App makes life easier for solar installers

The Clean Energy Council has released a new iPhone app that it says will help solar installers and businesses keep track of jobs, perform high-quality installation work and cut down on administration.

Clean Energy Council Accreditation Manager Kate Allsopp said the iPhone app is one of many ways the industry body was helping raise standards and make life simpler for solar installers and solar businesses.

“The Clean Energy Council’s Solar Checklist app includes detailed information for each step of a solar installation and is a way of recording and verifying that every job has been installed to the highest standards. It incorporates a barcode scanner, up-to-date technical help and a way of linking photos as well,” Allsopp said.

“The bottom line is that it will help solar installers document the details of each solar installation, provide handy prompts and save a substantial amount of time and paperwork.”

The Solar Checklist app is available for Clean Energy Council-accredited solar installers to download from the iTunes store. It is optimised for iPhone 5 but should work on all models as well as the iPad. An Android version of the app is currently in development.

“Solar power has been a game-changer for Australia’s energy industry, and installers are always looking for ways to keep up with the latest changes in technology and standards,” Allsopp said.

“The Solar Checklist app will be updated as standards change and, along with the Clean Energy Council’s continuous professional development program, will be a useful way to stay up to date.

“We have had excellent feedback on the app so far and we encourage all installers to download it and try it out.”

The Clean Energy Council has also developed a range of training videos for solar installers, including one on ‘Testing an Installation’, that can be used alongside the Solar Checklist app. Visit the Clean Energy Council’s YouTube channel at www.youtube.com.au/user/cleanenergycouncilau to access them.

The development of the Solar Checklist app and the training videos were made possible through co-investment from the Industry System Change business activity of the National VET E-learning Strategy.