The word solar means “having to do with the sun” or “produced
or coming from the sun”.
This means that your solar system needs the sun. It does
not work in the rain, or during a snow storm, it can’t
be shaded, and it produces very little, or no power,
on a cloudy day.
The average amount of useful sunlight that we receive
in the Ottawa area, taking into account all the snow,
rain and cloudy days, is 3.8 full sunshine hours per
day. This means that your solar system will produce
energy on average for 3.8 hours out of each day. Some
years will be better than others. Mother nature is
in charge.
Solar systems need unobstructed access to the sun.
This means no shading if possible. Solar panels don’t
like being in the shade. Trees, overhanging roofs,
vent pipes, chimneys, other buildings, all can create
shade, so its important to carefully review your site
to access solar potential.
Your roof needs to face South-East, South, or South-West.
A North facing roof is not a suitable location for
a solar system. To know if your roof faces South, you
can use a compass, or look at the sun at 12:00 noon.
The ideal roof has the sun shining directly on it between
9 am to 3 pm.
Solar systems are not 100% efficient at producing energy from the sun. By the time the sun's
energy is converted to electricity, and it reaches your meter, you will have
lost 25% of the energy through inefficiencies.
A good quality solar panel from
an established solar manufacture should produce energy for 30 years or more.
There are no moving parts in a solar panel. The inverter has some electrical
components that can wear out over time, this is why the inverter is the
only item that may need to be replaced during the MicroFIT contract.
A
solar system mounted on a residential sloped roof will produce 1141 kWh per year.
A solar system ground mounted will produce 1250 kWh per year.
A flat roof mounted system will produce 951 kWh per year.
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