Summer 2022 Solar Update

It’s been some time since my last solar update, so thought it was due! I find it endlessly fascinating to analyze the data from our panels and so wanted to share some of the 2022 metrics with you. Year over year, month to month it’s amazing to see how even our generation can be. I had expected more variation, but we really have come in at a fairly regular annual production.

This year, with several additional panels brought online around April, we had expected to see a lot more energy production. But as you can see on the graph above, it wasn’t until late June/early July that we saw a lot of difference.

Background: past solar update posts

In case you haven’t been reading along for my whole solar power journey, I’ve included links from past posts. We had our panels installed in 2019 and over that time I’ve shared several posts about why we chose to install panels, how they work, and ongoing panel performance. See below to read through how we got to where we are today!

Where it all began

Understanding Solar Panels and FAQs

Review of the first year

Solar panel update 2021

This is the company that we had install our panels both times, and they were fantastic! If you’re in Southwestern BC and are interested in installing panels on your home or business, give them a call for a quote.

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Last update: Canada Greener Homes Grant

In my last update I shared about how this year we took advantage of the Canada Greener Homes Grant. We were able to obtain an additional 40% of solar power generation potential through several new panels and the grant allowed us to save about 50% of the cost!

See the post here for how we did it. If you’re in Canada, check out the website to see if there are any changes that you can make to your home within the scope of the grant program to become more efficient in a cost-effective way!

How is 2022 going?

It hasn’t been the best year, weather-wise for solar power generation. The spring in our area was very wet and rainy, so it will be an interesting year in the sense that we added the additional new panels, but additional generation is net of a very rainy spring.

In the graph below you can see where we transitioned last year and this year from consuming energy to generating excess energy. Surprisingly, May / June can be our best generating months as the panels decrease in efficiency in the hotter months of July and August.

Last year we were energy bill-free from approximately May/April until October. This year we’re hoping to store up enough energy through the BC Hydro net metering program to be power bill free until at least November as a result of the new panels. Stay tuned!

Impact of our panels and what you can do

One of the things I love most about the application through which we monitor our panel performance is that it tracks the benefits of the energy we’ve generated in understandable equivalents, such as trees planted or energy used by a lightbulb.

So far we’ve generated energy that is the equivalent of planting almost 1,000 trees! As you can see, there are real benefits to installing solar panels and I’d encourage you to do some research and some math to see if they might work for you.

Check with your governments for grants, get some information and quotes from local companies that install panels, compare to your electrical bills and see if a move to solar panels might work for your home!

Have you considered how you could make your home more energy efficient?

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