In this blog post we examine the Ontario solar energy program, better known as MicroFIT, and use an example of solar panel financing to illustrate solar energy production returns versus expenses.

 

What exactly is the Ontario Solar Program?

The Ontario Solar Program, better known as MicroFIT is a renewable energy initiative created by the Provincial Government of Ontario. By getting solar panels on your home’s roof, you are able to get paid a lucrative incentive for feeding solar electricity back into the grid! Applicants accepted into this year’s program are eligible to receive 28.8 cents / kilowatt hour, on a guaranteed contract for 20 years. We have found that this works out to a revenue of about $250 – $300 a month (on average) for most homeowners. Over 20 years, this can add up to almost $70,000!

Unfortunately, this is the last year of the MicroFIT program will be accepting applications, as announced by the IESO. This means you will need to hurry and apply if you want to secure your spot, and your guaranteed solar funding.

How Much Do Solar Panels in Ontario Cost?

If you contact a solar company to determine what how much your residential solar panels in Ontario would cost, it will likely take a couple days for them to come up with an answer. This is because the installer will first need to measure your roof online and determine your home’s feasibility for solar. Several factors are involved when determining cost, such as roof structure, hydro meter location, and permitting requirements in area you are located in. With that being said, in 2017 a full solar panel system with all costs included will most likely be in the range of $26,000 to $31,000.

If you are interested in getting an exact quote, we recommend submitting an inquiry with a qualified Ontario solar installer, or broker. We will find your roof with Google Maps; have an engineer use dedicated software to determine how many panels can be placed there, and what the estimated solar production figures are. Most, if not all installers will complete this service for you for free.

Ontario Solar Energy Program Financing Options

Full Purchase – Buy your solar system outright and receive 100% of the MicroFIT revenue. This is the best option if you already have significant home equity and access to your own lines of credit.

In House Financing – We will finance your solar system on your behalf and you will be able to pay off your system with monthly payments (beginning after the system is connected to the grid). Our guarantee to you is that we will have your solar system pay for itself with this program. Your annual MicroFIT revenue will always be higher than your solar financing payments. Note: not every Ontario solar installer offers a program like this, so if they do, it’s a good idea to investigate if this may be a feasible option for you!

Are Solar Panels In Ontario Worth It?

With so many flexible options on going solar, you may be asking yourself if the returns will be worth it for you. Here is a sample from a real customer’s MicroFit solar evaluation package that can give you some perspective on how lucrative this investment can be. We call this “Letting Your Solar System Pay For Itself”.

Vital Stats:

Down Payment: $8000.00 + HST

HST : claimed back on tax return

Annual MicroFIT Income: $3300.00

Annual Financing Of Solar Panels: $2460

Years 1 -15: Cash Flow positive $840 / year

Years 15 – 20: Cash Flow Positive $3300 / year

Net Revenue (positive cash flow – down payment) = $21,100

In this example, our customer was able to create a monthly revenue stream from their original $8000 down payment. With our in house financing, he is able to pay off the rest of the solar system as his MicroFIT revenue comes in. This allows him to be cash flow positive every year, until the system is paid off (in 15 years). When the solar panel system is paid off, our customer will still be able to enjoy an additional 5 years of MicroFIT revenue, which will be all profit. In this case, they will have a net revenue of $21,100, plus a system that is expected to last another 20 – 30 years, all from that down payment of $8,000!

Every roof is different, so if you are considering if investing in solar panels for your home in Ontario is right for you, contact us. Many proposals are actually able to generate more solar revenue than the example above.

Time Is Running Out – Get Involved In the Ontario Solar Program Today!

 

 

Want to know the next step?

If you are interested in hearing more about solar and how it could benefit you as a home owner in Ontario, connect with us by filling out our contact form, and we will create a customized solar proposal for you.

It’s no secret that Ontarians have some of the highest electricity bills in North America. With recent legislative changes, our outlook in the long term is that we will keep seeing our electricity rates rise. Use these following tips to save on your electricity usage and offset your hydro bill.

Smart Home Thermostats

A smart thermostat uses wifi technology and sensors to automatically regulate your home comfort. This can lead to long-term energy savings. Most home thermostats are programmable, but due to cumbersome design most people do not bother to go the extra step with them.

A smart home thermostat has sensors that can automatically detect whether you are home or away, and it will adjust the temperature accordingly. This allows you to maximize your savings on energy when you are not home, and ensure that you are comfortable when you are at home.

*Note: Enbridge is currently offering a $100 bill credit to people who get a smart home thermostat (NEST or Ecobee3 Lite). For more information on this, feel free to visit their website here.

*Note: For new solar leasing applicants, we are giving away ECOBEE3 SMART THERMOSTATS FOR FREE when you get solar panels installed from us. This promotion is running until Septemeber 30, 2017, and is limited to 16 cities in Ontario. Contact us here for more details.

Washing Machine

When it comes to washing your clothes, it mostly comes down to implementation if you want to save on your electricity costs. We have compiled small list of washer energy saving hacks below:

Our Washer Energy Saving Tips

-Do full loads of laundry rather than several smaller ones

-Use cold water to wash your clothes (this cuts back the washer’s electricity usage by almost 90%)

-Wash your clothes during the off-peak time of use (Monday-Friday before 7am or after 7pm, and weekends)

-Use ENERGY STAR certified washers as they only consume about half as much water / electricity

Reduce Phantom Power Usage With A Smart Power Bar

Phantom power is electricity usage coming from an electronic device that is plugged in, but not in use. Using a programmable power bar allows you to charge your electronics during off-peak time of use hours without ever needing to manually plug in or unplug the power bar. This helps to make life more convenient and also save on energy usage in your home.

LED Lights

The great thing about LED light bulbs is that they have been dropping in price over the last few years and they last for a very long time! A 60W LED bulb lasts an average of 25,000 hours and uses as little as 9W of energy. In comparison, a 60W incandescent light bulb only lasts for about 1,000 hours.

*Note: For new solar leasing applicants, we are throwing in 20 LED Light Bulbs for free upon installation of your solar panel system, courtesy of Polaron Solartech.

*Note: If you are looking to purchase your own LED’s there are annual coupons you can use from the province’s Save ON Energy website. The coupon link is here.

Solar

The government has a program called MicroFIT that allows you to go solar and have the costs covered over time. With MicroFIT, the government buys back all the electricity produced from your home solar panels for 20 years on a guaranteed contract.

Get costs of going solar covered

While you will not directly be saving on your electricity bill through this program, you will get paid for your solar electricity production (for applicants in 2017, the government will pay 28.8c/kwh for all the electricity produced. For eligible homes, that can mean an average income of up to $3500/year.) This covers the costs of purchasing a solar system as well as offsetting the costs of your electricity bill.

There is also a way to get solar panels on your roof at no cost. This is called solar leasing. With solar leasing, you will share the money from the government MicroFIT program with a solar installer, under the agreement that they cover 100% of the upfront costs to go solar and ongoing maintenance.

*Note: This program has already been running for several years and it is close to the government’s procurement target, which means by the end of this year, the will not be accepting any new applications for homeowners to get involved in MicroFIT. We highly suggest those who are interested to take action as soon as they can, while government subsidies are still available. At Reboot Solar, we have options for homeowners to go solar at any budget, including free.

Want to see if your home would qualify for our programs? Contact us here today.

Much of going solar in Ontario has been focused around the financial benefits (such as making up to $70,000 through the provincial government’s MicroFIT program), while there has been little no to no focus on the numerous environmental benefits. This blog post outlines some of the environmental perks of getting solar panels on your home.

Reduction In Carbon Emissions

Since their energy source is the sun, solar panels produce electricity without emitting any carbon. A solar panel installation on your home will produce as much as 60 times the energy required to manufacture the panels.

Facts

The clean energy produced by a home solar system with a size of 9.92KW is the annual equivalent of removing 16,250 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions from the atmosphere.

-Removing 16,250 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions from the atmosphere is the same as taking 26 cars off the road each year.

-Removing 16,250 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions from the atmosphere is comparable to planting 3250 trees per year.

Reducing Water Pollution

Solar photovoltaic cells don’t need water to generate electricity, while all other power generation methods require massive amounts of water.

Take coal power generation for example. Water pollution from coal includes negative health and environmental effects from the mining, processing, burning, and waste storage of coal. Water is used to create coal sludge which is then injected into abandoned underground mines. Thermal pollution from coal plants also contaminates groundwater, streams, rivers, and seas with heavy metals such as mercury.

However, in the case of solar, the benefits of using energy like this are two-fold:  there is less strain on local water resources to operate solar panels, and there is also zero pollution into our water supply as a by-product of electricity generation.

Solar Energy Is Renewable, And Does Not Use Earth’s Limited Resources

DID YOU KNOW: The sun is the world’s most abundant energy source, producing an amazing 173,000 terawatts of solar energy every second. That’s more than 10,000 times the world’s total combined energy use, and it can be used over and over again. In contrast, fossil fuels are non-renewable and we are using the supply we do have at an alarming rate. In the future, as these fuel sources become more scarce, the cost of finding and extracting fossil fuels will become extremely expensive. This is a financial burden as well as an environmental hazard that we can avoid. Switching to solar today is the best way to preserve the fossil fuels that we do have access to, and at the same time be mindful of the environment.

 

Renewable Energy Ontario : GO SOLAR

If you are interested in hearing more about solar and how it could benefit you as a home owner in Ontario, connect with us by filling out our contact form, and we will create a customized solar proposal for you.

 

We have received numerous questions over the last few years regarding the value of putting solar panels on your roof through the MicroFIT program. In regards to the current Ontario solar incentives, consider the following. This blog post examines the difference between having a standard home, and having an eco-friendly house which generates income through the Provincial government’s MicroFIT program.

We need your input. Please read carefully and comment below.

 

Which House Would You Buy?

Marked here is house 1 WITHOUT solar and house 2, which is benefiting from the Ontario solar incentives. They are built with the exact same design by the same builder. They are the exact same size, have equal bedrooms, washrooms, etc.

House 1 WITHOUT solar is listed at $500,000.
Mortgage payment @ 3% = $2371.02

Combined monthly income required to afford the home is $7409.44

House 2 WITH MicroFIT solar is listed at $525,000/
Mortgage payment @3% = $2,489.57
Monthly income from the solar panels = $400
Mortgage payment – monthly solar income = $2,089.57

Combined monthly income required to afford this home is $6529.91

Which one would you buy? The solar home which generates a consistent monthly income with the Ontario MicroFIT program, or the home without solar panels?

Our Opinion: As you can see, when you have the guaranteed government income being produced every month, your home becomes much more affordable. For potential home buyers, this can make your home more attractive compared to the rest of the market.

*** PS. For a limited time, we are providing a special discount to anyone who purchases a residential solar system from Reboot Solar! Watch the video on our qualify page for your discount code. See if you can benefit from the solar incentives we have here in Ontario.

Note: the program is ending soon, so if you want to get involved, you will need to act fast.

If you are an Ontario homeowner, you have probably heard about getting your home installed with the Free Solar Panels Ontario Program – and actually getting paid to do it. Maybe you saw a sticky note posted on your front door that said you had been pre-qualified. Or perhaps you had a salesperson knock on your door. If you have never heard about this program, it’s easy to dismiss it as a scam. Nothing in life comes for free. Right!?  

Is the Ontario free solar program a scam? NO it is not!

The program that you may have heard about for ‘free solar panels in Ontario’ is definitely not a scam. It is in fact, very legitimate. However, that does not mean that solar panels have no monetary value. In fact, it costs tens of thousands of dollars for a residential solar system to be installed.

Is the Ontario free solar program totally FREE?

NO it is not! Even though the program is offered at no cost to the homeowner, someone has to pay for the panels. In this case it is the solar installer paying for it, and it is not free for them. The reason why the installer is putting solar on your roof at no cost to you is because they will be receiving money from the provincial government MicroFIT program and splitting some of the profits with you. This is why we have named our free solar program ‘Share Solar’. This is a solar leasing agreement you would be doing with the installer.

But is the Free Solar Panels Ontario Program even legitimate? Everything has a cost, right?

Fun fact: Our Share Solar Program is the only solar program where there is truly no cost to you, with no deposits and no credit checks required. The catch is, your home needs to meet the qualification criteria.

What Are Some Of The Qualification Criteria? Before an installer accepts a home for free solar, there are numerous qualification criteria that will be analyzed. Some of these criteria include total square footage of the roof, roof orientation relative to the sun (south facing is best), shingle condition, and local hydro grid capacity. If your property does qualify, the solar installer in this case will cover all the cost for installation, as well as provide ongoing maintenance, and insurance.

What is the actual cost to you? As a homeowner, there is no cost to you, but a condition to the program is that you cannot make any major modifications to your roof because this could alter the position of the solar panels or require the panels to be uninstalled for a lengthy period of time. The installer only benefits by selling energy produced from the panels, so they will want you to keep them on your roof producing electricity, without long interruption.

The True Beauty Of The Program

1.  It is an affordable way for you to get solar panels on your roof.
2. You can buy out the system whenever it is more financially convenient (ex. when you are renewing your mortgage), or you can never spend any money on it. Your choice.
3. Whoever is living in the home after 20 years will get to inherit the panels at no cost. They can then be used to offset your electricity bills.
4. You receive a one time free panel removal and re-installation when you want to re-shingle your roof

 

Free Solar Panels Ontario AKA The Share Solar Program

Our installer, Polaron Solartech, offers a unique program where you can go solar at no cost. This program is called ‘Share Solar, but is also known as the Ontario Free Solar Program to most people. With Share Solar, there are 3 options to go solar. You can get paid $2000-$3000 upfront (depending on the size of your roof), 10% of what the solar system produces ($300 per year, on average), or you can engage in an accelerated ownership agreement where you can make up to $16,000 over 20 years!

Want to know the next step? If you are interested in hearing more about solar and how it could benefit you as a home owner in Ontario, connect with us by filling out our contact form, and we will create a customized solar proposal for you.