How to enjoy rooftop solar for $100/month
Solar powered goodness
Once you've installed a heat pump and (at least partially) electrified your house - solar makes a lot of sense! Since you've electrified ~70% of your energy use by installing a heat pump, solar energy can power your house. Read about my electrification journey here to see what it entailed.
Solar:
- Gives you energy independence - you don't have to worry about fluctuations in the cost of fossil fuels or electricity rates
- Allows you to go off grid and have power during blackouts, if paired with batteries
- Can save you a lot of money by massively reducing your monthly bills.
- Is great for the environment, and will greatly reduce your carbon emissions
Read on to find out how I installed a rooftop solar system for effectively $100/month, about the cost of an average Canadian phone bill!
Solar isn't cheap, but it can be affordable
With no shade and an east/west roof I was able to install a relatively large solar system, 14kWh. Others might not be able to install such a big system - and that will affect the economics to some degree. A good solar company should be able to give you estimated savings like the one below when they create your quote.
The system cost ~$37K.
I used the interest free federal Greener Homes Loan - which covered the entire cost of the solar system. You can borrow up to $40K interest free for solar, heat pumps, and other sustainable upgrades.
I have to pay the loan back over 10 years - and my monthly payments are $308. How do I get $100 a month then?
Easy - I subtract the $200 a month in electricity bill savings I wouldn't have gotten without my solar system. So I'm paying $308, but saving $200 monthly - effectively it's $100 a month over 10 years.
After 10 years it's all profit - you can see the estimated savings over 25 years is over $58,000!
Other ways to pay for your solar system
One issue with the Greener Homes Loan is that you don't get the money until install is done. While you pay the solar company in multiple instalments as things progress unfortunately it can take over a year to clear all the permitting, inspection and regulatory barriers. How to pay for the instalments during this time? Here's a couple of options, in all cases you can pay these "bridge" loans off early with the proceeds of your Greener Homes Loan once your install is fully done.
- Take out a HELOC. Work with your mortgage provider to arrange a home equity line of credit.
- Use financing provided by your solar provider: Solar companies often offer financing options like Financeit. You might even be offered a promotion like 6 months no payments.
Make sure to read the fine print and understand if there's penalties for paying your loan off early!
How does it work with the utility?
I'm on a net metering program - which means that when I produce more electricity than I use - especially in the summer - I get credits from my utility. In the winter when there isn't a lot of sun, I can use those credits which pay for my electricity use. Below is a real summertime bill - pretty nice to see the credits in there!
Oh - and it's good for the environment!
My energy audit determined that solar took my home's energy usage from 86GJ a year to 22GJ a year, resulting in a 75% reduction.
That's equivalent to saving over 2800lbs of coal from being burned every year.
Conclusion
Once electrified - solar panels can bring huge benefits to your home and the environment. While solar can get expensive - you can use financing to make it relatively affordable, especially when you factor in the savings!
If you need to install a heat pump and electrify so solar makes sense for you - create an account with Jouleia for everything heat pump!
