Optimizing solar energy usage in private homes

The founders, Corinne Kuhn, Andreas Kuhn and Hans Fischer, founded Solar Manager AG in 2018, with the business idea stemming from their own needs. They were looking for a way to optimize their solar electricity consumption, for example, by using highs well and conserving consumption during lows. They needed a technological solution to help photovoltaic owners to use the solar power produced on their roofs efficiently. 

The founders developed a software and a gateway that helped them to optimize the private electricity household that have a photovoltaic system. After receiving positive feedback from people in the photovoltaic industry, they decided together to provide the app called "Solar Manager" also to other photovoltaic owners to help them control the distribution and use of electricity. This quickly became a business path that they wanted to pursuit.

With the Solar Manager solution, the control of various appliances runs via the so-called gateway, a hardware device sold and installed by the photovoltaic installers or electricians. In addition to the hardware, the Solar Manager also consists of a customer app. With this app, the user can define individual rules that the software should follow. For example, which connected devices (e.g. heatpump, car charging station, etc.) should be prioritized when solar power is low. In addition, the end users really appreciate the analyses and statistics, which clearly show how much electricity has been produced on one's roof, how much electricity is used for which devices, or how much of one's own needs can be covered by solar power and how much has to be tapped from the grid.

An outside view on the industry as success factor

The idea was big, and the founders were from outside the industry. That meant they had to acquire a lot of know-how but also had the advantage of approaching the topic with an open mind. However, the software development was something the team was especially good at.

"In regards of needs and operations, we relied very heavily on feedback from installers and constantly optimized our product. Through this exchange and focusing on a top-quality product, we built trust in the industry even without industry experience," says Corinne Kuhn.

The team, which was very small for the first two years, quickly achieved relevant success in sales development and growth. Since the product launch in November 2018, the business doubled each year because the solution was fulfilling the needs of installers and end users. In the meantime, around 30 people are working on the Solar Manager product and the team continues to grow.

Expansion and product developments keep the team busy

Preparations for German expansion have been underway since early 2023, with the formation of the German subsidiary completed in mid-June and finding a managing director for Germany. 

"With a managing director for our German company, we hope to be able to work the German market more intensively than we have been able to do from Switzerland," explains Corinne Kuhn. "In Switzerland, we can already say that we are the market leader in energy management of photovoltaics for the residential market."

Meanwhile, the dynamic company is moving on fast in Switzerland in sales and product development. In recent months, new functionalities have been added. These include bidirectional charging, in which the car battery of electric vehicles stores electricity and can be tapped later when more energy is needed than is currently available from the photovoltaic system. 

Also added was load management, which optimizes load distribution to avoid power outages when multiple charging stations are installed in one location. Last but not least, Solar Manager also offers tariff billing interfaces when photovoltaic systems are owned by various parties so that they can bill each other for electricity. So, a lot has happened since Solar Manager SA received the SEF.Growth label.