Helion's Lens now uses updated local utility rates

When a homeowner enters their address in Helion's Lens, the estimate behind the scenes just got a lot more honest.

Until now, many solar estimators quietly used one national average for electricity cost. That works for a demo. It does not work when a homeowner in California, North Carolina, or Massachusetts compares your number to their actual bill.

What changed

Helion's Lens now looks up average residential electricity rates by ZIP code using Helios Nexus dataset. The same rate logic powers:

• Savings and payback figures shown in the embed
• System sizing driven by autoGenerateDesign
• The Local Electricity Rate demo at /demo/widget for your team

Each estimate exposes which rate was used (electricityRate and rateSource) so your reps can explain the math if a homeowner asks.

Why it matters for solar companies

Homeowners trust numbers that feel local. When your website says “you could save $X” using a rate that roughly matches their utility territory, you get fewer drop-offs and better-qualified conversations. Your reps spend less time re-explaining why the widget was “off.”

We still surface confidence when a ZIP falls back to a broader average—honesty beats false precision.

Immersive embed pilot

We are also piloting an immersive band embed: a full-width teaser on your site (instead of only the floating pill) that can tease a local rate after the visitor shares location. Enable it per widget key under Settings → Advanced and add data-immersive="true" to your script tag. This is Phase 1—same pipeline, same allowlist rules.

For developers and partners

• Public lookup: GET /api/rates/zip?zip=90210
• Deeper reference: docs/reference/zip-utility-rates.md

Get started

If you already use Helion's Lens, you do not need a new key—deploy the latest app version and your existing embed picks up improved rates automatically. New to Helion? Start a workspace or read the launch post.