Note: Automatic Adders are only available for users on Consumption plans. They are unavailable on License plans.
Adders & Discounts are line items that modify the final price of your system, but are separate from local, state, and federal incentives. Adders add dollars to the base price, and discounts reduce the base price.
This article explains how to configure Adders & Discounts that are automatically applied to designs you create in Aurora. You can select whether they’re applied only to designs meeting certain conditions, or automatically applied to all designs.
To learn about general settings and options for Adders & Discounts, click here.
Table of Contents
- Condition Types for Adders & Discounts
- Types of Automatic Adders & Discounts
- Viewing Automatic Adders & Discounts in Sales Mode
Condition Types for Adders & Discounts
Navigate to Database > Adders & Discounts, then click ‘+ New’ or click on any Adder/Discount to edit. First complete the ‘Details’ section then choose from three different options in the ‘Conditions’ section. The first does not involve automatic application:
Users pick when to apply - Sales Mode users can manually add and remove the Adder or Discount to system designs
To automatically apply the Adder or Discount, choose from these two Condition options:
Automatically apply to all designs - Adder or Discount is applied to all system designs created in your account, and Sales Mode users can not remove them (applied to new designs only; pricing for previously created designs will not be changed unless manually updated)
Automatically apply based on conditions - Adder or Discount is applied to system designs meeting specific requirements, and Sales Mode users can not remove them (applied to new designs only; pricing for previously created designs will not be changed unless manually updated)
Types of Automatic Adders & Discounts
Apply to All Designs
Creating an Automatic Adder that will be applied to every new design created in your Aurora account is relatively straightforward. In the ‘Conditions’ section, simply select ‘Automatically apply to all designs’.
Apply Based on Conditions
Adders & Discounts can be automatically applied based on the following conditions:
- Modules - apply Adder or Discount if specific modules are used in the design
- Inverters - apply Adder or Discount if specific inverters are used in the design
- System size - apply Adder or Discount if system size (in kW) is above/below a value, or within a range
- Roof pitch (in degrees) - apply Adder or Discount if roof pitch (in degrees) is above/below a value, or within a range
- Storage operating mode - Apply adder if battery operating mode is ‘Backup’ or ‘Self-consumption’
- Ground mount - Apply adder if the system contains a ground mount
- Array count - Apply adder if array count is above, below, or equal to a specified number
In the ‘Conditions’ section of the Edit Adder/Discount page, select ‘Automatically apply based on conditions’ then use the drop-down menu to choose from the objects list.
Module Automatic Adders
When selecting ‘Modules’ from the objects list, the ‘Matches any’ operator will be used by default. Next, use the ‘Select Module’ field to scroll or type search for modules. Multi-select different modules in this menu to apply the Automatic Adder if any of a few modules are used in the design.
Note: When a design uses two module types but only one is associated with an Automatic Adder, the Automatic Adder will be applied to the wattage (kW) or panels (#) of the entire design. This is also true for designs including both on-roof and ground-mounted panels.
Inverter Automatic Adders
When selecting ‘Inverters’ from the objects list, the ‘Matches any’ operator will be used by default. Next, use the ‘Select Inverter’ field to scroll or type search for modules.
Note: When a design uses two inverter types but only one is associated with an Automatic Adder, the Automatic Adder will be applied to the wattage (kW) or panels (#) of the entire design. This is also true for designs including both solar and storage-specific inverters.
System Size Automatic Adders
When selecting ‘System Size’ from the objects list, choose from the operators below:
- Greater than
- Greater than or equal to
- Less than
- Less than or equal to
Next, enter a value into the kilowatt (kW) field.
To create a System Size Automatic Adder for a range of kW sizes, it’s suggested to use the ‘Greater than or equal to’ operator for the lower bound and ‘Less than’ for the upper bound.
Roof Pitch Automatic Adders — for Steep and Flat Roofs
When selecting ‘Roof pitch (in degrees)’ from the objects list, choose from the operators below:
- Greater than
- Greater than or equal to
- Less than
- Less than or equal to
Next, enter a value into the degrees (°) field.
To create a Roof Pitch Automatic Adder for a steep roof, where extra equipment such as scaffolding may increase costs, it’s suggested to use the ‘Greater than or equal to’ operator and a high value in the degrees (°) field.
To create a Roof Pitch Automatic Adder for a flat roof, where different racking types may be more optimal, it’s suggested to use the ‘Less than’ operator and a relatively low value in the degrees (°) field.
Note: Roof Pitch Automatic Adders can become complex when certain options are selected in combination. See below for more detailed information about Automatic Adder behavior:
-
When a system design contains some modules on a steep section of a roof—such that it triggers a Roof Pitch Automatic Adder you’ve created—and additional modules are on another section of the roof which did not trigger the Adder, the ‘Rate’ type selected determines the Adder’s behavior:
-
Per panel and Per watt (of system size) rate types: only the wattage or panel count on the steep section of the roof will be factored into the Adder amount
- For example, for a roof system totaling 6 kW with 4 kW of panels on a steep section of the roof, the $/watt or $/panel adder would only apply to the 4kW on the steep roof section
- Flat and Percentage (of system cost) rate types: regardless of how many panels are placed on the steep section of the roof and how many are placed elsewhere, the entire wattage or panel count of the system design will be factored into the Adder amount
-
Per panel and Per watt (of system size) rate types: only the wattage or panel count on the steep section of the roof will be factored into the Adder amount
- When a roof structure includes steep faces, but no panels are placed on those steep faces, a Roof Pitch Automatic Adder would not be triggered. Regardless of the ‘Rate’ type selected—Flat, Per panel, Per watt (of system size), or Percentage (of system cost)—a Roof Pitch Automatic Adder would not be triggered if all the system’s panels are placed on non-steep faces
- When creating any Roof Pitch Automatic Adder, the ‘Rate’ type of ‘Per sq. ft. (of roof area)’ will be grayed out and not usable.
Storage Operating Mode Automatic Adders
When selecting ‘Storage operating mode’ from the objects list, the ‘Matches any’ operator will be used by default. Next, use the ‘Select’ drop-down to select either ‘Backup’ or ‘Self-consumption’.
To create an Automatic Adder that is applied regardless of storage operating mode (i.e. an adder that’s automatically applied if a system includes any storage at all), select both operating modes from the drop-down. See below:
Ground Mount Automatic Adders
When selecting ‘Ground mount’’ from the objects list, the next drop-down menu will give options ‘True’ and ‘False’ options. ‘Matches any’ operator will be used by default. Next, use the ‘Select Inverter’ field to scroll or type search for modules.
Note: Ground Mount Automatic Adders can become complex when certain options are selected in combination. See below for more detailed information about Automatic Adder behavior:
-
When a system design contains some modules on a ground mount—such that it triggers a Ground Mount Automatic Adder you’ve created—and additional modules are on a rooftop, the ‘Rate’ type selected determines the Adder’s behavior:
-
Per panel and Per watt (of system size) rate types: only the wattage or panel count on the ground mount will be factored into the Adder amount
- For example, for a system totaling 10 kW with 4 kW of panels on a ground mount, the $/watt or $/panel adder would only apply to the 4kW on the ground mount (not the panels/capacity on the rooftop)
-
Per panel and Per watt (of system size) rate types: only the wattage or panel count on the ground mount will be factored into the Adder amount
Flat and Percentage (of system cost) rate types: regardless of how many panels are placed on the ground mount and how many are placed on the rooftop, the entire wattage or panel count of the system design will be factored into the Adder amount
Array Count Automatic Adders
When selecting ‘Array count’ from the objects list, choose from the operators below:
- Greater than
- Greater than or equal to
- Less than
- Less than or equal to
Next, enter a value into the ‘arrays’ field.
Note: There are several caveats to be aware of related to Array Count Automatic Adders’ behavior:
- The automatic array adder considers an array to be one or more panels on the same inverter or micro inverter — it is not driven by racking configurations. Therefore, the number of arrays should match the array count in the Design Summary, and may be different than the array count in the Racking Summary
-
The adder will be applied only once if its conditions are met (i.e. if you create a flat cost adder and “Array count is greater than 3 arrays” is the selected condition, it does not matter whether the design includes 4 or 5 arrays. The adder will be applied only once)
- E.g. If your goal is to apply an adder for each additional array within a design, you can create multiple Array Count Automatic Adders for incremental numbers of arrays — with a $200 automatic adder for “2+ Arrays” and another $200 adder for “3+ Arrays” activated, a design containing 3 arrays would trigger both adders for a total of $400
-
If either the ‘Per panel’ or ‘Per watt (of system size)’ rate type is selected, the adder is applied to ALL panels/wattage for the entire design
- Because Aurora does not know which is the “extra” array in a design containing multiple arrays, the adder cannot be applied to only one array’s panels or wattage
Automatic Adders with Multiple Condition Types
To create an Automatic Adder (or Discount) that is triggered when a design meets more than one condition, click ‘Add condition’ again.
- For example, if a certain module is used for small systems (in kW) and that module is priced differently, use a Module Automatic Adder and System Size Automatic Adder in combination
Viewing Automatic Adders and Discounts in Sales Mode
When creating an Automatic Adder or Discount, the explainer text below the Conditions section will update as you work, providing a clear explanation of when and how the Automatic Adder will appear in Sales Mode.
From any page within the Sales Mode workflow, sales reps can click on the ‘$’ icon at the top of the page to view the Automatic Adders and Discounts which have been applied to a design.