EnergySage, a Cambridge-based online marketplace for solar panel installations, has partnered with the Framingham retail giant Staples, Inc. to offer homeowners and businesses an added perk when they install solar panels.
The solar marketplace, which serves 26 states, said Thursday that consumers who find their solar installers on EnergySage will receive Staples gift cards ranging from $150 to $2,000. Although that’s only a fraction of the cost of a rooftop solar system, Vikram Aggarwal, EnergySage’s chief executive, said it could give solar shoppers -- whose numbers have increased fivefold in the past six months -- another incentive.
“Our partnership with EnergySage is a natural extension of our commitment to help our customers run their businesses and homes more sustainably,” said Jake Swenson, a Staples executive. “This relationship provides them a simple way to learn about and install solar for a great price.”
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EnergySage, which has about twelve employees at its offices in Kendall Square, designed an online platform for residential and business customers to share relevant information like their roof size and energy use with a pool of solar panel installers. Those installers can submit quotes and exchange messages with customers, who can shop around for a competitive arrangement where they buy the panels outright or pay for them with the electricity they generate.
The company, which has won funding from the Department of Energy, is currently going through its Series A financing round, Aggarwal said. The round is led by Boston’s Launchpad Venture Group.
Staples has made a significant commitment to solar energy it its own stores. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, Staples had the 7th-most solar installations in the country in 2014, with 37.
Jack Newsham can be reached at jack.newsham@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @TheNewsHam.
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