Solar Photovoltaic FAQ
What is Solar Photovoltaic?
Briefly a Photovoltaic or PV panel is a solar collector that turns photons from the sun into electrons on the move. In other words an electricity generating solar panel as opposed to thermal or passive heat solar panels.
Do I have a good roof for solar?
That depends on a few factors:
First of all, the structure of the roof must be strong enough to hold the additional weight of the panels, plus the additional wind load from having panels mounted. Most homes are built strong enough to handle these loads with little or no reinforcements added. However this must be
checked and signed off by a Structural Engineer.
Roof types:
Flat roof - If you have a flat roof, the panels need to be mounted so that they face south on a 30 degree this requires special racking which may involve drilling into the roof or using ballast to hold the panels still. If your roof is flat and strong chances are very good that a viable project is possible. HVAC systems on the roof are a hindrance but can be worked around. A structural engineer will be assessing the weight load on flat roofs as well.
Pitched Roof – If your roof is pitched then its best if the face of it points south. In
Ontario because of our position on earth the sun is always tilted off to the south as it rises in the east and sets in the west. So if our panels are tilted to the south we capture the maximum amount of sunshine. If the roof faces anywhere within 45 degrees of south a viable project is likely. The pitch of the roof is not very important; anywhere from 20 to 45
degrees pitch is quite good. If the pitch is outside of that special racking can be used to change the pitch angle of the panels. Having mentioned special racking, if your roof faces away from south often times there are ways to mount your panels so they face towards south.
A site evaluation would be needed in this case for sure.
Do I have a good property for Ground mounted Solar panels?
Much like roof mounted solar the key to generating the most from your Solar panel system is southern exposure. An ideal situation is a field facings south with little or no tree shading. The terrain must be suitable as well, an area that doesn’t flood every spring for example. Another great example would be if you could mount them on a high spot on your property.
A site evaluation is a great way to find out if your property is ideal or not. Sun path plotting software can determine the quality of your site in no time.
Another factor that is more important for ground mounted solar than it is for rooftop solar is the distance to the grid. You ideally would like to be within 500 ft of either your existing meter
or the transformer on the pole that powers your home or business. Distance greater than that do not ruin your chances for a profitable installation, they simply increase the cost slightly and increase the line loss. If there are two good areas on your property, we would likely advise you to choose the one closest to your hydro pole.
Will my Ground mounted unit shift with winter frost?
The concrete and pole on a quality install should go to and below the frost line. That way
shifting is no longer an issue.
What’s better Fixed Mounted or Tracking Systems?
Good question!
Let us boil it right down to cost vs. reward. A fixed system is less expensive than a two axis tracking system. However a solar tracking system will harvest over 40% more sunlight than a fixed system. This in our experience will generate enough income to offset the extra cost of the tracker, quite quickly. Therefore so long as the extra cost is affordable, the tracker will pay for itself faster, give a greater return overall and since the tracker will pay for itself before the warranty period expires you will incur no extra risk. As a bonus a solar tracking system is
better for the hydro grid since the energy provided is less ‘peaky’ and reduces the need for coal or nuclear power all that much more. Lately single axis trackers are making a comeback, and offer a more competitive ROI than fixed mounted or dual axis trackers, however the max payout
is provided by a dual axis tracker.
So how does this MicroFIT program work anyway?
The Ontario Government has decided to increase the amount of renewable energy supplying our grid in an effort to reduce or eliminate coal burning plants in our province. At the same time they wanted to create more jobs in Ontario as well. So they came up with the MicroFIT and the FIT programs. The MicroFIT Program is for individual residences and personally owned
businesses to participate in the sale of renewable energy. That may include Wind, Solar, Hydro Electric, or the combustion of bio gas. MicroFIT projects are limited to 10kWp or less. That’s 10 kilowatts peak. The incentive is not for the government to pay for a huge amount of solar projects but for the citizens who wish to participate to purchase a system on their own and get paid a higher rate for the electricity they produce compared to the electricity they consume. Now the rate you pay for electricity is between 6 and 12 cents per kWh depending on how your want to calculate it. The rate for MicroFIT Rooftop is 80.2 cents per kWh! This changes what was a 20+ yr ROI for solar to a ROI of 8 yrs or less. Hence the large increase in demand for solar. The rate for ground mounted solar under the MicroFIT program is 64.2 cents per kWh. (It was originally 80.2 cents as well however with trackers that rate was simply too high)
These rates will be guaranteed to each producer in a solid guaranteed 20 yr contract. Going forward all new projects are subjected to a 60% Ontario content rule, which means according to
the schedule 60% of the equipment and labour must originate in Ontario. This has spurred many new solar panel, inverter, and racking manufacturers all over Ontario. Ontario is currently the Solar Industry’s hot spot in North America because of these initiatives.
So to recap, the Government pays you 80.2 or 64.2 cents/kWh to generate clean renewable energy and supply it to the grid.
Does this reduce my Electricity bill?
Short answer – No.
However ask yourself, would you rather save 10 cents or make 80.2 cents?
Do I pay for the system up front, or is it subsidized?
The Government subsidy if you will is the payback rate. The Incentive is the fact that the rate they pay you is much larger than the rate you would pay to purchase the electricity. In other
words the upfront costs must be paid or financed through you.
How do I know the price won’t change over the contract period?
The contract that you will be signing forbids the government from changing or capping the payout rate for the electricity you generate for the full 20 year term of the contract. If they were to break this contract they would sued by so many people it would be record breaking.
How long will the panels last?
For starters there are 20-25 yr warranties on the performance of most panels on the market. This alone suggests that they will last 25 yrs + however even better there are some panels that have been in operation for over 30 yrs already! So it’s pretty safe to assume that with all the developments in panels over the last 30 yrs that an even longer lifespan can be expected.
What maintenance is involved?
Maintenance is quite minimal; an annual or semiannual cleaning would be a good idea, especially if you are finding a lot of bird droppings. But basically the panels are maintenance free. No oil changes are necessary! A casual inspection every few years is a good idea to check for good connections etc... However the system will run unattended for very long periods of
time. Monitoring your output is a recommended practice however.
How do I know if they are working?
There are many types of monitoring systems that are employed by solar power generators.
Web based, wireless, and hardwired systems are available. If you live near your system a wireless unit that records the output data from the inverters is a great option. If you are frequently away from your generation site for extended periods then internet based monitoring may be worth the extra expense for you. That way you can go online anywhere in the world and see how your project is performing. Since the panels have no moving parts and can’t be ‘seen’ to be working or not, monitoring is critical to find failures. You don’t want to wait till you get a
check in the mail that is way too low for you to realize your inverter is offline. So in short monitor you project regularly so if something does go wrong you know straight away.
How does the snow affect the harvest?
Snow covering the panels certainly decreased the solar harvest, no doubt. Snow will accumulate on the panels, however not nearly as much as if would accumulate on the roof normally. The sun on a relatively warm winter day will melt snow quickly since the panel’s heat up faster than roof shingles. All solar harvest predictions made by any reputable firm will automatically have the losses due to snow covering included.
How much money will i make?
Every system is custom, every roof is different, every location has a different amount of solar irradiation. Contact us and we will let you know what your roof/property can do!
Briefly a Photovoltaic or PV panel is a solar collector that turns photons from the sun into electrons on the move. In other words an electricity generating solar panel as opposed to thermal or passive heat solar panels.
Do I have a good roof for solar?
That depends on a few factors:
First of all, the structure of the roof must be strong enough to hold the additional weight of the panels, plus the additional wind load from having panels mounted. Most homes are built strong enough to handle these loads with little or no reinforcements added. However this must be
checked and signed off by a Structural Engineer.
Roof types:
Flat roof - If you have a flat roof, the panels need to be mounted so that they face south on a 30 degree this requires special racking which may involve drilling into the roof or using ballast to hold the panels still. If your roof is flat and strong chances are very good that a viable project is possible. HVAC systems on the roof are a hindrance but can be worked around. A structural engineer will be assessing the weight load on flat roofs as well.
Pitched Roof – If your roof is pitched then its best if the face of it points south. In
Ontario because of our position on earth the sun is always tilted off to the south as it rises in the east and sets in the west. So if our panels are tilted to the south we capture the maximum amount of sunshine. If the roof faces anywhere within 45 degrees of south a viable project is likely. The pitch of the roof is not very important; anywhere from 20 to 45
degrees pitch is quite good. If the pitch is outside of that special racking can be used to change the pitch angle of the panels. Having mentioned special racking, if your roof faces away from south often times there are ways to mount your panels so they face towards south.
A site evaluation would be needed in this case for sure.
Do I have a good property for Ground mounted Solar panels?
Much like roof mounted solar the key to generating the most from your Solar panel system is southern exposure. An ideal situation is a field facings south with little or no tree shading. The terrain must be suitable as well, an area that doesn’t flood every spring for example. Another great example would be if you could mount them on a high spot on your property.
A site evaluation is a great way to find out if your property is ideal or not. Sun path plotting software can determine the quality of your site in no time.
Another factor that is more important for ground mounted solar than it is for rooftop solar is the distance to the grid. You ideally would like to be within 500 ft of either your existing meter
or the transformer on the pole that powers your home or business. Distance greater than that do not ruin your chances for a profitable installation, they simply increase the cost slightly and increase the line loss. If there are two good areas on your property, we would likely advise you to choose the one closest to your hydro pole.
Will my Ground mounted unit shift with winter frost?
The concrete and pole on a quality install should go to and below the frost line. That way
shifting is no longer an issue.
What’s better Fixed Mounted or Tracking Systems?
Good question!
Let us boil it right down to cost vs. reward. A fixed system is less expensive than a two axis tracking system. However a solar tracking system will harvest over 40% more sunlight than a fixed system. This in our experience will generate enough income to offset the extra cost of the tracker, quite quickly. Therefore so long as the extra cost is affordable, the tracker will pay for itself faster, give a greater return overall and since the tracker will pay for itself before the warranty period expires you will incur no extra risk. As a bonus a solar tracking system is
better for the hydro grid since the energy provided is less ‘peaky’ and reduces the need for coal or nuclear power all that much more. Lately single axis trackers are making a comeback, and offer a more competitive ROI than fixed mounted or dual axis trackers, however the max payout
is provided by a dual axis tracker.
So how does this MicroFIT program work anyway?
The Ontario Government has decided to increase the amount of renewable energy supplying our grid in an effort to reduce or eliminate coal burning plants in our province. At the same time they wanted to create more jobs in Ontario as well. So they came up with the MicroFIT and the FIT programs. The MicroFIT Program is for individual residences and personally owned
businesses to participate in the sale of renewable energy. That may include Wind, Solar, Hydro Electric, or the combustion of bio gas. MicroFIT projects are limited to 10kWp or less. That’s 10 kilowatts peak. The incentive is not for the government to pay for a huge amount of solar projects but for the citizens who wish to participate to purchase a system on their own and get paid a higher rate for the electricity they produce compared to the electricity they consume. Now the rate you pay for electricity is between 6 and 12 cents per kWh depending on how your want to calculate it. The rate for MicroFIT Rooftop is 80.2 cents per kWh! This changes what was a 20+ yr ROI for solar to a ROI of 8 yrs or less. Hence the large increase in demand for solar. The rate for ground mounted solar under the MicroFIT program is 64.2 cents per kWh. (It was originally 80.2 cents as well however with trackers that rate was simply too high)
These rates will be guaranteed to each producer in a solid guaranteed 20 yr contract. Going forward all new projects are subjected to a 60% Ontario content rule, which means according to
the schedule 60% of the equipment and labour must originate in Ontario. This has spurred many new solar panel, inverter, and racking manufacturers all over Ontario. Ontario is currently the Solar Industry’s hot spot in North America because of these initiatives.
So to recap, the Government pays you 80.2 or 64.2 cents/kWh to generate clean renewable energy and supply it to the grid.
Does this reduce my Electricity bill?
Short answer – No.
However ask yourself, would you rather save 10 cents or make 80.2 cents?
Do I pay for the system up front, or is it subsidized?
The Government subsidy if you will is the payback rate. The Incentive is the fact that the rate they pay you is much larger than the rate you would pay to purchase the electricity. In other
words the upfront costs must be paid or financed through you.
How do I know the price won’t change over the contract period?
The contract that you will be signing forbids the government from changing or capping the payout rate for the electricity you generate for the full 20 year term of the contract. If they were to break this contract they would sued by so many people it would be record breaking.
How long will the panels last?
For starters there are 20-25 yr warranties on the performance of most panels on the market. This alone suggests that they will last 25 yrs + however even better there are some panels that have been in operation for over 30 yrs already! So it’s pretty safe to assume that with all the developments in panels over the last 30 yrs that an even longer lifespan can be expected.
What maintenance is involved?
Maintenance is quite minimal; an annual or semiannual cleaning would be a good idea, especially if you are finding a lot of bird droppings. But basically the panels are maintenance free. No oil changes are necessary! A casual inspection every few years is a good idea to check for good connections etc... However the system will run unattended for very long periods of
time. Monitoring your output is a recommended practice however.
How do I know if they are working?
There are many types of monitoring systems that are employed by solar power generators.
Web based, wireless, and hardwired systems are available. If you live near your system a wireless unit that records the output data from the inverters is a great option. If you are frequently away from your generation site for extended periods then internet based monitoring may be worth the extra expense for you. That way you can go online anywhere in the world and see how your project is performing. Since the panels have no moving parts and can’t be ‘seen’ to be working or not, monitoring is critical to find failures. You don’t want to wait till you get a
check in the mail that is way too low for you to realize your inverter is offline. So in short monitor you project regularly so if something does go wrong you know straight away.
How does the snow affect the harvest?
Snow covering the panels certainly decreased the solar harvest, no doubt. Snow will accumulate on the panels, however not nearly as much as if would accumulate on the roof normally. The sun on a relatively warm winter day will melt snow quickly since the panel’s heat up faster than roof shingles. All solar harvest predictions made by any reputable firm will automatically have the losses due to snow covering included.
How much money will i make?
Every system is custom, every roof is different, every location has a different amount of solar irradiation. Contact us and we will let you know what your roof/property can do!
