Assessing Your Homes Solar Potential, Optimizing Solar Panel Placement and Choosing the Right Installer
By now, we’ve all heard about renewable energy and its importance.
With all the government rebates and incentives, there’s a very clear push towards “going green,” but it doesn’t always feel attainable for the average person.
Especially since many of us have never experienced how these products work, it can be hard to put trust into a new technology.
That’s why it is important to do your research, so you can feel confident that the investment you’re making is one you can feel good about. In this blog, we’re going to discuss how you can assess your home's solar potential, how to optimize your solar panel placement, and how to choose the best solar installer for the job.
Assessing Your Home's Solar Potential
The first question to ask yourself is, is solar really worth it for you? We’ll break down the specifics of solar on your property, but to begin we’ll discuss the financial benefits of solar - since we all love money in our pockets!
Depending where you live, your electricity rates will likely have a big impact on your decision to go solar. In somewhere like Alberta or Saskatchewan, going solar is all the more appealing with those high electricity rates.
That being said, all across Canada electricity rates are on an incline, and this is not a short-lived trend.
The chart below shows the trend of electricity prices in Canada over the last ten years;
We can see the trend here pretty clearly, and unfortunately, there’s no expectation of this trend to reverse.
Although electricity prices are expensive just about everywhere, if you live somewhere with higher rates, that is all the more incentive to go solar and cut down those bills.
If your utility provider changes rates based on time of use, solar can be a great tool to limit your grid consumption during those peak times.
Net metering is offered by many utility providers these days, and this is also a factor to consider.
So what is net metering?
With net metering, your solar panels will send electricity directly into your home, and you will use that power. 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.
Net metering will not only cut your electricity bills, but in some cases, you may even find yourself coming out ahead financially if your utility is buying your excess electricity from you - oh how the tables have turned Energy Giants.
Every province has their own rules on net metering, but give us a call for more information, or do some digging on your own to find out how much net metering could benefit you.
For more information on net metering, check out this article: Net Meter and Chill
Going solar is not only intended to benefit our planet, but to save you money. At Sunly, we provide a free, no commitment assessment of your property and break down what your spending and savings will look like throughout the life of the solar system.
On top of the cost and savings, we consider all the physical factors that go into installing a solar system in your free assessment. Let’s discuss those below for those of you DIYers - and curious folk asking the right questions.
While there’s almost always a way to make solar work for your property,
there are factors to consider when thinking about installing a home solar system.
How old is your roof?
If you’re leaning towards a roof-mounted solar system, considering the age of your roof is essential.
Solar panels are designed to stay mounted for 20+ years, so you want to ensure you won’t be needing to replace the roof anytime soon.
It is ideal to install solar panels over new roofing to avoid the hassle of removal and reinstallation.
This also ensures that your roof is structurally sound and can reliably withstand the addition of the panels.
What material is your roof?
Solar panels can be installed over most roofing materials; shingle, or metal.
Shingle: to install over a shingle roof, we drill directly into the attached racking to secure the panels.
Metal: When it comes to standard metal roofs, and standing seam metal roofs, we use clamps to secure the panels. This is because drilling directly into the metal can cause extensive damage.
At Sunly, we will not install over steel shingles.
This is because we need to be certain that our installations will never damage your roof, and will withstand Mother Nature for years to come. Steel shingles can become brittle when drilled into, so we will never attempt to install over them.
How much sunlight does your roof get?
This one’s a bit self explanatory, but the more sunlight your roof gets, the better for solar!
It can be hard to determine exactly how much sunlight your roof truly gets - using tools that track the sun's data is extremely helpful
One free website that can help with this is suncalc.org;
This website shows you how the sun moves over a specific address, so you get a visual of exactly where the sun covers your property, and how much you’re really getting.
There are many free sites like this you can use as a resource
Is your roof South facing?
In the Northern hemisphere, South facing is ideal for a roof mounted solar system. This is because South facing roofs receive direct sunlight throughout the day.
What is Azimuth?
When we’re completing an installation, we consider the tilt of the roof, or azimuth.
In simple terms, azimuth is the direction the roof faces - facing true South is ideal.
Are there any bylaws prohibiting certain types of solar installations?
Depending where you live, there may be some restrictions on ground mounts, or certain regulations that need to be followed to complete these installations. It is important to research what is legal in your area prior to installing a solar system.
Another factor to consider are fire bylaws. Throughout Canada, there are bylaws in place to ensure solar panels are kept a safe distance away from propane tanks, electrical meters, roadways, etc.
How much land do you have available?
If you have a vast property, a ground mount may be more appealing if you’re looking for easy access to your panels, or if your roof is not in good condition for panels.
If you live somewhere with very rocky terrain, it may not be ideal to install a ground mount system where piles need to be drilled deep into the ground.
There may be ballasting options that provide a solution to this - that’s why it’s always best to go with the pros!
Optimizing Solar Panel Placement
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Now let’s say you’ve assessed your home’s solar potential, and decided your South facing, newly shingled roof is the perfect spot for your solar system. You might think you’re ready to slap those panels up there, but - like everything - it’s not quite that simple!
Even if you have the perfect roof for solar, how you lay out the individual panels on that roof will affect the production of those panels. Luckily, if you’re going solar with Sunly, we’ll take care of all this.
here are the factors we consider when designing a solar array:
Orientation
In the northern hemisphere, true South facing is the best position for your panels, as the sun will shine directly on them for the majority of the day, optimizing your solar production.
If your home faces directly East or West, it will produce an estimated 20% less energy than South facing panels.
If you find yourself in this predicament, it’s probably a good idea to consider a ground mount system to allow for maximum sun exposure, and/or review multiple quotes to determine what will yield the best production.
Tilt / Angle Optimization
Tilting your ground-mounted solar panels perpendicular to the sun will maximize the amount of energy they can produce.
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
To determine the best tilt for your ground mount, you can generally assume, the further away from the equator you are, the more steep the angle of the panels should be.
You can manually adjust the tilt of ground mounted solar systems as the seasons change, allowing for year long sun soakage.
Sunly provides all ground mount owners with a “tilt schedule” to ensure you receive maximum sunshine all year.
With a roof mount, it can be a little more complex.
The tilt of your roof will impact the productivity of your solar panels - example; if you have a very steep roof, and attach panels flush with the roof, they will no longer be perpendicular to the sun, diminishing their productivity.
On a roof mounted system, we would consider the azimuth of the roof to determine how much solar panels can potentially produce.
Shading
Now this one’s less complicated - more shade means less sun, which means less production from solar panels.
Considering your property’s shade coverage is essential.
Maybe you love your private, shaded house, and don’t want to clear any trees blocking the roof - a ground mount might be the way to go.
Alright, we’ve covered the basics of designing your solar array, but maybe you’re feeling a bit in over your head, and have decided to hire someone to do the hard stuff for you. How do you choose the right installer?
How to Choose the Best Installer
Here are important factors to consider when choosing a solar installer:
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Do they offer financing solutions for solar projects?
Any Canadian homeowner who is applying for a loan to install solar panels on their primary residence is eligible for the Canada Greener Homes Loan.
This is an interest free loan for up to $40,00, with a repayment term of ten years.
For more information on this loan, or to apply for it, you can follow the link below:
Do they have experience?
As we know from the information above, solar can be quite the complex upgrade, and a lot of factors should be considered prior to signing a contract with a company, one big one being experience.
If the company is inexperienced, they may not know all the little nuances that go into solar. Some companies may try drilling directly through your metal roof, damaging it.
Many solar companies do not install critter guards, as they don’t have enough experience to know how common pesky critters nesting in your panels can be without the added protection.
At Sunly, our founders have a combined experience of over four decades in solar… just saying.
What’s their reputation like?
Do some digging, are there reviews available to read? Do you know people who can vouch for this company?
Choosing the right installer is everything when it comes to solar, make sure there are no warnings out in the open from other unsatisfied clients. A few complaints may be no issue, but it’s important to see how the company chose to resolve the issue after. We all know no matter how hard you try, they’ll always be one Negative Nancy!
Not to brag or anything, but Sunly has some pretty raving reviews, wink wink. Give us a Google and check them out if you’re considering Sunly as an installer.
Are they with you for the long haul?
Is the company accessible and reliable?
Many companies do not assist from the very beginning to the very end.
At Sunly, we are there every step of the way. From your first free quote, until after your system is up and running, we are always here to help.
If your panels start acting funky in a year , you want to ensure they’ll be around to help.
At Sunly, we are proud to offer a two year workmanship warranty, a ten year equipment warranty, and our panels are rated to last 20 years.