Questions and Answers

When we are discussing the questions and answers section of the website first thing that comes to mind are the questions which a customer will ask the installer on his first visit. Some suggestions are:

• Do you have professional experience installing solar panel systems in Ontario?
• What is the number of solar systems you have installed in Ontario?
• Are the particular installers qualified to install the project?
• Do they meet the licensing and certification parameters?
• Is the business being registered with Better Business Bureau?
• Do you have any such warranties on the particular product?
• Do you have any such general liabilities towards covering the property damage or injury?
• Do you have any pending or active legal judgment against the company?
• Will you be assessing my property in order to ensure that the particular system is being installed at any given location? As for instances, will you ensure that the particular solar panel system is not a shaded location.
• Will you be ordering all the required equipments for this project? What is the entire cost of the total installation?
• Are there any such fees that are not being included on the quote?
• What are the ongoing operations and maintenance cost that I can expect and who are the persons who will be responsible for them?
• Will be arranging all the necessary approvals and permits?
• Will you be working with the local Distribution Company to arrange for connection to the grid?
• Will you be helping me towards preparation of my micro-FIT Program application?

So now we understand that there are quite a few questions which the customer can ask the installer. You can check out other questions in website. Professional Solar panels installers in Ontario will be answering your questions patiently and check the feasibility of the place for installation.

Will my property go up in value if I install rooftop solar panels?

Though no such data is being available from the Canadian Real Estate Association, One of the most recent researches on into homes sale prices in 6 US States (California, Florida, Maryland, Oregon, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania) have brought out that the solar panel system might be very significant for residential properties. It was found out those 4’000 recent real estate transactions from May 2010 till October 2014, have used solar panels and solar panels were sold at almost 4% premium compared to the average selling price on the market.

Can I recover HST paid on the purchase of solar panel system?

Yes, if the solar panel system is being connected to the grid and is being used exclusively to sell off electricity to the IESO (former OPA. Maximum participants in the microFIT program are considered as miniature suppliers for the HST purposes.
If you are voluntarily registering for the HST number, you are then required towards collecting the remit HST on your taxable sales of electricity to your local hydro company.
As per as the laws Canada Revenue Agency GST/HST info sheet GI-122 dated September 2011, if a person is a GST/HST registrant, you are completely eligible towards full claim and full input tax credits for the total costs being associated with the individuals purchasing and installing your solar panel system. All you need to do is make sure that you provide proper and authentic documentation.

Will my property taxes increase if I install solar panels?

If you are installing your solar panel system concerning any such size on the rooftops on your property, the particular assessment and tax classification will not be changing as per Ontario Regulation 282/98 under the Assessment Act dated January 4, 2012. The very same rule applies towards the ground mount solar panel installation. But as the size is being limited towards 10kW, if you go with a medium sized system, your solar panel system generation facility will be absolutely tax based on the adjacent land used rate. As for example residential, commercial, farm, etc.

How much solar does Ontario actually get?

As it is known to all that the winters can really be harsh at times, but we are fortunate enough for the amount of energy we derive from the sun. The amount of solar energy that is being received on a flat surface each and every year is the pivotal piece of information. It is being needed as according to size and estimate performance of the solar panel system. This is the base for all the your future Solar Energy Generation and Income calculations.

The natural resource Canada has been counting the records Solar Energy/Isolation and other parameters from 144 meteorological stations in and around the states of Canada for more than four decade. This would result towards accurate and informative tables and maps are available for you to use here:  ww.pv.nrcan.gc.ca

As for example Solar Photovoltaic potential for the City of Toronto is 1163 kWh/kW, This estimates that every 1000W (1kW) of DC power (for example, 4 solar panels of 250W each) can generate 1163 kWh of AC electricity every year. If you are installing a 10kW solar panel system, it will be producing 1163kWh/kW x 10kW=11’630 kWh per year on average.

The City of Vancouver gets 1007 kWh/kW, Calgary – 1291 kWh/kW, Halifax – 1073 kWh/kW. If you compare these numbers with the rest of the world like London, England (728 kWh/kW), Berlin, Germany (848 kWh/kW), Beijing, China (1148 kWh/kW), you can see that Canada has an amazing solar photovoltaic potential.

How do solar panels work?

The solar panel generally consists of numerous cells that generally captures the sunlight and then convert it into electrical energy. It is to be noted once a solar cell is being exposed to sunlight; the energy of the suns is gradually transformed to electrons towards the material surface. The added energy allows electrons towards escaping from the atoms and commence to move, thus it produces electric current. The movement of electrons is also called a photovoltaic effect (PV).

What materials are used to make a solar panel?

The solar cells are usually being made of polysilicone, this a product refined from quartz and silica sands. The various grades are being used to fabricate solar cells of varied qualities and crystalline silicone is currently the superlative in terms of efficiency and costs.
The numerous solar cells are then being laminated within a plastic substrate in order to hold forth them in place and protect the electrical connection. In the final stages the solar panels are being sealed in between a sheet of tempered glass on the top along with the backing material. It is being framed with aluminium channels in and around. A junction box with all the electrical connections is mounted on the back of a solar panel.

What long do solar panels last?

The solar panels lose in and around 0.5% to 0.75% in power output every year due to solar cells degradation and other factors. So if you were to install solar panel today, couple of decades down the line they would still be producing around 85% nominal power. This particular decrease in output must always be factored in while calculating annual power production and micro FIT Income. All you need to do is make sure quotes and financial analysis you are getting from solar panels installers do reflect that.
The chart given below shows reduction of annual power output (in kWh) of a typical 10kWp micro FIT system over the course of 20 years

How do micro-inverters work?

Demonstrates in detail how micro-inverters work. This video provided by Enecsys, one of the leading microinverter manufacturers.

Why do I need Solar Monitoring?

Once the solar panel is being installed, it is not enough to flip the switch. Commence to make power and just walk away. You would probably want to be able to monitor your system and make sure that everything is running in tandem. At the same time check the energy production and income numbers at an occasional basis. Having a reliable monitoring approach with a chromatic graphical interface would make all and sundry to easily understand.