What’s the deal with solar panels for homes? Any deals?

By Stephanie Westlund, PhD, education lead for Solar Alberta

As told to John Loeppky.

Here’s the answer to this week’s reader question.

“I live in Alberta, where we get the most sunshine! What’s the current situation with solar panels? Will they save us money? Are there any subsidies still? So much of our energy bill is fees! Does it make sense to buy panels if we are paying a huge amount of fees that won’t change? ”

—Andrew

Do solar panels save Canadian home owners money?

The uptake for solar panels has been very steep in Alberta. In 2020, for example, we had about 100 installations a month for rooftop solar, and last year we saw about a thousand installations a month. 

Typically, if a solar panel installation is sized correctly, you’ll be overproducing in the summer months, and underproducing in the winter months. We generally suggest that you’re able to cover 100% of your costs for the electricity itself, but not necessarily all of the transmission and distribution fees. Different provinces have different regulations and fee structures.

In terms of whether solar panels will save you money, know there’s a payback period. Will they save you money immediately? No. The payback period really depends on what infrastructure your roof can handle and can be anywhere from seven to 15 years. If your motivation is solely economic and you have a north-facing roof, it might not make sense for you to install solar panels on your home.

Even if your motivation is to reduce your environmental footprint, get a quote from an installation company and understanding how much electricity you would save or make. Actually, we suggest getting a few quotes. The price of solar panels has gone down significantly in recent years. Over the past two decades, the price of panels has dropped by about 90% according to National Resources Canada. 

In terms of subsidies, unfortunately the Canada Greener Homes Loan Program closed last year, which was a great program with 0% financing up to $40,000. That not only included solar, but other energy efficiencies in your house. 

The biggest incentive that we have in Alberta, and it depends where you live, is the Clean Energy Improvement Program. It’s a loan—with a competitive interest rate and a long repayment period—that’s tied to your property taxes. However, it can vary from municipality to municipality, but most require multiple home upgrades, like solar panels and a heat pump, for example. There are similar programs in other provinces. (Ed. note: For Canadian resources for Alberta and beyond, scroll to the bottom.)

As for the fees on your electricity bill, there’s a fixed and a variable component of your fees, which are set in Alberta by the province’s utility commission. The fixed component will be similar on each of your monthly electricity bills, but you can change the variable component by changing your energy use when you have solar panels. 

How does it work? If a device or appliance is plugged at noon, you’ll mostly use energy from the day’s sun to power it. However, if you plug it in at 10 o’clock, when it’s dark outside, you’re importing that electricity. And so the variable fees get charged on the electricity that you import.

So, the question goes back to you, are solar panels worth it for you?

Get your question featured in The Get. Send it to TheGet@neofinancial.com.

John Loeppky is a journalist based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. His work has been featured on the CBC, Healthline, Defector, Disabled Journalists Association, and a host of others. 

Solar panel resources in Canada

• Solar energy in Canada – Natural Resources Canada
• Solar panel installers – Canadian Renewable Energy Association
• Solar panel savings by province – Canadian Renewable Energy Association
• Solar programs – Natural Resources Canada