You can get a rebate if you install at least two of the following energy-efficient home upgrades in your detached, semi-detached, row townhouse or mobile home with a permanent foundation.
- Exterior wall insulation: Up to $3,000
- Attic insulation: Up to $750
- Air sealing: Up to $150
- Window/door/skylight installation: $40 back per rough opening
- Basement insulation: Up to $1,250
- Furnace: $250
- Boiler: $1,000
- Water heater: $400
With hydro rates being the third-highest in the country and expected to increase annually, installing solar panels allows you to reduce or eliminate your hydro bill now, saving thousands of dollars in the long term.
A home energy assessment can help you identify opportunities to save money and combat climate change. A technician will come to your house and perform a detailed examination, going room by room to spot issues like air leaks and insufficient insulation. Then, they will provide you with a report that includes recommendations for how you can resolve various inefficiencies, save money on your home’s energy bills and qualify for rebates.
Home energy audits are quick, affordable and can help you save a significant amount of money on your energy bills. The updates you make can appeal to potential buyers, possibly getting you a higher return on investment if you put your house on the market. For example, respondents to the 2021 Zillow Group Consumer Housing Trends Report said they were willing to pay an average of 4.1% more for a home with solar panels than one without.
Remember, the more work you have done, the more money you can save. Your house is a comprehensive system, where all components must work together. For instance, you won’t reap maximum benefits from installing new insulation if you still have old, drafty windows and doors that allow heated and cooled air to leak out. Making multiple home improvements is the best way to increase your home’s value and start saving money sooner. Often, you don’t need to make major changes to start reaping the benefits. For example, replacing outdated incandescent lightbulbs with compact fluorescent lights is a relatively inexpensive DIY project that can start paying for itself right away.
Of course it’s best if you have a newer roof made of durable, sturdy materials such as composite or asphalt shingle, concrete tile or standing seam metal. If your roof is made of more fragile materials such as wood shakes or clay tiles, solar panels aren’t necessarily off-limits to you, but you will need to discuss your options with an experienced installer.
If your roof has damage or is otherwise reaching the end of its lifespan, it’s also a smart idea to have a new roof installed before getting solar panels. That way, you won’t waste money on having your solar array temporarily removed while you get your roof upgraded.
Going Off-Grid means you can produce electricity at the point of consumption, eliminating the need for expensive transmission and distribution charges, and making you independent from the utility grid. This is a great option for remote cottages, cabins, island properties, etc.
The answer is YES, if your solar panel system is connected to the grid, and used exclusively to sell electricity to the IESO (former OPA). Most participants in the microFIT program were treated as small suppliers for the HST purposes. If you voluntarily registered for the HST number, you are required to collect and remit HST on your taxable sales of electricity to your local hydro company. As per Canada Revenue Agency GST/HST info sheet GI-122 dated September 2011, if you are a GST/HST registrant, you are eligible to claim full Input Tax Credits for the cost associated with the purchase and installation of your solar panels system. Just make sure you provide proper documentation and make the claim within the time limit.
If you install your solar panel system of any size on the rooftop of your property, the assessment and tax classification will NOT change as per Ontario Regulation 282/98 under the Assessment Act dated January 4, 2012. The same applies to the ground mount solar panel installations, but with the size limited up to 10kW. If you go with a medium-size system (10kW to 500kW), your solar panels generation facility will be taxed based on the adjacent land use rate (e.g. residential, commercial, farm, etc.)
We know.. this is Canada! Our winters can be harsh sometimes, but we are still blessed with the amount of sun we get every year. Amount of Solar Energy received on a flat surface over time is the key piece of information required to size and estimate performance of your solar panel system. This is the base for all of your future Solar Energy Generation and Income calculations.
Natural Resource Canada (NRCan) has been measuring and recording Solar Energy/Insolation and other parameters from 144 meteorological stations across Canada for more than 40 years. As a result, a few very accurate and informative tables and maps are available for you to use here: www.pv.nrcan.gc.ca
For example, the Solar Photovoltaic potential for the City of Toronto is 1163 kWh/kW, which means that every 1000W (1kW) of DC power (for example, 4 solar panels of 250W each) can generate 1163 kWh of AC electricity every year! If you install a 10kW solar panel system, it will be producing 1163kWh/kW x 10kW=11’630 kWh per year on average.
City of Vancouver gets 1007 kWh/kW, Calgary – 1291 kWh/kW, Halifax – 1073 kWh/kW. If you compare these numbers with the rest of the world like London, England (728 kWh/kW), Berlin, Germany (848 kWh/kW), Beijing, China (1148 kWh/kW), you can see that Canada has an amazing solar photovoltaic potential.
Today you can harvest this energy of sun, make money, and contribute to a cleaner environment
Solar panels consist of multiple solar cells that capture sunlight and convert it into electrical energy. Once a solar cell is exposed to the sunlight, the energy of sun (photons) is transferred to electrons in the material surface. This extra energy helps electrons “escape” from their atoms and start moving, thus producing electric current. The movement of electrons is also called a photovoltaic effect (PV).
Solar cells are usually made of polysilicone, a product refined from quartz and silica sands. Its various grades are used to fabricate solar cells of different quality, and crystalline silicone is currently the best in terms of efficiency and cost. Multiple solar cells are then laminated within a plastic substrate to hold them in place and protect electrical connections. Finally, solar panels are sealed between a sheet of tempered glass on the top and backing material, and framed with an aluminum channel around. A junction box with all the electrical connections is mounted on the back of a solar panel.
Solar panels lose approximately 0.5% to 0.75% in power output every year due to solar cells degradation and other factors. So, if you were to install solar panels today, 20 years down the road they will still be producing 85% of their nominal power. This reduction in output must always be factored in when calculating your annual energy production. Make sure quotes and financial analyses you are getting from solar panels installers do reflect that!
Other than that…your solar panel system should easily last more than 30 years, provided that it was installed properly, and there’s no failure of solar cells within modules due to thermal stress, manufacturing defects, delamination, cracking, etc.
Below is the chart showing reduction in annual power output (in kWh) of a typical 10kWp Net-Metering system over the course of 20 years:
Demonstrates in detail how micro-inverters work. This video provided by Enphase, one of the leading micro-inverter manufacturers.
Another video discussing micro-inverter technology provided by Enecsys. Also demonstrates details of installation process.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXlWdjFXcp0]
Snow build up is rarely a cause for concern. Solar panels retain heat and are usually installed at an angle. When energy photons penetrate and hit the black surface of the solar panels, the snow melts and slides off, leaving your panels clean and free from obstruction.
