The City of Philadelphia really wants you to think about solar.

A new map shows residents and businesses their solar potential of existing rooftops.  

According to the website, the map was developed by the City of Philadelphia Office of Sustainability – Energy Office and the Office of Innovation and Technology – CityGeo using LiDAR imagery with a modeled path of the sun for each month of the year to calculate solar irradiance for all buildings across Philadelphia.

We checked our office building to see what happens. The red spots have the best opportunities for solar panels, followed by orange and yellow. (Looks like we should start talking to our building owners about solar, eh?)

Once you’ve checked your building out on the map, you can check for more local resources to start getting solar energy.

How to Research solar energy in Philadelphia:

Solarize Philly helps residents go solar at home, making it easy and affordable.

Solar Energy Industries Association has a Solar Customer Resource Portal to outline options, what to look for in an offer, what to ask a solar company and more.

Explore the map and your buildings at Phila.gov/solarmap.

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Julie Hancher is the co-founder and Executive Director of Green Philly, an independent media organization making sustainability accessible, affordable and actionable. Since launching Green Philly in 2008, she has grown it from a passion project into a leading voice for local climate storytelling, pairing impactful journalism with community events and experiences. Julie is a frequent speaker on climate, media innovation and the future of local journalism, and is the creator of SustainPHL and EcoFair. Outside of Green Philly, you can find her hiking, biking, traveling, or exploring Philadelphia. View all posts by Julie Hancher