Community solar allows households and businesses to access renewable energy without installing rooftop panels, yet awareness remains low. Perch Energy’s enrollment platform faced three critical issues:
The result? Low conversion rates, frustrated users, and stunted growth despite expanding into 7 states. I conducted in-person interviews, usability testing across income brackets, and deep analytics reviews. Three insights emerged:
Users didn't complete enrollment because they weren't sure if Perch was legitimate or if community solar would actually save them money. Lower-income users especially needed proof—big brand partnerships, security badges, and clear savings calculations.
67% of traffic came from mobile, but the experience was desktop-first. Users on phones wanted speed and simplicity—not lengthy explanations. Manual bill uploads converted 2.3x better than utility credential integration because users felt more in control.
Door-to-door sales, telesales, and self-service users had different needs. Low-intent users felt the process was "too pushy," while LMI (low-to-moderate income) users needed more education about community solar's environmental and financial impact.
I designed a modular enrollment system that adapts to user intent and context. Rather than forcing everyone through one rigid flow, I built a flexible architecture that could scale across 21 markets, serve three sales channels (self-service, telesales, door-to-door), and personalize based on user confidence levels.
I facilitated cross-functional workshops with engineering, sales and operations, and marketing to align on priorities, then created a unified design system to ensure consistency across consumer, business, and client platforms.
The flexible modular design allowed Perch to adapt quickly to new markets without rebuilding from scratch—turning design into a competitive advantage.