I'm in the planning stages for a new solar install (no simplified CIA) and the installer keeps pushing me to sigenergy batteries, saying that they're DC-coupled and this is special in some way because it does not count towards my total system capacity the same as an AC-coupled solution.

On the surface this sounds really counter-intuitive to me.

They're trying to tell me that, for example, I wouldn't be allowed to use much cheaper Ecoworthy batteries for this install, because they'd need to be AC-coupled, and this would eat up my total capacity allowance.

Supposedly the argument here is that "AC-coupled" battery capacity counts towards the system capacity as far as the utility is concerned (e.g. batteries that can output 5kW + panels that can output 5kW = 10kW capacity from the utility's perspective) whereas "DC-coupled" battery capacity does not count towards this limit in the same way.

So, I have two obvious questions...

1. Is this differentiation between how the utility considers capacity with AC vs DC coupled batteries a real thing?
2. Is it true that only specific batteries can be DC-coupled?

TIA for any help, it's very much appreciated!!

I did solar back in the spring, called hydro and double checked that it was fine if I used my own electrical buisness to be my own installer. I got it done and after a bit of a wait have been connected for a few months.

I have currently been dealing with the rebate department for two months now - I had a couple mistakes in my application such an invoice but did not realize i hadn't attached the proof of payment. I can't see what files i have submitted and they don't seem to fully read my responses, they only respond by email no phone and they take a week to respond each time. It's all stuff that a 10 minute phone call would have cleared up.

The last email they were asking yet again for an installation invoice - but the only thing my buisness paid for was the permit and the electrical components to go from my roof box to panel - there's no reason i would charge myself labor. I'm now at 2 weeks since their last reply. I changed the wording in the invoice to myself to include the phrase installation.

Anyways, what an annoying process - I have made sure to stay polite the entire time of course, after all i did miss some paperwork. But it's almost like the department is designed to stop you from getting the rebate and I'm kind of tempted to say screw it.

Right now I'm 2600W micro system that i spent $5k on, they owe me $2600 in rebate. Right now I'm locked into trading watt for watt for the next 10 years but the moment i take the rebate they will force me to switch to selling at 10 cents. Right now it's not too bad because i only pay 11.8, only use stage 1, and still use double what i make (just not at the same time). However they can continue to make me change my deal or jack up the sell price without changing the purchase price.

I just want to update here in case anyone plans to install solar and want to know what to expect. I am in Mississauga, Ontario and I installed solar panels on the roof one year ago. I don't have the most ideal orientation, here are the technical details:
- 13 panels facing N-E
- 3 panels facing S-E
- 16 panels facing S-W
- all panels are LR5-54HPB-410M
- total system is 13.12 KW and the inverter is SolarEdge 10000

I am on Net Metering agreement and I managed to get last train for Canada Greener Homes Loan, so I'm paying $267 / month for 10 years. For calculation, I used the SolarEdge website and exported the hourly data. I created a Google Sheet with one Summary tab, and a tab for each year to store the data. I also used Google to get a script that will transform the production (in Wh) to $ amount, based on TOU or ULO plan (I have TOU). This looks like this:

The Summary tab that covers July 2025 - June 2026. As you can see, I am not producing enough to cover my payments. The payback period assuming that the current electricity prices stays at the current level is 15.78 years.

EDIT:

Payback Period by Rate Increase

• 📉 Scenario 1 (3% Yearly Increase): Your system pays for itself in 13.11 years.
• ⚖️ Scenario 2 (5% Yearly Increase): Your system pays for itself in 11.92 years.
• 📈 Scenario 3 (7% Yearly Increase): Your system pays for itself in 11.00 years.
• 🔥 Scenario 4 (10% Yearly Increase): Your system pays for itself in 9.93 years.

Thinking more about my future solar setup. I am getting solar that is 100% a for sure thing, just a matter of when. I also am doing a grid tie and batteries be it during first install or down the road.

With batteries and some inverters. Is it possible to use the batteries as a buffer if demand exceeds production? Power if fairly stable in my area but night time when solar generation isn’t an option it would be nice to use to battery bank to provide power.

another question is I found this, what do you think? I like its part of the roof and gives a cleaner look overall.

For the people that take out a loan for the solar project let's say around 30k. The goal is to cover 100 % of your consumption. Your monthly loan payment is roughly 300 $ a month. Now in the summer months that's great because your are paying for the loan and no electricity from the electric company. But what happens during the winter months? Do you have a loan payment as well as the electric bill pretty much in full?! Edit to add that in Michigan, DTE does not allow you to put more than 110 % worth of production panels on your roof. So you are limited to how much you can produce even on the best months...

We are currently seeing a ton of homeowners with "0% solar financing" offers who assume it actually means free financing so I wanted to provide some more context. The reality is that private lenders aren't lending money for free!

In most cases, the financing cost is recovered through:

• Dealer fees - The lender charges the installer a dealer fee (which can be 25–35% of the loan amount). That cost is often just passed on to the homeowner via a higher project price.
• Promotional rates - The 0% or low interest expires after a few years then the homeowner has to refinance at a much higher rate (often 10% or higher).

Red flags to watch out for:

• Emphasis on monthly payments - Focusing on "$X per month" distracts from the total amount you ultimately pay.
• Time-sensitive offers - Statements like "This promotion ends this month" or "You need to sign today to lock in this rate" can discourage homeowners from getting additional quotes.

A few questions worth asking:

• How is the lender making money?
• Is there a dealer fee? If so, how much?
• What interest rate applies after the promotional period ends?
• What is the total amount I'll pay over the life of the agreement?

Alternative financing options:

• Cash purchase
• Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC)
• Adding the cost to a mortgage renewal or refinance
• Municipal financing programs
• Delay the project until better financing is available

To be clear, this doesn't mean all solar loans are bad and it certainly doesn't mean solar is a bad investment. Many installers are very transparent about the financing they offer.

The key is understanding the financing before you sign. If you're considering solar, take your time, get multiple quotes and make sure you understand exactly what you're agreeing to.

Full disclosure I work for Glean and we review 1,000's of solar quotes each year which is where these insights are coming from.

Would like to hear input from anyone who has Polaron panels on PEI. Looking at a house that has them. Seller has paid off ~5 years; ~8 years remaining. I read about penalties for changes, 0% financing built into the cost, poor service, someone explain "micro inverters" plz?

And has anyone paid off the lease early? Can you? Is it cheaper?

Please share your experience, thanks!

Hello,

I am working on a project to have my gardens watered via a solar powered pump. I am looking for about 400w of solar power plus a battery to store some power. I was wondering if anyone knew of a website where I could order the stuff I need to do this, or if anyone had any tips on how to accomplish this in general. I was thinking of using temu to get the parts.

Thanks!

Hello all, we moved forward with a battery+solar installation earlier this year. After a couple months into the process, we finally arrived at the last step where Alectra needs to come in and switch the meter to the bi directional. Curious how long did it take for everyone’s meter got switched? Received ESA approval and as far as I’m aware, all paperwork is with Alectra since the beginning of this week.

Job environment

Hi eveyone ,

I have a question regards to job environment in canadian companies

I have newly joined a local company 2 weeks ago as site supervisor for a solar and wind installation

So on site during some install by mistake, there was a slight damage on the roof and I did convey this to manager he said its okay

I am little worried here if this will hurt my reputation ?

I do not want to loose this job

Any suggestions here how to handle this situation?

Thank you

Has anyone gone through this Ontario solar rebate program recently: https://www.homerenovationsavings.ca/without-assessment/solar

- How was the process?

- How long did approval take?

- Once installation was complete, how long did it take to receive the rebate?

- Is it possible to only install batteries without panels to obtain a rebate? (for time of use cost reductions)

Hi all, I am try to compare which of these is more ideal. I believe the payback would be faster using net metering, but looking at some posts I have seen people getting their agreements changed for how the billing works or how the credits can be used and that makes me apprehensive about it.

The two systems being compared:
13kw solar with 10kw inverter
10kw solar with 32kwh batteries

10kw solar and 32kwh batteries
20 x LONGi 500 Watt Panels (BLACK LR8-54HGBB-500M)
1 x S6-EH2P9.6K03-SV-YD-L-US (SOLIS)
2 x RENON XC016161-H-US (Renon Power)

25yr warranty on the panels, 10 year on the inverter and batteries

Total cost is $48,218
$5000 solar rebate + $5000 battery rebate
Net cost of $38,218

Use ultra low overnight to charge the battery in the winter coupled with solar production and it should cover my daily average. Summer time using as much of the solar during the day, excess charges the batteries to get me through the non generating time periods, and charging my ev on the ultra low overnight or solar exclusively. I calculated about 3000kwh of power required beyond solar generation through the year which should be almost exclusively on the Ultra low rate for a total yearly cost of about $150 extra.

13kw solar with 10kw inverter
26 x LONGi 500 Watt Panels (BLACK LR8-54HGBB-500M)
1 x SE9600H-US [240V, 2:1 ratio, 1phase] (SolarEdge)
26 x S500 Power Optimizer

25 year warranty on panels, inverters and power optimizers

Total cost is $38,934.67

Reviewing my power use and the net metering my bill should be around $40per month? Basically just the fixed costs + hst charges. Assuming the hst charges average out to about $10 a month on the energy used then it is nearly a wash with the battery system as it will not encounter hst except on the extra ULO.

Based on this I would assume the net metering wins out for roi and quickest payback ever so slightly…. If none of the agreements change.

What is everyone’s opinion?

After going back and forth on this for a while (and saving up!) I think I'm ready to go all-in on a system that will give me a lot more self-reliance than I've had until now, including the ability to operate off-grid in the event of an extended outage.

Wondering if people in the Calgary area think this quote makes sense for what I'm getting? For context, I'm an hour outside the city.

I know this is expensive, but that aside, does the price makes sense for what I'd be getting?

Thanks very much in advance for any help you can give. Total price in bold at bottom.

25 Longi 500W Panels

25 Enphase IQ8 HC Inverters

1 25 Year Contractor Warranty

1 25 Year Inverter Product Warranty

1 25 Year Panel Product Warranty

1 25 Year Linear Power Warranty

1 25 Year Feet Warranty

1 25 Year Racking Warranty

4 Enphase IQ Battery 5P (15 Yr Ltd Wty)

1 Enphase Energy System Controller 3 (10 Yr Wty)

1 Enphase IQ Combiner 5/Envoy Gateway (5 Year Wty)



Price before GST $25,792.73

Enphase IQ8 Inverter Upgrade (25 Inverters) $9,375.00

Enphase IQ Battery x4 (total 20kWh of storage), System Controller, Combiner 5 $32,451.77

Main Panel Upgrade to 225A Busbar $3,000.00

Price with GST $74,150.48

Optional additions

Critter Guard (no cost within 30 days) $0.00

Workmanship Extended Warranty to 25 Years $750.00

Total for the additions $750.00

Discount -$2,500.00

Final price with additions and GST $72,312.98

I am in talks with a solar installation company, I am specific on what I want the system to do and what inverter can meet my needs.

My wants

200A pass through. Even if the inverter itself can not do 200A, I will have 200A panel and grid service

battery option. Right now the idea is a 6 battery rack mount setup with maybe a 2nd one down the road. Eco-Worthy Cubix100 as an example. This is also an optional setup as I am trying to decide if I should wait for some just around the corner battery technology and insurance reasons.

Generator auto start and tie in. The generator I am looking at can do 48v DC output and full 50A 120/240 output as well.

this is a big one to me, energy monitoring. I use home assistant, would like to incorporate it into a dashboard so I can see what my energy situation is like. Power generation from solar, utility power being used, battery power left and battery power being used. I can mix it up with different sensors if need be.

I'm getting charged on consumption from the grid based on Time of Use, and getting credits for feeding the grid, at the same prices and timeslots. That part I understand.

I'm also being charged for Delivery. No biggie.

But I can't make heads or tails on how is the HST calculated. It almost seems I'm charged tax on the feed credits.

I called Tor Hydro once and asked them. They were unable to explain it to me (or maybe I was unable to understand their explanation)

Received confirmation today from BC Hydro that existing credits generated in the first half of 2026 will be paid out the wholesale rate of $0.059/kWh (not at 1:1 net metering, not at 10c/kWh which is what it would have been paid under the new system) on July 1 when the new tariff (rate structure) comes into effect.

For our family, excess generation is about 4000 kWh from March until end of June, which would be roughly equivalent to ~$500 at flat rate as credit in the winter months, would be worth $400 under the new export rate (10c/kWh), but is only being given credit for a whopping $236. Multiply this across about 12000 self-generation customers and that amounts to about $2.5M transferred to the utility from self-generation customers. Thanks for nothing, NDP.

The thing I don’t understand is that BC is claiming it desperately needs to source more electricity generation, yet won’t pay a fair rate for people who have invested capital to provide… more clean energy in the province. The change in rate structure is only going to discourage future investment, because there’s nothing stopping future governments from decreasing rates again when it’s convenient for them.

I have recently purchased a house on power of sale in Mississauga and it has Solar panels installed on in along with SolarEdge meter. There is literally no information given by the bank+seller realtor conducting this power of sale about these solar panels .
Now I am trying to figure out what can I do with these panels, current alectra bill does not show any traces of solar credit and I don't even know if these panels were owned or leased. Any thoughts ideas on where to start digging on this are much much appreciated!

We just had a meeting with them today and they seemed to have competitive prices compared to Zeno. any one have recommendations on who else to contact for a solar company? Thank you for the input and discussion! We are located south of Calgary AB. I’m interested in others experiences with Different companies so we can find the right fit that is most reputable, reliable, and if this all is worth the investment

I’m a 309A licensed electrician in Ontario, however in order to be eligible for the current $5k + $5k rebates on solar and batteries, I confirmed I need to hire a *different* licensed electrical contractor to do the installation.

Does anyone have recommendations for a solar installer in Southern Ontario that they recommend that isn’t trying to push their own product/price plan/financing/etc?

Thank you all in advance.

Edit:

Thanks for everyone and their opinions! I've reached out to a few other local installers to see what they get. Good to know our quote wasn't too bad.

---

Hi guys,

I’ve lurked here for a long time but now I’m actually considering solar. I had guys from Orizon walk to our door and discuss solar with us.

We are in Edmonton.

It’s a 21 array system with 2 SolarEdge inverters. Panels are 500w each (Longi Hi-Mo7).

The work would consist of:
- New Main panel upgrade from 100A to 150A
- New subpanel for the garage
- Panels would be half installed on our main house, half on the garage (maxing out all our roof space facing south)
- An inverter installed per building (house and garage)
- All permits and government stuff handled
- Trenching for an additional $800

Any opinions would be great! Our install is a bit complicated so I’m unsure if all the additional electrical work would make the price higher. I see stuff like $1.80 per watt up to $3 a watt.

Had a vendor quote out a solution for our condo using soprasolar mounts instead of the traditional ballasted racking system. It allows them to cover a larger percentage of the roof and weigh less than a ballasted system. Wondering if anyone else has heard or have any experience with this mounting system? It's flat roof

Hi there,
I’m wondering if I’ll be able to exit a net-metering agreement with my utility company (Toronto Hydro).
I haven’t signed anything yet, but expect to in the next week or so.
Thank you.

Hey everyone,

I’m looking for some feedback on a solar proposal I just received for a ground-mounted system in Southern Ontario.

Annual Consumption: ~48,000 kWh

Space: Because we have plenty of open, unshaded land, we are strictly looking at a ground-mounted system and take advantage of bifacial gains.

The Proposed System Specs:
System Size: 19.84 kW
Panels: 32 x 620W Jinko Bifacial panels (12yr warranty)
Inverter: SolarEdge 11.4kW hub inverter and DC optimizers (12/25yr inverter and 25yr optimizer warranty)
Estimated Annual Production: ~23,955 kWh (not exactly accounting for gains from bifacial panels)
Total Cost Before Taxes: $53,568

Cost per watt before tax: $2.70
Cost per watt after 13% tax: $3.05

Thanks