The Rising Cost of Electricity in New Brunswick and the Need for Solar Solutions
With the rising cost of just about everything these days, many of us Canadians are feeling stretched thin. Between housing prices, groceries, and everyday essentials, there has been a sharp incline in expenses, even in the last 5 years. In the Atlantic provinces, inflation seems to have hit us even harder. Saving money wherever possible has become essential for many of us, especially homeowners struggling to keep up with the mounting bills. Electricity rates have been on the rise, year after year after year. With all these economic hardships, something so essential as power is even stressful for many families to afford. If you’re feeling like you can relate to any of this, it’s probably time to consider alternative ways to save. Let’s dive into one resource we all have access to, one infinite power source we can tap into, right from the comfort of our homes: solar power.
What Is Solar Power?
We should probably address what exactly solar power is before we dive into the nitty gritty of how it can save you money. At Sunly, we install net metering systems, which means that you always have access to the electricity grid, while still producing your own electricity.
How a net metering system works:
As you’ll notice from the graphic to the right, your panels send electricity directly into your home, and you use that power first. If you were to produce more electricity than what you’ve used that day, the extra gets sent back to the grid in exchange for credits. On a cloudy day when you aren’t producing much solar power, you will automatically pull electricity from the grid, and those credits you’ve stashed up will be applied, lowering that bill. You’re probably seeing how the savings roll in already, but you might be thinking “it’s way too cloudy in New Brunswick for me to produce enough solar power” - if you are - keep on reading!
Solar Power in New Brunswick
New Brunswick may seem a little gloomy at times, but you may be shocked to learn how much sun we actually see here. According to Weather and Climate, New Brunswick has an average 2000 hours of sun per year… if your panels are there soaking up all that sweet sunshine, come the gloomy days, your credit bank is nice and stocked up. That’s the beauty of a net metering system: you never run out of power, and the days you make extra, you “save” for the days you don’t make enough. So even if New Brunswick is no California in terms of sunshine, there’s still plenty of it to go around!
Although battery backups are not as widespread as net metering systems right now due to their current cost, they are certainly worth talking about. Batteries are an extremely beneficial product to keep your power saved up. Instead of pulling from the grid on a cloudy day, with a battery backup, you can pull from your battery and keep your self-sufficient home powered up. Solar battery systems are a great alternative to fossil fuel powered generators as well, and a great resource to have during peak times if you’re on a time-of-use utility plan. Batteries can currently be purchased, but they tend to cost around the same price as a solar system, so most people are choosing to wait until they are priced more affordably. In the meantime though, a net metering system is a great place to start, so when batteries are being sold for lower prices, it will be a quick and easy addition. Now we’ve discussed how New Brunswick is a great place for solar panels, let’s talk about the timing.
“Why go through the hassle of installing solar now?”
Maybe you’re on board with solar power, but just not sure if the timing is right for you. That’s understandable! Although the monthly costs of a solar system are very affordable, it’s still a leap that can be intimidating to make. So why now?
To begin answering this question, let’s focus on the cost aspect - after all, who doesn’t love some extra money in their pockets!?
Electricity rates are constantly rising, year after year. This is not a soon-to-change trend. Let’s look at just the last ten years of electricity costs in Canada:
No matter where you are in Canada, electricity prices are relentless in their exponential rises. We may not have a crystal ball to see the future, but we can use this past data to confidently say that this won’t be a short lived spike. The chart to the left shows 10 years of price increases in Canada - and that trend has persisted far beyond those ten years shown. If we focus specifically on New Brunswick, we see a microcosm of this. Let’s review NB Power’s price changes over the last 10 years.
In general, we see an upward trend with a spike especially high in 2020 and onwards. As much as we all hoped we could put 2020 in the past and our lives could get back to a more affordable “normal”, it’s clear that this higher cost of living is not leaving us any time soon. Just as recently as April 1, 2023, NB Power increased their rates again with their biggest rate hike in 15 years, “an increase of about $8.64/month on the average residential customer bill” according to NB Power. With inflation, climate change, and governments incentivizing away from fossil fuels as well, we can only expect these cost increases to worsen.
On the topic of worsening trends… we can’t deny that the weather is becoming more volatile in general. Floods, fires, hurricanes, we’re seeing it all in Canada! So where does solar come into play here? Well, if you lived in the Atlantic provinces last year, you certainly remember Hurricane Fiona. According to the CBC, there were “more than 750,000 total customer interruptions” of power in Nova Scotia alone. 12 days - almost 2 full weeks - after the hurricane hit, there were still 8,000 residents in Prince Edward Island without power. That’s almost 20% of all island residents left without power for almost two weeks. These natural disasters are only becoming more commonplace in the world, and after the challenging weeks of Fiona, many of us are wanting protection and self sufficiency from the (at times) unstable grid. Imagine being able to cozy up, watch a movie in your nice heated home, the lights on, popcorn in the microwave, and hiding away until the storm passes. Pretty enticing compared to the cold and dark days most of us had to deal with during that hurricane, right?
Solar power with a battery backup can give you that peace of mind - and make you the most popular neighbour during the next black out! If you find solar battery systems are not currently an affordable option, you can start with a net metering system, and when batteries are more affordable, we’ll be a phone call away to come install one onto your net metering system.
On a more positive note in regards to the financial aspects of going solar; government rebates have never been better for going solar. Currently, the federal government offers a $5,000 grant to homeowners who are going solar. This grant is available for any homeowner at their permanent residence. Luckily, we at Sunly are savvy on the grant process, and will be happy to help every step of the way. Most provinces offer rebates to complete solar installations as well. In New Brunswick, there is a provincial rebate for $200 per kW, up to $3,000. Give us a call for more information on what financial assistance is available to you!
On the topic of money, we can discuss the financing options available. Currently, the federal government offers a Greener Homes Loan, up to $40,000 interest free for 10 years. Some banks, like RBC, also offer financing options - although those don’t come interest free. We are more than happy to discuss all options available to you during your free consultation to find the perfect affordable payment plan for you.
Still not confident solar is the right choice for you?
Here is a bit more information that might persuade you to join the sunny side:
Did you know?
Going solar reduces the strain on the electrical grid.
August 14, 2003, a high voltage power line collided with some trees and shut down. Three other power lines brushed into trees and also shut down. This caused a massive overload to the grid, and led to failures throughout Canada and the US. 50 million people lost power. Now that might be an extreme example, but blackouts are a fairly prevalent problem. A quick Google of “black out” will lead you to countless pages of instances of power grids being overloaded causing blackouts.
If more people can power their own homes, it reduces the strain on the electrical grid, which protects the grid from being overloaded, and protects you from relying on power from someone else.
In fact, California has helped mitigate the risk of blackouts by using renewable energy. According to National Geographic, “in 2006, the state enacted a requirement that 20% of California’s electricity come from renewable resources by 2010. In 2009, a new goal of 33% by 2020 was set.”
We can see that California’s move to renewable energy has had a positive impact on the grid. In the summer of 2022, “the state had broken a record, set 16 years ago, for energy use, with demand forecasts topping 52,000 megawatts.” Despite this record breaking high usage, there were no blackouts caused from overload. This clearly demonstrates how effective renewable energy usage is at reducing strain on the grid.
Did you know?
Going solar and becoming less dependent on the grid reduces the need for larger infrastructure projects.
No one likes seeing a big power plant crammed into their peaceful neighbourhood. Your independence from the power grid helps ease the load, leading to a reduction in need for these kinds of projects.
Did you know?
New Brunswick sources its energy from “14 nuclear, hydro, coal, oil and diesel powered stations, as well as power purchase agreements from various privately owned renewable and natural gas‐powered facilities.” Wouldn’t it be nice to have one main supplier of your energy; you!
Why Choose Sunly?
The Sunly Advantage
Critter Guard
We protect your solar panels with our Sunly critter guard. We go the extra mile by adding critter guard to every installation to ensure no birds or rodents can nest under your panels, or chew through the wiring, keeping them protected for your roof’s lifetime.
Structural Engineering
Our team of skilled engineers examine each project to account for the additional weight of the solar panels and ensure your roof can handle them. No need to sweat your panels when we get another messy Canadian winter with mountains of snow; our engineers make sure your panels can withstand whatever mother nature throws at them!
Flashing
We use an enhanced leak protection flashing system for a water tight seal on every installation.
Local
Sunly was born and raised in Canada
We are proud of our roots - starting in Prince Edward Island, with our head office in Stratford PE, we’re always up the road to help
Experienced
The partners at Sunly have over 40 years of combined experience in the solar industry
We have completed over 2,000 installations on Prince Edward Island alone
Sunly as a company has been thriving for over four years
These days, life can be tough. With the costs of everything, including power, sky rocketing to new heights, and natural disasters headlining the news daily, we can all use a little more sunshine. Solar panels are a great cost saving investment, and a great way to become more independent in these challenging times. Start putting that sunshine to work today by calling 1-833-GO-SUNLY for your free solar quote today!
Sources
https://www.nbpower.com/en/products-services/business/rates/historical-interruptible-prices/
https://www.nbpower.com/en/about-us/regulatory/rate-application#:~:text=The%20rate%20increase%20will%20mean,for%20the%20next%2012%20months
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/new-report-gives-breakdown-of-nova-scotia-power-s-fiona-outage-statistics-1.6693518#:~:text=However%2C%20there%20were%20more%20than,power%2C%20the%20highest%20on%20record.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-fiona-power-schools-storm-1.6606556
https://www.saveenergynb.ca/en/save-energy/residential/total-home-energy-savings-program/add-on-incentives/
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/2003-blackout-five-years-later/#:~:text=Overtaxed%2C%20they%20cut%20out%20by,blackout%20in%20North%20American%20history.
https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/case-study-california-blackouts/
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/06/us/california-heat-wave-energy-crisis.html
https://www.nbpower.com/en/about-us/our-energy