Case Study:
Selfmade Energy

Customer

TiRo CheckEnergy GmbH offers an innovative platform called Selfmade Energy (SME), which supports customers in choosing solar systems through comprehensive comparisons. As a specialized provider, the company ensures that interested parties can find offers that match their specific needs and site requirements from a wide range of options. By collaborating with various solar providers, Selfmade Energy (SME) acts as an important intermediary in the solar energy industry while also facilitating consumers' transition to renewable energy. Through a user-friendly online platform, SME enables a simple and efficient way to compare offers and make optimal decisions regarding their own energy supply.

Project

SME faced multiple challenges that required an overhaul of the existing systems. Initially developed through outsourcing, the platform needed improvements in functionality and user-friendliness, particularly concerning lead generation for their partner companies. The existing platform was unable to efficiently meet needs and requirements. Specifically, the existing comparison assistant (wizard), which served lead generation, was not technically well integrated and needed to be replaced. Another problem was the occasionally unsatisfactory collaboration with the outsourcing provider, characterized by missed deadlines and insufficient backend experience. There was also a desire to implement various new API integrations and modernize the overall architecture of the Django application to facilitate future extensions and maintenance. CosmoCode was tasked with taking over further development to address not only urgent but also future tasks, with a focus on improving the lead generation process to significantly optimize partner integration and customer experience.

Implementation

As part of the development of selfmade-energy.com, CosmoCode developed a range of technical solutions to make the platform more efficient and user-friendly.

One of the main improvements was the overhaul of the lead generation process. CosmoCode replaced the traditional iframe-based wizard with a modern React application, offering users a smoother experience when completing steps to request solar systems. This process required several API integrations, including Tetraeder for detailed solar information, AWS for mail delivery and image storage, Twilio for SMS communication, Leviti for AI-powered image recognition and evaluation, and Pipedrive for CRM integration.

Another important feature implemented is the automated image evaluation upon customer upload. Through the Leviti AI API, uploaded images are immediately evaluated and the quality status is reported back to the user. This ensures that only high-quality images are included in the process, which in turn improves the accuracy of project proposals.

Challenges in development included not only the integration of multiple APIs and transitioning functions to the React framework but also achieving seamless migration from old system components to a modern architecture without disrupting ongoing operations. Additionally, all application components had to be transitioned to the new React-based architecture while ensuring a coherent design and user experience across the platform's various modules.

Due to delays caused by outsourcing, tight deadlines were another issue to be addressed. However, CosmoCode managed to meet customer requirements through efficient communication and agile working methods.

Special emphasis was placed on optimizing and automating the deployment process. By using modern technologies such as Docker, AWS EC2, and GitHub Actions, a robust infrastructure for Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) was established. These improvements allow for faster and safer transmission of changes into the production environment. Docker containers significantly increased consistency between development and production environments, reducing error-proneness in new releases and simplifying overall platform maintenance. This is crucial for the scalability and long-term reliability of the platform, enabling developers to respond to changes and efficiently integrate new features.