| Job servers, cache, database and file storage | Always-on infrastructure that grows with every feature, monitored, backed up and patched | Included |
| Inverter monitoring | Enphase, SolarEdge, APsystems, Tesla and more, each integration built and kept working as vendors change their APIs | Pro, no per-system fee |
| Field app | iOS and Android apps, store reviews, releases and device testing | Lilypad, iOS and Android |
| Security, uptime and support | Someone on call when it breaks in the middle of a sale | Included |
| Upkeep | Every API, browser and phone update, for as long as you run it | New features shipped every day |
| Our estimate, per year | Well into six figures before anyone’s salary | One monthly subscription |
The Nearmap figure is the annual API commitment quoted to Powerlily as of November 2026; your quote may differ. The yearly estimate is ours: data contracts, hosting and services for one company running these features, before developer and engineering salaries. Other providers price by volume, region and contract. Plan details for Powerlily are on our pricing page. Product names are trademarks of their owners, used only to identify the services described.
Build, or subscribe?
- Building may fit if
- You need a narrow internal tool, such as a quote calculator or job tracker, without premium imagery, engineering-grade design or a field app.
- Powerlily may fit if
- You want to sell and install solar, not run a software company, and you want world-class design, data and operations tools for a monthly subscription.
Spend your time on solar, not software.
Book a walkthrough with your own projects in mind, or create an account and start today. Guided onboarding is included on every plan.
