One of the most gratifying things I have seen as I have watched HOMER Energy grow has been the interest of academics in using HOMER – from the classroom, to the thesis, and beyond. Our CEO, Dr. Peter Lilienthal, loves to tell the story of visiting the Minister of Energy of a northern African nation and learning that the Minister had done his master’s thesis using HOMER.
As the Chief Operating Officer and Director of Academic Relations here at HOMER Energy, I wanted to share some of the programs we have in place and are planning to put in place to meet my audacious goal of getting HOMER into every university in the world! My reason for this goal is that I know HOMER has the potential to change the world, is helping change the world, and the young people learning it today are the leaders of tomorrow. The world needs affordable options for renewable energy, microgrids, and distributed generation, and HOMER is all about illuminating the possibilities for these up and coming technologies. HOMER is already in use in thousands of institutions, but there is so much more we can do together!
So, without further ado, here they are:
Academic and Student Discounts – These have been in place for years, but we now offer deeper discounts for students and more options for academics, including permanent licenses for faculty, if desired.
Classroom Licensing – We offer very affordable terms for classroom and laboratory licenses that will be installed on your computers for student use, starting with only 10 seats. Because HOMER is a Windows application, we recommend that anyone teaching it offer their students the option to use university machines for their coursework.
Monthly, Semester, and Annual Terms – Sometimes you just need HOMER for a short period of time. Our monthly and semester licensing options let you use HOMER on your own terms. Currently monthly licenses can be purchased one month at a time, but coming soon we will be offering subscription-based programs, so you can effectively pay for one year of HOMER a month at a time.
Student Licenses Purchased by an Institution – More and more we see students using their own computers for coursework. Now colleges and universities can purchase student licenses in bulk, and then transfer them directly to students as needed.
The above programs are all valid for HOMER Pro, our flagship product. We strongly recommend that HOMER Pro be the basis for teaching at the graduate and advanced undergraduate level. The programs we have are meant to be affordable throughout the world, but if you need other options, we also have no-cost options for teaching and learning HOMER:
HOMER Quickstart – Coming in May 2015, Quickstart will be a very simplified version of HOMER that runs in a web browser. Although Quickstart has only a fraction of the power within HOMER Pro, it is meant to be used as a learning tool. Quickstart can be very effective for undergraduate classes outside engineering, for high school students, and for anyone just starting to understand HOMER. Quickstart Beta will be no cost, and we plan to always have some version of Quickstart available at no cost.
HOMER Legacy – HOMER Legacy has been officially retired as a free product, but we continue to make it available for academic usage and for non-profit organizations (and individuals) working in the energy access arena. Learn more about HOMER Legacy here.
Coming Soon – We are working hard to develop advanced training materials for teachers using HOMER. If you could benefit from HOMER training, please contact us and let us know how we might help you.
So whether you need HOMER for one student or hundreds, I encourage you to contact our sales department today to learn just how easy it is to get started using HOMER in your classes. Be part of the movement to lead the world to affordable, clean energy.