What can solar panels do for me?
How many solar panels do I need?
How much will a solar panel system installation cost?
There are many great reasons why homeowners consider generating their own electricity with solar.
- Lower your carbon footprint
- Use clean power to breathe clean air
- Charge an electric car
- Power an electric heat pump
- Move towards a net-zero lifestyle
- Independence from the grid
- Save money on utility bills and/or on gas for your car
- Earn back the investment on solar through savings on hydro bills
- Take advantage of the federal government rebate
- Increase your property value
Any size system will provide these benefits. The right size for you depends on how much you want to maximize the benefits of solar to meet your own personal goals.
The amount of electricity a system can generate depends on a few factors including where you live, how much sun you get throughout the year as well as the size, orientation, and shading of your solar panels.
Net metering allows you to take full financial advantage of all your generated power as long as the generation is equal to, or less than, your annual electricity use. In general, the larger the size, the quicker the payback from savings on your hydro bills. Here are a few potential business case summaries of net metering systems located in southern Ontario with average sunlight conditions. Many factors affect installation costs and payback periods so these are only very general estimates.