Is solar worth it? How to decide for your home
“Worth it” usually means one thing: will the electricity the panels save you be worth more than what they cost, within the panels’ life? For a typical home that comes down to five things.
1. How much sun your roof actually gets
A south-facing roof without shade in Calgary or Lethbridge collects noticeably more sunlight than a shaded north-east roof in Vancouver. The same system can produce very different amounts depending on direction, pitch and shading from trees and buildings. This is the single biggest unknown, and the one most worth measuring rather than guessing. See roof shading and orientation.
2. What you pay for each kWh you would no longer buy
Solar saves the variable part of your bill, not fixed charges. In BC that’s BC Hydro’s energy charge (two tiers) or FortisBC’s rate. In Alberta it’s your retailer’s energy rate plus the per-kWh transmission and distribution charges — but only for solar you use at the moment it’s produced.
3. What happens to electricity you send to the grid
This changed in BC in 2026: new BC Hydro solar customers are credited 10¢ per kWh for production above their use in a billing period, instead of banking kWh at full value. In Alberta, exports earn your retailer’s energy rate but not the delivery charges (Government of Alberta). Either way, solar you use yourself is worth more than solar you export, which often makes a smaller system the better buy. More in export compensation.
4. The installed price
Price per watt varies a lot between companies and roofs. A difference of 50¢ per watt on a 7 kW system is $3,500 — often several years of savings. Get several quotes and compare them per watt. See what solar costs.
5. Incentives you can actually get
BC Hydro’s rebate (up to $5,000) can shorten payback a lot, but it needs approval before you buy. Alberta has no provincial rebate, though some towns do. Check the rebate database.
Putting it together
Payback is the net cost divided by the yearly saving, adjusted for rising prices, slowly declining panel output and the occasional inverter replacement. If it comes in well under 25 years even with pessimistic assumptions, solar is likely a good investment. If it only works with optimistic assumptions, it’s a gamble. If it doesn’t work even then, it isn’t worth it financially — and that’s a perfectly good answer.
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