

Making the case for solar in the Nordics
The biggest barrier to solar adoption in Finland wasn't cost — it was disbelief. Many potential customers assumed there simply wasn't enough sun in the Nordics to make it worthwhile. Before anyone would consider purchasing, that doubt had to be addressed head-on. We created Fortum Aurinkolaskuri, a solar benefit calculator that gives any homeowner a personalised estimate in seconds. Enter your address, and the tool uses building properties and measured solar radiation data to calculate your roof's energy potential, recommended panel configuration, expected annual production, electricity bill savings, and payback time. No technical knowledge required. The user experience was kept deliberately minimal. One input, one click, one clear result. We stripped out solar jargon — inverters, kilowatt-hours, peak output — and replaced them with outcomes people actually care about: money saved, energy produced, years to break even. The calculator became the front door to the entire solar offering.
Aurinkolaskuri was used 22,000 times in its first month. The volume validated both the interest in solar and the power of removing friction from the first moment of discovery.

Connecting everyone in the delivery chain
Buying solar panels is the easy part. Getting them properly installed — coordinating between the customer, Fortum's support team, and a third-party installer — is where the experience typically breaks down. We designed Fortum SODA to fix that. SODA is a single online service that adapts to three distinct user groups. Customers see the status of their order and know exactly what happens next. Fortum's customer service staff have a live view of every order and know which actions are needed to move things forward. Installers can log the specifics of each job, including any on-site issues they encounter and how they resolved them. The system was designed and validated together with all three groups. Every screen, every notification, every state of the order was tested with real users — not assumed. The result was a service that removed uncertainty from every step of the process, and gave each stakeholder only what they needed to see.
Feedback from customers centred on one thing: they finally knew what was happening. For most, it was the first time an energy company had kept them genuinely informed throughout a complex process. Installers valued being able to document each job in a structured way, which helped Fortum continuously improve the installation process.
Next projects.
(2016-25©)

