About GoSolarIndex
GoSolarIndex is an independent research platform designed to give US homeowners, off-grid builders, and energy consumers clear, math-backed answers before investing in rooftop solar or home battery backup systems.
Why GoSolarIndex Exists
The residential solar industry suffers from an information asymmetry problem. Most homeowners searching online for solar information encounter two types of websites:
- Lead Generation Aggregators: Platforms disguised as "free solar calculators" whose sole business model is capturing your name, home address, and mobile phone number to sell to five or ten aggressive contractor sales organizations within seconds.
- Outdated or Biased Marketing Materials: Sales pitches that assume unrealistic 4% annual utility rate escalators, ignore real-world inverter clipping, downplay net billing export penalties (such as California NEM 3.0), and still promise expired federal tax incentives.
GoSolarIndex was built to solve this. We do not sell leads. We do not hide formulas behind forms. Every calculator runs directly in your browser, every financial model accounts for post-2025 tax realities, and every utility rate links directly to official government filings.
Our Core Principles
Verifiable Public Data Only
Every rate, solar insolation metric, and state policy is derived from authoritative sources: the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), and state public utility commissions.
Zero Lead Brokering
We never require phone numbers, credit checks, or personal home inspections to calculate solar potential. Our interactive tools are 100% free and client-side, respecting consumer privacy.
Engineering Honesty
We model realistic system losses: 14% system derate factors (wiring, dust, thermal degradation, inverter efficiency), usable battery depth of discharge (DoD), and high motor surge requirements for HVAC compressors.
Current Tax Law Compliance
We accurately reflect post-2025 federal tax law: direct homeowner purchases no longer receive the expired IRC Section 25D credit (0% default), whereas commercial third-party leases and power purchase agreements (PPAs) utilize the Section 48E commercial credit.
Meet the Founder
Aditya Patil
Software Engineer & Solo Developer
By profession, Aditya Patil is a Software Engineer working in the energy domain, engineering data pipelines and forecasting architectures for solar and wind energy projects. As an active solo developer and indie hacker, he builds transparent, contractor-independent software and open calculators across clean energy (GoSolarIndex.com andGoSolarIndex.in), logistics (FreightClassCalculators.com), advertising yield (RealCPMCalculator.com), and personal engineering writings atadityapatil.work.
How GoSolarIndex Stays Independent
Maintaining high-frequency data pipelines, hosting interactive simulation tools, and verifying state legislative statutes requires dedicated infrastructure. GoSolarIndex supports its operations through transparent affiliate links on select retail hardware (portable power stations, cables, accessories) and display advertising.
Our commercial arrangements have zero influence on our calculation formulas, product scoring, or editorial evaluations. We do not accept paid reviews, and we never give favorable ratings to inferior equipment. Read our full policy on our Affiliate Disclosure page.
Questions or Suggestions?
Explore our complete math on our Methodology page, or reach out directly through our Contact page.