This is how Selfmade Energy wants to drive the energy transition forward

Solar cells on house roofs are still the exception rather than the rule. Founder Tim Rosengart wants to change that with his platform. Will he succeed where everyone else has failed?

When Tim Rosengart had to take care of the purchase of a photovoltaic system for his parents' house in the Lower Rhine region, it was all a big adventure. "And a lot of pain," he says in retrospect. He obtained around 20 offers for this in 2019. Some included installation, others did not. Some brought their own scaffolding so that the solar cells could be installed on the roof of his parents' house, while for others Rosengart would have had to organize it himself. Still others offered to also report the system to the grid operator after installation, so that he in turn could modify his offer for Tim Rosengart's parents.

"The offers varied by several thousand euros," he recalls. In Rosengart's eyes, the most annoying thing was that all 20 companies needed an on-site appointment so that they could take a look at the roof. So 20 times craftsmen had to come out, 20 times Rosengart had to interrupt his actual work and talk to them. For Rosengart, who holds a doctorate in economics, that was reason enough to launch his own start-up. With Selfmade Energy, he wants to simplify the search for suitable providers for customers - and save the tradesmen time by not having to drive out to look at the roof on site every time. But is bringing together suitable craftsmen and customers the biggest obstacle at all when it comes to building photovoltaic systems?

There was a time when Germany led the world when it came to installed photovoltaic capacity. 34.08 gigawatts of electricity were generated by cells in the Federal Republic in 2012. At the time, Germany produced twice as much electricity with the power of the sun as the second-place country: Italy's photovoltaic systems supplied 16.80 gigawatts. But in the years that followed, Germany missed the energy turnaround. By 2015, 34.08 gigawatts had become just 39.22. At that time, China had already taken first place worldwide with 43.52 gigawatts. And in 2020, Germany will be in fourth place with 53.9 gigawatts. China generated 253.4 gigawatts of power with photovoltaics in that year.

Germany has missed the energy turnaround

The figures come from researcher Volker Quaschning's website. "For many years, Germany was by far in the lead in terms of installed capacity. Due to the influence of politics, Germany has now relinquished this pioneering role. The German market is now only of secondary importance in an international comparison," he writes there. In the medium term, Germany is in danger of losing touch with the leading countries, according to the professor of regenerative energy systems at the Berlin University of Applied Sciences (HTW).

Tim Rosengart has also ended his CDU membership due to sleepy energy policies. "The political framework has been better since the change of government," he says. What is preventing a mass expansion now, he says, are delivery problems, a shortage of tradesmen and precisely the matching with customers.

At least Rosengart can possibly solve the problem between interested parties and providers with his start-up, which he founded in 2019. In nine steps, interested parties should be able to receive a suitable offer here. To do this, they first enter their zip code on the start-up's site, then they specify approximately how much electricity they consume per year and in which type of house they live - such as a terraced house or apartment building. For many, the next step is probably a bit more difficult, when they have to specify the pitch of their roof. The choices range from flat, to slight (15 degrees), to normal (30 degrees), to steep (45 degrees). In addition to the question about a photovoltaic system, they can also directly specify whether they have an e-car or need a heat pump and want battery storage. About the advantages and disadvantages clarifies the side of Rosengart also directly. If they have then also specified the desired date for their installation and the exact address, they will receive an initial estimate.

AI calculates solar capacity

Selfmade Energy relies on an AI to do this. It uses satellite images from Google Maps and taps into the solar registers of the German states. In these cadastres, the individual states have depicted areas that are suitable for the use of solar energy. Selfmade Energy's AI uses this representation and compares it with historical solar radiation data. At best, users end up with their home displayed on a satellite image from Google, paired with an accurate potential analysis of their roof area.

"The AI also detects interfering elements such as a gable," says Rosengart. Small problem with the whole thing: Not all federal states already make their data freely available for this purpose. "According to the EU's Open Data Directive, they have to do that," the founder emphasizes. So anyone living in Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg or Hesse cannot yet make full use of Selfmade Energy's service.

In the next step, users only have to upload photos of their roof and their meter cabinet. Only when the AI waves the photo of the roof through does it pass all the data on to the tradesmen. They, in turn, then create concrete quotes and send them by email. The only problem is that if you have a multi-family house, you might have a hard time getting your roof photographed properly. For this, a craftsman would probably have to come by in person again. Selfmade Energy wants to concentrate therefore, although the column multi-family house is callable at present, above all on owners of single-family houses.

Rosengart received the accolade for its solar calculator in 2021. The consumer magazine Finanztip selected its portal from five tested as the best. Rosengart itself earns money over commissions for mediated orders. How high those are, he does not want to say. "That would know my competitors also gladly , means it. Rosengart is sure, however, that he is cheaper than his competitors for the craftsmen. He has also concluded a financing round at the end of 2021. About the height he does not want to talk. At least about the considerable investors he speaks gladly: Verivox founder Nikolaus Starzacher, Christoph Ostermann of the solar start UP sun and Robert Ermich of your cell phone invested , say it proudly. Consumers can only hope that the shortage of tradespeople doesn't get any worse, because then the energy transition won't work, even with the best brokerage portal.