Tech giant Google is looking to use peer pressure for a good reason that is to sustain alternative energy and save the planet. Thanks to Google's new project, you can able to see which of your neighbors have solar panels installed and that will make you much more likely to be inclined to get solar panels of your own.
According to a study conducted by a professor of economics at Yale University, Kenneth Gillingham, one of the best predictors of whether people will install solar panels on their houses is not their race, age, their level of income, or as well as their political affiliation. It is whether their neighbors have it first.
Google's latest creation, named as the Project Sunroof, targets to pressure Americans to make an investment in solar paneling on their homes by using the power of groupthink and also popularity. The application teams up with Google maps to find or locate and identify homes which appear to use solar panels on their roofs.
The tool has identified approximately 700,000 solar installations in America, which sums up short of the 1.3 million estimated by the Solar Energy Industries Association's (SEIA) count, however, like any good program, its creator explained it must require some more data to improve. Moreover, the app goes further than just identify homes with solar panels, it also offers resources to individuals looking to get a break into the solar game.
The Project Sunroof will inform you how much sun hits your roof, and would also tell you how much money having solar panels could save. At the moment, the Project Sunroof delivers data for 60 million houses all over the United States that it has already set with its algorithms, however, Google aims to add 40 million buildings in the next few years.
