Yes, Longi panels have taken over western Canada, could a scandal be brewing here I’m not sure but I do focus on the US solar market as well and Longi is not nearly as popular. Longi is a Chinese company as is Canadian Solar. The reliability of their products has been recognized to be very good but sometimes warranty support with Chinese focused companies is not great. I would also look at QCells, Panasonic, REC and Silfab panels for comparison. The order I would rank the inverters would be Enphase, APS, Solar Edge w/optimizers. Solar Edge optimizers are known for premature failure which is typically covered by warranty but the downtime during a warranty repair can be lengthy. For better reliability, go with Enphase or APS.
Yes, the economics are not the greatest if you have your system installed in September. The best time to have your system installed is in March or April from an economic perspective. In the long term the costs are fairly negligible. Failing to look at the energy independence with solar(with a bi-modal inverter that allows you to power your home during an outage) is a common oversight, however. With the rolling blackouts happening in Alberta or other unforeseen outages, you can have energy security with solar. Not to mention leaving more for future generations by going solar.
If you are planning on sizing your system to 100% of your usage, yes using Solar Club will be worthwhile. You may even get to take advantage of the high export rate if your system is installed in August or September and there is an indian summer. I am currently splitting my referral bonus with anyone who signs up through me for Spot Power’s Solar Club, if you are interested please message me.
I would advise you to get the HOT2000 report as it looks at the entire performance of your home and can help to address issues that will impact efficiency and economics to heat, cool, ventilate and power your home. Many energy advisors use HOT2000 in their evaluation of a home. The evaluation is required to be eligible for the Greener Homes Loan as well. Even if you aren’t getting the loan, it makes sense to get the evaluation because unless you have a passive/passive ready home or one that was constructed to meet or exceed high performance energy codes, there will likely be deficiencies identified in the report. Correcting these will save you much more money in energy costs than the cost of the evaluation. You are also contributing to environmental sustainability by addressing any deficiencies.
Your final question should only be answered by an electrician and preferably one who is CSA NOC 7241 certified for solar installation. There’s a few electricians lurking around here and I hope one will see this comment and reply.
Hey, during my solar research / install journey I put together a document that will answer some of your questions. Happy to send to you in a DM if you want.
You can do your install in Aug/Sept and keep your current electricity rate, then join a Solar Club in March/April. That's what I did last year - January 2023 install (stayed with enmax and my locked in electricity rate) then joined Spot Power in April '23.
I was in the similar situation and decided to go with Fronius. The quotes would be based on your RFP. I requested two options from the contractors - enphase and fronius.
The TCO of micro-based system is higher, I don’t understand why people buy that (and sell), except for some specific scenarios
Local Calgary company, just a small business. They don’t have the office overhead and all the sales commission burden. I noticed that there’s 30-60% price difference between the small electric contractors and big installers. Not worth it
For companies that use Enphase (from my quotes) was just Renewables North (Shelby). They are a smaller company but more of a boutique/higher end electrician company. Quote wise, they actually beat out virtually ALL APSystems quotes with all black panels and Enphase equipment.
There are two major reasons why one might go with string vs micro: major shading differences (or multiple outbuildings) and the double edge sword that is a single point of failure. The one big BUT for micro/string is that IF your micro inverter manufacturer goes out of business in say 10-15 years and you have some inverters fail, there is risk of having to replace all to a compatible model. String inverter goes, you replace just one. Maybe more of a headache for your solar company but a reality.
From my understanding, if you apply for the federal loan now and get approved for quotes, you have a year I believe to get it done. I too will probably have a July/August install. Having it done with little production in the beginning will suck but also means it is good to go next spring!
Yes, Longi panels have taken over western Canada, could a scandal be brewing here I’m not sure but I do focus on the US solar market as well and Longi is not nearly as popular. Longi is a Chinese company as is Canadian Solar. The reliability of their products has been recognized to be very good but sometimes warranty support with Chinese focused companies is not great. I would also look at QCells, Panasonic, REC and Silfab panels for comparison. The order I would rank the inverters would be Enphase, APS, Solar Edge w/optimizers. Solar Edge optimizers are known for premature failure which is typically covered by warranty but the downtime during a warranty repair can be lengthy. For better reliability, go with Enphase or APS. Yes, the economics are not the greatest if you have your system installed in September. The best time to have your system installed is in March or April from an economic perspective. In the long term the costs are fairly negligible. Failing to look at the energy independence with solar(with a bi-modal inverter that allows you to power your home during an outage) is a common oversight, however. With the rolling blackouts happening in Alberta or other unforeseen outages, you can have energy security with solar. Not to mention leaving more for future generations by going solar. If you are planning on sizing your system to 100% of your usage, yes using Solar Club will be worthwhile. You may even get to take advantage of the high export rate if your system is installed in August or September and there is an indian summer. I am currently splitting my referral bonus with anyone who signs up through me for Spot Power’s Solar Club, if you are interested please message me. I would advise you to get the HOT2000 report as it looks at the entire performance of your home and can help to address issues that will impact efficiency and economics to heat, cool, ventilate and power your home. Many energy advisors use HOT2000 in their evaluation of a home. The evaluation is required to be eligible for the Greener Homes Loan as well. Even if you aren’t getting the loan, it makes sense to get the evaluation because unless you have a passive/passive ready home or one that was constructed to meet or exceed high performance energy codes, there will likely be deficiencies identified in the report. Correcting these will save you much more money in energy costs than the cost of the evaluation. You are also contributing to environmental sustainability by addressing any deficiencies. Your final question should only be answered by an electrician and preferably one who is CSA NOC 7241 certified for solar installation. There’s a few electricians lurking around here and I hope one will see this comment and reply.
Hey, during my solar research / install journey I put together a document that will answer some of your questions. Happy to send to you in a DM if you want.
Hey bud, yes please that would be great :)
You can do your install in Aug/Sept and keep your current electricity rate, then join a Solar Club in March/April. That's what I did last year - January 2023 install (stayed with enmax and my locked in electricity rate) then joined Spot Power in April '23.
I was in the similar situation and decided to go with Fronius. The quotes would be based on your RFP. I requested two options from the contractors - enphase and fronius. The TCO of micro-based system is higher, I don’t understand why people buy that (and sell), except for some specific scenarios
Thanks mate, who did you do your install with?
Local Calgary company, just a small business. They don’t have the office overhead and all the sales commission burden. I noticed that there’s 30-60% price difference between the small electric contractors and big installers. Not worth it
For companies that use Enphase (from my quotes) was just Renewables North (Shelby). They are a smaller company but more of a boutique/higher end electrician company. Quote wise, they actually beat out virtually ALL APSystems quotes with all black panels and Enphase equipment. There are two major reasons why one might go with string vs micro: major shading differences (or multiple outbuildings) and the double edge sword that is a single point of failure. The one big BUT for micro/string is that IF your micro inverter manufacturer goes out of business in say 10-15 years and you have some inverters fail, there is risk of having to replace all to a compatible model. String inverter goes, you replace just one. Maybe more of a headache for your solar company but a reality. From my understanding, if you apply for the federal loan now and get approved for quotes, you have a year I believe to get it done. I too will probably have a July/August install. Having it done with little production in the beginning will suck but also means it is good to go next spring!