Solara

Inspiration

If we could harness all the energy that reaches the Earth from the Sun, we'd be able to power every machine and home until the end of humanity with no waste generated.

## What it does

Solara lets you enter any address and instantly see:

Panel placement using satellite roof analysis
Savings calculations based on your local utility rates
ROI including an 30% federal tax credit
Environmental impact (CO₂ offset, trees equivalent)
Local installers and permit requirements for your area
AI chatbot powered by Google Gemini to answer your solar questions

## How we built it

Frontend: Next.js 16, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, Mapbox GL for interactive satellite maps
APIs: Google Solar API for roof analysis, NREL PVWatts for generation estimates, OpenEI for utility rates, Google Places for local installers
AI: Google Gemini powers a context-aware chatbot that knows your specific solar analysis
Deployment: Vercel

## Challenges we ran into

Sifting through Google APIs to pick the most valuable information without overwhelming users.

## Accomplishments that we're proud of

Complete analysis in under 3 seconds for any US address
Smart fallback system, the app works even without premium API keys
The chatbot actually knows your specific numbers, not generic solar info

## What we learned

How solar economics actually work (tax credits, net metering, degradation rates)
The complexity of local permitting, historic districts, coastal zones, HOAs all matter
API rate limiting and fallbacks are crucial for hackathon demos

## What's next for Solara