There is ample evidence that homeowners can boost equity and add value to their property with specific improvements. A new roof or security system, smart home technology and renovated kitchens and baths are among the most popular homebuyer wants. But, what about solar panels? Many call this a good investment just due to the utility savings, but can an owner also expect a reasonable return on that investment when the home is sold?

The simple answer is yes to both questions.

Immediate Savings and Future Return

Installing a residential solar array produces immediate results that have an effect on the pocketbook. Lower utility bills are the first financial result, and the "payback" benefit only increases with time. Because both panel prices and installation costs have fallen in recent years, solar panel owners today, in both the United States and Canada,  can expect to recoup the original investment in as little as three and a half to five years. Long-term financing is readily available to owners who opt to purchase solar panels, but a variety of attractive leasing programs exist, with reasonable fixed monthly or quarterly payments and terms as long as 20 years. Some utility companies offer additional options for homeowners who wish to participate in green energy programs.

Going solar is a way to demonstrate a commitment to sustainability; for some homeowners that, in itself, is reason enough to install solar panels and to encourage energy suppliers to reduce reliance on fossil fuels. Most utility companies, however, "sweeten the deal" for homeowners through energy incentives known variously as "feed-in tariff" or FIT programs and newer net-metering programs that deduct the amount of power supplied by home solar panels from the homeowner's total billing.

The initial cost, as well as the value of solar panels, will vary somewhat from one province to another. Incentives and benefits are based not only on location and demand but also on climate, urban development, energy needs and other sources of energy, including wind farms, hydroelectric sources, and traditional fuels. Other factors will also affect a homeowner's decision to install solar panels: Tax implications, governmental restrictions, local costs and utility rate trends, allowable depreciation, and the length of time you expect to own the home.

The Sunny Side of Solar Panels

Some estimates place the resale value of solar panels at between three and four percent of total value. Other figures place a dollar value on panels of between $3,000 and $6,000 per kilowatt hour of generating capacity, meaning that an average roof installation of 3.1kilowatt hours could add between about $10,000 and $18,000 to the sales price of the home. Still other statistics confirm that eco-conscious buyers are only too willing to pay a premium for homes with rooftop solar panels and other green features. Real estate professionals attest that homes with solar panels and smart technology sell faster than comparable homes without such  amenities

You’ve gone solar! It’s an exciting time and you have made a great financial decision. When you first get your solar system up and running and get your first utility bill, it can sometimes be confusing. You see numbers on your meter, numbers on your utility bill, and numbers on your inverter or monitoring system. How do you make sense of it all? In this blog we will use an example to explain the difference between these numbers and how to better understand your utility bill with your new solar system.

Inverter or Monitoring System

Our customers first interaction with their solar production is usually by looking at the inverter directly, or monitoring their solar systems production via an online monitoring systems. The numbers you are seeing from the inverter reflect only the production from the solar system. The inverter numbers do not show how much power you’ve used nor do they show the amount of power that you’ve fed back to the grid. The number you see on your inverter is total solar production in kWh for the day, week, month, or year. These are exciting numbers to watch, however you will not see these numbers on your utility bill or on your utility meter, because both of those sources only interact with power that you’ve used from the grid, or power you’ve pushed back on the grid for credit.

Utility Meter

If you are one to read your own utility meter, you will notice that once your net meter is installed, you will see the meter cycling through different numbers. You will see a number with DEL and a number with REC. The meter is always in the perspective of the utility.

DEL stands for electricity delivered to you from the utility.

REC stands for electricity the utility has received from you (the excess solar power that you’ve produced but not yet consumed).

These are lifetime numbers so if you want to know your total DEL or REC for that year or month, you will have to look at your numbers from a previous utility bill. Below is an example of a utility bill and how to calculate and understand your electricity consumed (DEL), electricity generated (REC) and your electricity credit (DEL – REC).

 Utility Bill

Below is an example of a utility bill for a net metered customer. It begins with the electricity consumed. It shows the actual meter reading from June 24th (838 kWh) and July 25th (1400 kWh). The difference is the electricity consumed over the course of the month of July (562 kWh). On the meter, the electricity consumed shows up as DEL which stands for delivered. The electricity delivered from SaskPower to you.

1400 kWh – 838 kWh = 562 kWh

Next is the electricity generated. This is not the total amount of electricity your solar system has produced. This is the electricity that has been fed back to the grid – the additional electricity that was produced by your solar system. It shows the actual meter reading on the generation side from June 24th (1337 kWh) and July 25th (1917 kWh). The difference is the electricity that was fed back to the grid over the course of the month of July (580 kWh).

1917 kWh – 1337 kWh = 580 kWh

Below that you see Previous generated electricity – this is the balance of your net metering credit from the past month. Net electrical consumption/generation is the new balance. So in the case of this bill, the difference between the electricity consumed and electricity generated is the amount of change in the credit amount.

Electricity generated (580 kWh) – Electricity consumed (562 kWh) = 18 kWh

Previous generated electricity (499 kWh) + difference between consumed/generated (18 kWh) = 517 kWh which is the new credit total with the utility.

  Total Power Used in the Home

Local utilities allowing net metering has created the conditions for solar electricity to really grow. Net metering allows you to use the grid as your storage instead of requiring any battery back-up system. All miEnergy solar installs are grid-tied and net-metered systems. Net metering means you are able to enjoy all the comforts of being connected to the grid, while benefiting from paying little to no electricity bill to the utility. 

Once we install your solar system, the local utility will come and install a net meter (if this hasn’t been done yet). This meter is able to read power in both directions. It will keep track of the power that is delivered to you from the utility as well as power the utility receives from your solar system. Your home will use the power from your solar system first. During daylight hours when your solar system is producing more than your home is using, you will feed that electricity back onto the grid and you will build a credit with the utility. During the night, and during the winter months when you may be producing less than you’re using, you will pull electricity from the grid and from the credit that you’ve built with the utility. 

When we design and size a solar system for you, we size it to meet your needs. This means during the summer months, you are going to be producing more than you’re using, building a credit. During the winter months, you are likely going to be producing less than you are using and this is where you would use the credits that you’ve built with the utility.

2016 is shaping up to be the best year yet for solar in Saskatchewan and Western Canada.  The end of 2015 brought focus on renewable energy at COP 21 in Paris and provincial commitments from the current provincial government to achieve 50% renewables in Saskatchewan by 2030.  Solar predictions are rarely focused on Canada and when they are even more rarely on Western Canada and Saskatchewan.  With all the talk I thought it was time to focus on our sunny province with 10 predictions for solar in Saskatchewan:

1. The solar industry in Saskatchewan will see large growth, especially in the 2nd half of the year as the rebate program gets close to expiring in November.

2. New local installation companies will emerge across the province. 

3. The spotlight on solar in Saskatchewan will grow as more details of utility scale projects emerge.  There will be more collaboration between industries outside renewable energy looking to get into the growth in solar power. 

4. The provincial and federal governments will use the clean energy boom to increase employment levels at home.  The renewable power industry is growing faster than any other industry in the US currently.  As other forms of energy continue to slump, renewables offer a huge opportunity to increase employment in the west. 

5. After the provincial election an inevitable increase in power pricing will cause more people look to solar as an alternative to paying power bills.  

6. The Ag industry in western Canada will continue to go solar in large numbers.  The Agriculture industry is one of the most energy intensive by percentage of operating cost.  Energy ownership on farms is a huge opportunity for producers. 

7. Installed solar costs will remain close to where they were in 2015.  Solar manufacturers were ramping up capacity to meet expected U.S. growth as it was the last year of the 30% Investment Tax Credit  – but with the ITC now renewed permanently, there will be excess capacity in 2016, leading to price reductions.  This will help offset the increased costs in Canada from the weak CAD dollar.

8. New and innovative financing options for solar will continue to emerge.  The finance industry continues to release new innovative products in solar as the spotlight on renewables grows.  

9. Battery storage will grow in the province for backup.  Future proof options that integrate with new battery technology like the Tesla PowerWall will become more important.  We are gradually getting closer to battery storage as a mainstream product, but it will be 5 years until it really takes off in Saskatchewan.  

10. Product differentiation in panels and inverters will become more important as public education grows and the products become more of a commodity.  Currently there isn’t a “Nike” or “Adidas” of solar modules or inverters.  Top companies such as Canadian Solar, SolarEdge, and SMA will emerge as household names in Saskatchewan.   

David Anderson, PEng, is a renewable energy engineer who has been designing solar in Saskatchewan for nearly 10 years. He has designed over 2000kW of installed solar PV projects in Saskatchewan since 2007. Anderson has been managing the Solar Division at MiEnergy since 2014.

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