\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSupplied photo by Powertec Solar<\/p>\n
The cost of installing solar powers on your home has never been better.<\/p><\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n
Hartley thinks the increased boom in residential installations is because of attractive financial incentives from the federal government and Efficiency Manitoba which make solar much more affordable.<\/p>\n
“It’s as busy as during the original (Manitoba Hydro) rebates, which doesn’t surprise us. These incentives are some of the best in the country for residential installations, and we’re happy to see Manitobans take advantage of them and see all the long-term benefits of solar,” Hartley said.<\/p>\n
Powertec Electric has been around since 2013 and added its solar division in 2015. It has weathered a few cycles of rebates and incentives, and the real driver of business now is residential installations. With the incentives, the cost of solar has been nearly cut in half for residential installations, and the remaining cost can be financed with interest-free loans from the federal government over 10 years, which means customers can often pay for the system with savings on their Hydro bills.<\/p>\n
The Greener Homes Grant program offers up to $5,000 for installation, and Efficiency Manitoba another $5,000. In addition to the rebates, the Greener Homes program offers an interest-free, 10-year loan for the remainder so clients do not need to put any money out of pocket. They can repay the loan as they save money, meaning the homeowner’s out-of-pocket net cost is minimal.<\/p>\n
“They may be out a few hundred dollars a year for the first few years while repaying the loan, but as electricity rates increase, they save money before the loan is repaid. People are really wanting to take advantage of it,” Hartley said.<\/p>\n
Typically, a solar array from of five 10 kilowatts per house will save customers anywhere from $7,500 to $10,000. For example, a five-kilowatt array would garner $7,500 in rebates, and the price of installation is $15,000. The actual out-of-pocket cost is about $120 to $150 per month, and the customer saves a good portion of that in monthly electricity savings.<\/p>\n
“We are typically not offsetting the entire electricity bill of a single-occupant house,” Hartley said. “We design to what the roof can handle. The average size is between seven and nine kilowatts, based on ideal roof space. The idea is that the house would use solar power first, and then, when solar power isn’t available, it will take power from Manitoba Hydro. Then if there is excess solar power, you have a meter that will sell power back to Manitoba Hydro.”<\/p>\n
Powertec offers some guidance to help customers navigate the program, but customers must apply for the rebates themselves.<\/p>\n
The solar panels come with a 25-year warranty. Solar panels degrade at an approximate rate of 0.5 per cent per year. They function as long as the materials last.<\/p>\n
“It’s a fantastic program. As rates increase over time, the customer could save on the loan more than paying on the loan,” affirms Hartley.<\/p>\n
Winnipeg resident Nick Pizzi attests to the success of the program. Pizzi and his wife, Cindy, researched the price of solar power and found that with the combined rebate programs, solar was more affordable than it had been in years.<\/p>\n
“It was our family’s decision to contribute something with respect to clean energy,” he said.<\/p>\n
The first step was to have an energy audit done on their home.<\/p>\n
“The energy audit came with recommendations and installing solar seemed like reasonable option. Powertec Solar came out to make sure there were no obstacles to installing solar panels on the roof.”<\/p>\n
Installing 19 solar panels on Pizzi’s roof took only two days and the array has now been operational since April. The Pizzis attest to substantial savings on their monthly Manitoba Hydro bill, which has decreased by 50 per cent. Pizzi said the rebate cheques came promptly once the installation was functional.<\/p>
Winnipeg is one of Canada’s sunniest cities, with around 2,300 hours of sun and almost 320 sunny days a year. Powertec Solar is tapping into that asset more than ever. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":600011175,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"_classifai_error":"","_classifai_text_to_speech_error":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,20],"tags":[],"education-subject":[],"media-literacy-topic":[],"post_topic":[],"content_type":[24],"class_list":["post-600011174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-correspondents","category-west"],"acf":{"short_title":"","seo_title":"","deck":"","story_tag":"","byline":"Helen Lepp Friesen","updates":null},"apple_news_notices":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/winnipegfreepress.com\/our-communities\/correspondents\/2023\/11\/01\/tapping-into-winnipegs-sunny-days","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Tapping into Winnipeg\u2019s sunny days","url":"http:\/\/www.winnipegfreepress.com\/our-communities\/correspondents\/2023\/11\/01\/tapping-into-winnipegs-sunny-days","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.winnipegfreepress.com\/our-communities\/correspondents\/2023\/11\/01\/tapping-into-winnipegs-sunny-days"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.winnipegfreepress.com\/our-communities\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2023\/11\/1797601_web1_Friesen-110123.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.winnipegfreepress.com\/our-communities\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2023\/11\/1797601_web1_Friesen-110123.jpg"},"articleSection":"Community Correspondents","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"laurieb"}],"creator":["laurieb"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Our Communities","logo":""},"keywords":[],"dateCreated":"2023-11-01T07:01:10Z","datePublished":"2023-11-01T07:01:10Z","dateModified":"2023-11-01T07:01:10Z"},"rendered":"