The most misdiagnosed summer solar ontario problem is low output on a clear July day, because a property owner in Guelph ran a perfectly functioning 400W roof-mount array on a cloudless July afternoon and his Victron SmartShunt recorded only 1,650Wh of daily harvest instead of the 1,870Wh the clear-day calculation predicted. The cause was not
The most important cloudy solar Ontario number is 10 to 25 percent, because a property owner in Orangeville, Dufferin County ran a 400W array through a 3-day November overcast stretch expecting meaningful daily charging and his Victron SmartShunt recorded 38Wh on day 1 and 52Wh on day 2, against a daily household consumption of approximately
The most dangerous winter solar Ontario mistake is sizing a battery bank for the 4.0 PSH summer average, because a property owner in Wellington County installed a 400W array expecting approximately 1,600Wh of daily charging in January, which is what 400W times 4.0 PSH times 0.85 system efficiency produces in July, but the actual January
The most expensive Ontario solar system planning mistake is ordering components before completing the load audit, because a property owner in Rockwood, Wellington County ordered a 12V system with 4/0 AWG battery cable at $100 for a 10-foot run before he had done the architecture calculation that would have shown him a 48V system requires
The Ontario Solar System Planning Guide: Two Days, One Tier 2 Build, Zero Wasted Parts Read More »
The most dangerous Ontario solar battery monitor mistake is using a voltmeter as a state of charge indicator, because a property owner in Rockwood, Wellington County spent the first winter of his off-grid system running his generator four hours per day based on a 12.8V reading on his 24V LFP bank, believing the bank was
The most important solar power outage fact in Ontario is the one most HRSP homeowners never learn until the December ice storm arrives, which is that a grid-tied solar array with 18 panels and a $30,000 installation automatically shuts off the moment Hydro One loses power on the street, because Ontario law requires every grid-tied
The grid tied ontario decision comes down to one number from Hydro One, because a property owner in Guelph installed an 8.5kW HRSP array on an existing grid connection for approximately $22,000 and will earn back the cost through net metering credits at approximately 8 cents per kWh over approximately 9 years, while a property
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The most common Ontario solar wire gauge mistake is sizing the array wiring to the summer STC specification, because a property owner in Orangeville, Dufferin County sized his string run with standard 10 AWG solar cable based on his panel’s 22.5V STC Voc rating and discovered in January that the same panels were pushing 24.3V
The most common Ontario off grid appliances mistake is selecting appliances before sizing the solar system, and a property owner on Kortright Road in Guelph, Wellington County discovered this when she installed a high-end induction cooktop on her Tier 2 off-grid system in fall 2022 because it was marketed as energy-efficient and her Victron SmartShunt
The most common Ontario solar power cost mistake is calculating only the panel price and ignoring the 25-year comparison, because a property owner on Steeles Avenue in Halton Hills received a $58,000 Hydro One connection quote in fall 2023 for a 180-metre rural service run and then discovered that the complete Tier 2 solar power