Should I Install Solar On My Home?

Should I Install Solar On My Home?

This is a question many homeowners ask, but first lets dive into how solar panels actually produce power we can use!

Solar panels trap rays from the sun in small cells on the panel to produce (Direct Current) DC power. The solar panels are either connected to a String inverter or micro inverter. The inverter is an electrical piece of equipment that converts the DC power from the solar panels into AC power we can use in our homes. A string inverter has multiple panels connected in a string that either directly connect to the inverter or go to a combiner to combine the strings before they enter the inverter. A micro inverter usually has 1-4 solar panels connected to it. Both string inverters and micro inverters have their advantages and disadvantages. Micro inverters are usually the go to for residential home rooftop solar installs. This is because if you have one solar panel or micro inverter malfunction you only loose power from 1-4 panels, where if you have the same issue on a string inverter you loose all power production.

You are probably asking yourself ok well now that I have AC power at my inverter how do i use that in my home?

That’s a great question. In the city of Winnipeg Manitoba we mostly use grid tied solar. Grid tied solar allows the AC power produced by your Inverter(s) to be connected to a properly sized breaker in your your homes electrical panel. The produced power from the Solar will be back fed through the breaker to provide power to everything in your home. In Winnipeg we use a net metering program that allows you to sell any unused excess power back to Manitoba Hydro.

How does Net metering work?

Net metering is done by a bi-directional meter. This meter will be able to spin both ways. Forward spinning functions as a regular meter and backwards spinning selling power back to Manitoba Hydro. This happens automatically through the bi-directional meter so anytime you are over producing solar you get a credit on your power bill.

Lets dive back into our first question of, should i install solar on my home?

Does your home have a pool? Does your home use lots of Air conditioning in the summer ? Do you work from home during the day? Do you own an Electric Vehicle ? If you answered yes to any of these it could be a great investment!

If you have more questions or are looking for more info reach out to us through our contact us form. We would be happy to help!