AI Assistant: Solar Engineering Intelligence
The SolarScope AI Assistant is a specialized solar engineering chatbot powered by GPT-4. It's trained with context about your specific projects and solar industry knowledge, making it capable of answering detailed technical questions about your analysis results, system design, and solar data interpretation.
Accessing the AI Assistant
The AI Assistant is available in two locations:
- Global AI Chat — Access from the main navigation or
/ai-assistant. Useful for general solar questions not tied to a specific project. - Project Chat — Within any project view, click the AI Chat tab. The assistant has full context about your project's location, system parameters, and analysis results.
What the AI Assistant Can Do
Interpret Analysis Results
Paste or reference your project data and ask questions like:
- "Why is my December production so low compared to June?"
- "My GHI is 5.2 kWh/m²/day — is that good for a 50 kW commercial system?"
- "What tilt angle would maximize annual production at latitude 35°?"
The AI provides specific answers with reasoning, not generic responses.
System Design Guidance
- "Should I use microinverters or a string inverter for my 12 kW residential system?"
- "What's the optimal DC/AC ratio for my site with 5.8 PSH?"
- "How many panels do I need to generate 15,000 kWh/year at my location?"
Regulatory and Financial Questions
- "What solar incentives are available in California as of 2024?"
- "How does net metering work with my utility?"
- "Estimate the simple payback period for a 25 kW commercial system at $0.14/kWh"
Data Interpretation
- "Explain the difference between GHI and DNI for my analysis"
- "My capacity factor is 18% — what does that mean?"
- "Why does my peak sun hour value differ from what I see on other tools?"
AI Credit Usage
Each AI conversation uses credits from your monthly allowance:
- Starter plan: 50,000 tokens/month
- Pro plan: 500,000 tokens/month
- Premium plan: 2,000,000 tokens/month
Token usage is displayed in real time during conversations. A typical detailed project analysis question uses 500–1,500 tokens.
Best Practices for AI Conversations
- Be specific: Include system size, location, and the specific metric you're asking about
- Share context: Reference your actual analysis results rather than hypothetical values
- Ask follow-up questions: The AI maintains conversation context within a session
- Verify critical design decisions: Use AI insights as a starting point, then validate with engineering calculations or consult a licensed professional for permitted systems