A year and a half after installing solar panels on their Niverville home, Todd and Lisa Wiebe are getting the results they were hoping for. In August 2017, the Wiebes took advantage of Manitoba Hydro’s Power Smart Solar Energy Program, which offered rebates of up to 25 percent on solar panel installations.
The couple contracted the job to Solar Manitoba, who installed 28 panels on their roof, effectively designing a system that was anticipated to nullify their electricity bill payments. Now, with well over a year under their belt, the Wiebes can confirm that not only are the solar panels generating enough energy to pay for their electricity use, they are in fact coming out ahead. They’re seeing credits on their utility bill that help cover the cost of their gas consumption, too.
“When they did our calculations, they estimated that we use around 9,000 kilowatt hours per year and the system’s designed to produce roughly 11,000, so we’re producing more than we’re using,” Todd says.
From September 2017 to September 2018, they used 5,709 kilowatt hours, but they put 7,300 kilowatt hours back into the grid. This equalled $135 of credit which they could apply toward their gas bill.
The Manitoba Hydro incentive program, which is no longer available, required that recipients use an on-the-grid solar system, meaning that any excess solar energy produced returns into the grid. With the installation of a bi-directional meter, the utility company can monitor the energy produced, allowing them to sell the excess energy elsewhere. In turn, they apply a monetary credit to the Wiebes’ utility bill based on the excess kilowatt hours according to the current rate charge for Manitobans.
Even though their furnace, water heater, and cooktop run on gas, Wiebe says their electricity consumption is still pretty significant, especially in the summer months when the A/C unit runs steady. When calculated over 20 years—the time they estimate for the system to pay for itself—they say they expect to be way ahead in the energy game.
“In 20 years, it’s just going to be the two of us here,” says Lisa. “Right now we have a two-year-old, a four-year-old, and an eight-year-old. I do two loads of laundry every day and run the dishwasher. We use a lot with gaming systems and whatever.”
While their highest energy producing period is from April to October, the panels are still effective in winter since a lot of sunlight is still available—just for shorter periods of time. In the end, higher months balance out lower months, making longer-term monitoring the best way to know just how well the system is doing.
And with hydro rates expected to continue to climb, the Wiebes feel lucky to be locked in at a one-to-one rate with Manitoba Hydro. So for the next 20 years they will be credited at the same price for kilowatts produced and used. The Wiebes are concerned, though, for applicants signing onto a solar panel program going forward.
During the time they were having their solar panels installed, the Wiebes say that Manitoba Hydro was already trying to change the rules. The contract they and others signed clearly stated a one-to-one benefit for the applicant. Shortly after, Manitoba Hydro introduced a new plan to refund users for their excess kilowatts based on a .035 percent export rate while still charging .085 cents on the usage rate. Under this plan, the Wiebes’ excess kilowatts would have been valued at half of what their used kilowatts would be. Solar installers went to bat for their customers, fighting against the hydro company to secure the contract as it was originally drawn up.
“So, the problem is that anyone who’s signing up now is not going to get that contract,” Todd says. “It doesn’t make sense because [someone’s] going to sell to Hydro for three cents, but then buy it right back for eight cents after [they invested in the expensive system].”
Wiebe says that Solar Manitoba is now changing their recommendations for new customers, advising them to put in battery systems to store the excess energy produced for use during times of lower energy production. The Wiebes’ revised one-to-one contract with Manitoba Hydro prevents them from installing batteries or additional panels throughout the course of their 20-year contract period.
And without batteries, the Wiebes’ hydro will work like everyone else’s. In times of power outage, their electricity will be off as well due to a kill switch which prevents power from entering the grid, putting Hydro workers at risk as they work on damaged lines.
Even so, a recent professional house assessment indicated that the solar panels had increased the Wiebes’ home value by the same amount as the installation costs. As well, a proactive measure early on in the program saw the Wiebes turn down the high-interest financing option Manitoba Hydro was offering for a lower interest plan through their financial institution. Because of this, the Wiebes feel that they will pay off their solar package loan well before they otherwise would have.
“At the end of the day, every year we’re saving money on our hydro,” says Todd. “And when it comes to retirement and we’re still in [our house] and on more of a fixed income, that’s where we’ll really start pulling in the benefits of it.”
