Local resident pleased with solar ‘grid tie’ experience
This is the first in a series of articles by TREPA – an environmental group in the tri-counties – relating to what individuals can do to combat global warming.
The vast majority of people acknowledge that human activity on our planet has led to serious and significant warming with a major impact on our survival as we now know it. Many of us want to do something about this but don’t know where to start. There are numerous steps being taken in our own neighbourhood by individuals, families, organizations and businesses to reverse bad practices.
This is Dr. Charles Daniels’ story.
Daniels has been a chiropractor in the Yarmouth area for 39 years. He is the sole occupant of his home in Hebron, where he also carries on his practice. Up until the past year his house derived a lot of its energy from Nova Scotia Power, providing him with lights, refrigeration, hot water, cooking, some heat and power tools, along with various other appliances. He received a bill from Nova Scotia Power every two months averaging $450. He also has an air-tight wood stove and an oil furnace.
In the fall of 2018 he became aware of a program under Efficiency Nova Scotia, where a grant was available to install solar panels at his house to provide a source of electrical power while remaining connected to Nova Scotia Power. This is called a “grid tie.”
After consulting with a number of companies that do installations he selected Wattsup Solar of Weymouth. They did an assessment of his needs, developed a proposal and submitted it to Efficiency Nova Scotia for financial assistance. Once approved, the installation was implemented in March of 2019.
Charlie’s system consists of 25 solar panels of 320 watts each. Each panel has an inverter attached that changes the DC power from the sun into AC power that connects with his home’s existing electrical system. Simply stated, when the sun shines, Charlie’s panels generate electricity, usually at a rate greater than what he is using.
The extra power that he doesn’t use goes back into “the grid” and is used by other NS Power customers. This results in the meter being sent backwards, more or less. When there is no sunshine, Charlie gets his electricity from NS
Power; the meter goes forward. This is called net metering.
The total cost for the system was $24,000. Once the installation was completed, a claim was filed with Efficiency Nova Scotia and a grant of $9,000 was paid to Wattsup Solar. Charlie paid the remaining $15,000. Since the installation, Charlie’s NS Power bill is $22.76 for two months, a charge for reading his meter. His most recent bill shows that he has accumulated a surplus of 1,023 kWh. This can be drawn on during dark periods or added to when there is more sun-powered electricity than he uses.
Efficiency Nova Scotia (efficiencyns.ca) administers the grant program and there are clear guidelines on their website. In general, an approved installation is eligible for assistance of six cents per installed watt of DC power, up to 25 per cent of the total installation and not more than $6,000. The average grant is $5,500.
As government applications go, this is a relatively simple process and most of the paperwork is done by the selected contractor. Charlie said it took several months from application submission to approval.
At the date of writing, Charlie is very pleased with his installation. He can monitor inputs and usage on his computer. There is no ongoing maintenance.