SolarUp – Ontario #1 Solar Panel Installation & Design Company
Start owning your power with the installation of SolarUp’s renewable energy solar panel systems. Learn how you can carry over your unused electricity into the next month with Ontario’s Net-Metering Program, saving you money on your hydro bill.
The Net-Metering Program refers to the way in which homeowners are billed for their solar energy systems by their energy distributors. Specifically, Net-Metering monitors how much solar electricity a system generates, in relation to the total energy consumption of a household. Taking in account the surplus energy generated by a household is then directed back into the utility grid. At which point your hydro supplier provides you with a credit towards future energy bills, removing the charges to your account for that billing period.
For electricity consumers in Ontario, Net-Metering is another type of renewable energy program for energy generators up to 500 kWh or less, which allows Ontario homeowners to reduce their hydro bill by exporting any surplus solar energy back into the utility grid, for a credit towards future energy bills. Homeowners are then only responsible for paying for the difference between their total energy production and consumption over the billing period. Specifically, if your energy output exceeds consumption in any given month, it creates a kWh credit that is carried over for up to 12 months until it expires.
Additionally, once you’re connected to the distribution system through the Net-Metering program in Ontario, your local energy distribution company will continue to monitor and read your meter just as they do now with your regular electricity meter
readings. Allowing the distribution company to monitor and subtract the value of surplus electricity that your home generates and is supplied to the grid from
the value of what you take in return from the utility grid each month. Thus,
what will appear on your energy bill, is the “net” difference between these two
amounts. An Important note to keep in mind, is that all energy credits that you
obtain through the Net-Metering program in Ontario can be used up within the
duration of one year’s span; however, any residual credits after said year that go unused, reset to zero following the end of the 12 months rolling period.
Note: Be advised that the rules for the Ontario Net-Metering Program, make it difficult and expensive for systems over 10 kW to connect to the utility grid. Particularly residential use of 10 kW of solar PV (Solar Photovoltaics – the generation of electricity using energy from the sun) should be considered the practical limit. Additionally, within Ontario many areas are currently “grid constrained”. Meaning the limit of 7% of renewable sources set by Hydro-One and other electrical providers has been reached for large areas of the electrical distribution network. Thus, no new renewable energy systems will be allowed to connect to the utility grid in those areas.
By investing in the installation of a solar panel system today with SolarUp, the Ontario Net-Metering Program allows you to lock in your electricity rate for the next 25+ years. Saving you tons of money on average in electricity costs, making it far more affordable to own your electricity compared to renting it. Just let us prove it to you.
With Net-Metering, each kWh your solar array produces works towards offsetting a kWh you would otherwise have to buy from your electrical company. Thus, it offsets the cost of that kWh. For the average household in Ontario the cost of the total utility bill rate, taxes included is around 21.3 cents/kWh. You can do this calculation yourself by simply looking at the last electrical bill and dividing the total cost including tax by the total kWh that were sold to you to find out the cost per kWh. Moreover, with the predictability of how much energy solar panel systems produce over a long duration of time it is easy to determine how long it would take you to generate enough electricity to offset the cost of your system, thus determining the payback time and the amount of money you save in investing in owning your electricity with solar energy. Furthermore, there are several additional reasons for why one should consider investing in a solar panel system with Net-Metering today!
The highest price we currently pay for electricity is about 17 cents per kWh before taxes (as per time-of-use rates in Ontario), this is referred to as “On-Peak” Demand. This highest peak in usage often occurs during the summer months from 11 a.m., to 5 p.m., when we turn on our air conditioning units. In the winter months the highest peak in usage switches to when we turn on our lights in the morning from 7a.m., to 11 a.m., and in the early evening hours from 5 p.m., to 7 p.m. Now with a solar energy system you can hedge your electricity costs and offset these high costs by avoiding having to pay for those peak rates.
Over the years the cost to install solar panels has reached an all-time low; dropping by more than 50% in the past five years. Making them more affordable than ever and reducing the solar panel payback period following their initial installation. According to a solar economics study by the Canadian Energy Board, the solar break-even price has already dropped below residential electricity rates in Ontario. Meaning you can expect considerable savings in owning your power.
Lastly you can rid yourself of the Delivery Charges and even other Regulatory Charges from your hydro company as well, thanks to the solar Net-Metering terms and conditions, which stipulate: “if your net consumption for a billing period is zero, or a credit, the delivery portion of your bill will not include kilowatt-hour based charges.”
Every homeowner in Ontario is eligible to apply for the Net-Metering program. However, this solution is not for everyone or every home, for several reasons such as; the location of your home and its access to direct sunlight, the shading conditions of your roof, the roof’s orientation, and shingle composition/age. That being said, you can easily determine if solar Net-Metering is right for you by speaking to one of our solar experts at SolarUp.
Any homeowner in Ontario can apply for the Net-Metering Program at any time with the assistance of a SolarUp Technician. We ensure that all Net-Metering requirements are taken care of for with an easy step by step procedure plan, as follows:
Step 1:
Contact one of the trained solar technicians at SolarUp to speak with them about your interest in the Net-Metering program. After which, point we will determine the condition and eligibility requirements of your solar energy system (shading of your rooftop, the orientation of your roof in relation to the sun, the shingle composition/age).
Step 2:
SolarUp will help you contact your local distribution company.
Step 3:
SolarUp will help you Apply for a Net-Metering agreement.
Step 4:
SolarUp will help you Connect your renewable energy system to the grid.
Step 5:
SolarUp will ensure the solar system has been approved by your electricity distributor.
To learn more about how to apply and the requirements to participate in the Ontario Net-Metering program for connecting your renewable energy system to the grid, we strongly recommend speaking with our trained experts here at SolarUp for more information. We will further advise you on the correct size and costs of a solar panel system, assist in obtaining the required documentation and municipal approvals, and recommend any necessary upgrades to your existing hydro meter.
