Of course! Your home’s solar electricity generation capacity depends on factors like the size and efficiency of your solar panel system, as well as local sunlight conditions. Unlike a fixed limit on total kWh production, the amount of excess electricity you can feed back into the grid at once is often restricted by utility regulations. …
Continue reading “What is the maximum amount of solar electricity I can generate for my home?”
Absolutely! Solar panels can be installed on multiple sides of your roof, even on all four if needed. We have seen cases where east/west facing panels collectively generate more power throughout the day than panels on just a south-facing roof.
You will be credited for everything except the flat rate distribution fee. You will be credited back for delivery, regulatory, debt retirement and any other charges that are based on how many kWh’s you use. You will still be stuck with a bill of about $20 to $40 a month.
Almost but not quite. There is a small part of your bill usually referred to as the “flat rate distribution fee” or something similar which you will have to pay regardless if you use any power or not. This is an administration fee for being connected to the hydro companies network and is usually between …
Continue reading “Can I completely eliminate by hydro bill with net-metering?”
This all depends on the utility. All utilities have different billing structures. In most cases there is a small difference. One example is that they will charge you HST but will not credit it back if you do not have an HST number which most home owners do not have. For the portion of the …
Continue reading “Under net-metering, will I be credited for power at the same rate the utility charges me for it?”
Micro-inverters, like acid washed jeans, seemed like a good idea at the time but in retrospect, not so much. We installed well over 5,000 Enphase micro-inverters that were supposed to have only one failure per year out of every 330 units. In reality the failure rate was as high as 1 in 8 per year …
Continue reading “Do use micro-inverters on your solar systems?”
This can happen if the rules and procedures are not followed carefully. To be safe, we wait for approvals from your local hydro company before proceeding with any work. Should we fail to receive approval and have to cancel your project, then we will return your deposit in full.
This is a great question, and a complicated one. Trees reduce carbon in the atmosphere by building plant tissue out of it and locking the carbon away. Unfortunately this is only temporary, when the tree dies and is burned or rots, the carbon is released back into the atmosphere. Solar panels reduce carbon in the …
Continue reading “From a global warming perspective, does it make sense to cut down trees that might shade my solar array? Don’t trees help reduce global warming?”
No, but it will reduce the use of natural gas. The output of nuclear power stations is not adjustable. They are always running at the same rate. If there is excess power from solar, they will throttle back the gas generation plants first.
Not directly but if we were to factor in the energy it took to make the panel in all the different phases of the manufacturing process, it has been estimated that solar energy releases 25 to 32 g/kWh. This compares favorably to coal which releases 960g/kWh or even clean burning natural gas which releases 590g/kWh. …
Continue reading “Does the manufacturer of solar panels release greenhouse gases?”
