OS 3.0: The Revolution Will Be Free
- Andrew Birch ("Birchy")
- Aug 14
- 2 min read

Back in 2019, we had this crazy idea: what if we gave away the world’s best solar design software…for free?
No catch. No upsell. No subscription plan lurking behind a 14-day trial. Just pure, open access to solar software that actually worked.
We believed that solar pros deserved better than clunky desktop relics and overpriced platforms.
Since then, more than 25,000 installers across 160+ countries have joined us. They’ve used OpenSolar to sell smarter, move faster, and build a renewable future from the ground up.
Now we’re stepping it up again.
Introducing OS 3.0.
It’s our biggest release ever (and honestly, it’s a bit of a beast).
We’ve packed it with AI-powered design and lead gen tools, faster workflows, and upstream-to-downstream functionality that covers the entire solar business, from first contact to final payment.
This isn’t a tweak. It’s a controlled detonation of outdated workflows.
Why Now?
Because solar is scaling and the tools haven’t kept up.
Ask any installer what’s slowing them down and they will tell you it’s hidden friction: clunky quoting systems, siloed CRMs and ordering systems, hours lost to proposal edits and duplicate data entry i.e. death by a thousand tabs.
Meanwhile, AI has gone from buzzword to backbone in every other industry. Why shouldn’t solar benefit too?
With OS 3.0, we’ve taken everything we’ve learned from solar teams around the world and baked it into a smarter, faster, more intuitive platform. And yes: it’s still free.
What’s New?
Here’s a taste of what OS 3.0 brings:
AI-powered design + lead gen: faster, sharper, more automated
Upgraded sales experience: a lifestyle presentation, fully electrified
CRM + invoicing revamp: fewer spreadsheets, more installs
All-new Shop: a curated marketplace built right into your workflow
It’s an entire ecosystem designed around one question: How do we make solar pros’ lives easier?
But Isn’t This...Expensive?
Yep. It costs us a lot to build this. But we’re committed as ever not to charge installers a cent to use it.
Because our business model isn’t about taxing the people who are building the future. It’s about scaling the future faster. We partner with the best manufacturers and service providers in the industry, so we can stay free for the people on the front lines.
(Also, frankly, I sleep better at night knowing I’m not running one more SaaS company playing margin games with the climate clock.)
A Final Word
We’re not here to be liked. We’re here to be useful.
Useful to the teams climbing on rooftops. Useful to the sales reps closing deals in living rooms. Useful to the ops managers switching tabs between four different tools before their second coffee.
OpenSolar 3.0 is for them. And if we’ve done our job right, it’ll help this industry grow even faster. Without the cost, without the chaos, and without waiting around for someone else to “fix it.”
The revolution will be free. See you at the launch.
Register for the September 18/19 launch events: click here.
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