The number of rooftop solar panels one residential home in Toronto might require is dependent on several factors, such as: the average energy consumption of your household, your current energy use in watts, the climate and amount of direct sunlight exposure for your area, along with the efficiency and size of the solar panel system being considered for installation.

         Whether or not your solar power system will completely offset your electricity needs is primarily determined by how accurately you size your system. With the help of the experts at SolarUp, we can calculate the number of solar panels required to secure that percentage for you hassle free! Considering that, sizing your system correctly is essential for effective solar power generation.

The purpose of a solar panel system is to absorb sunlight throughout the day and convert the direct current (DC) into alternating current (AC), which is the type of energy used to power your home. Therefore, solar panel systems do not have the ability to produce electricity during dark hours. Nevertheless, cloudy days won’t break your solar panel’s ability to function accordingly. Although there is less power output on these days, the system will still work like it should. On top of that, Ontario’s Net-Metering programme enables you to store excess solar energy in the utility grid and receive one-to-one credit for the excess electricity to be used toward future electricity cost within the next 12 months.

When your solar panels are covered in a thick blanket of snow, blocking the sunlight, and prohibiting your system from generating energy, it’s important to note that snow has an insignificant effect on your solar production. So long as your system has been professionally installed, your array is built to handle all seasonal weather conditions. Professional solar installers such as SolarUp, take your region’s typical weather pattern into account upon installation.

Solar panel systems upon installation ensure decades of free electricity with minimal maintenance requirements. Designed for reliability and durability against all weather conditions. However, it’s recommended that all solar panel systems are cleaned and inspected every 4-5 years, to further ensure the efficiency of your system.  With SolarUp’s free preventative maintenance program every 5 years, which is included with the installation of your residential solar power system installation, you are assured optimum performance of your solar system for the next 25 years. 

Rooftop suitability for residential solar panel installation depends on several factors, such as, the age and condition of your roof, the size of your roof, and most importantly the roof’s slope orientation. The professionals at SolarUp ensure our utmost attention to these details during our on-site inspection, for any home considering the installation of a new solar panel system.

All solar panels are designed to last anywhere from 25-30 years upon initial installation. The pace at which solar panels lose efficiency over time is called the degradation rate and is a natural consequence of their exposure to the elements. According to a 2012 study by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, panels lose anywhere from 0.5 percent to 0.8 percent of their production capacity each year, a very small amount indeed.  SolarUp installs high quality panels which hold a 25 year performance warranty.  However, even 25 years after initial installation solar panels are known to function close to 85% of their original energy output.

For safety reasons Grid Tied solar panels systems do not produce any electricity in event of power outage unless tied up with a battery backup system.

Solar Energy monitoring is a vital part to any solar panel system. As these systems work to send you real time data of your energy consumption and generation, in addition to, other system diagnosis reports to inform you of any maintenance issue pertaining to your panels overall well-being and function or inverter malfunctions.