WINNIPEG, MB: Powertec Solar, a leading solar panel installation company, is ramping up production to keep pace with the increasing demand for solar systems. In light of the newly announced Solar Rebate Program by Efficiency Manitoba, more Manitobans are seeking solar installations in their homes and businesses.

The Solar Program Rebate is available to all homeowners who purchase solar photovoltaic systems connected to the Manitoba Hydro grid. For every watt installed on a residential home, homeowners can save $0.50 up to a maximum of $5,000. The solar system must be installed through an Efficiency Manitoba supplier. Pre-approval is not required. 

The new rebate can be combined with the Greener Homes Grant for additional savings. The Greener Homes Grant is a federal incentive for homeowners that provides up to $5,000 toward the cost of a solar installation.

Homeowners can also finance their solar PV system installations through the Greener Homes Initiative. This is a federal program that provides an interest-free loan of up to $40,000 with a repayment term of 10 years.

In total, homeowners can use both the Efficiency Manitoba rebate and the Greener Homes Grant to save up to $7,500 on a 5kw system and $10,000 on a 10kw system. 

Powertec Solar is training new crews to meet the rising demand for solar installations in Manitoba. 

“There has never been - and likely never will be - a better time to get started with residential solar in Manitoba,” said Jacob Kettner, a partner of Powertec Solar. “By combining both rebates, homeowners can save up to 50% or more on the cost of installing a solar system.”

Businesses can also use the Efficiency MB Solar Rebate Program to make renewable energy more affordable. For commercial solar system installations, the rebate offers up to $25,000 in savings. Businesses must have their installation projects pre-approved by Efficiency Manitoba to qualify for the rebate.

Powertec Solar offers high-quality solar panel installation services to clients across Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Ontario, and Nunavut. The company installs grid-tied, grid-tied with a battery, off-grid, and micro-grid solar systems both for commercial and residential use cases. For more information about the company and the services it provides, visit https://powertecsolar.ca/.

As advantageous as solar panels are, they have one caveat: they rely on sunlight to produce energy. After the sun sets, you’ll need a storage system to power your home or business. 

What happens when supply outweighs demand, and you have an excess of solar power? Does that energy simply go to waste? That’s where a solar battery comes in handy. With a storage system, you can store that electricity to draw from at a later time.

The way solar power is stored varies based on the type of system that you have:

• Off-grid solar panels. These systems are entirely disconnected from the grid. They require a battery for storage; without one, you’ll only be able to use electricity when the sun is shining and your panels are actively generating solar energy.

• Grid-tied solar panels. With these setups, a storage system isn’t entirely necessary. If you run out of solar power, you can draw electricity from the grid (but you will be charged for it). You can offset the cost of electricity by using the net billing program in Manitoba.

Even with a grid-tied solar array, you might still opt to purchase a battery. Here’s why:

How Solar Batteries Work

First, your solar panels generate energy when they’re exposed to sunlight. This power is sent through an inverter, which converts direct current into alternating current energy. From here, the electricity is sent into your home or business to power appliances, etc. Any leftover energy is fed into the battery, where it’s stored until it’s needed. 

There are a few different types of batteries available to you. Lithium batteries are a popular choice; they’re the same type of batteries used to power your cell phone. An advantage of using lithium batteries is that they last a long time; they can be used hundreds of times without losing performance. However, you might also choose to purchase flooded or AGM (Absorbent Glass Mat) batteries. 

The Benefits of Batteries

To make the most efficient use of your solar array, you can use a battery to draw power even when the sun isn’t out.

You may be hesitant to invest in a battery due to the upfront cost of the equipment. However, with the savings you’ll see on electricity costs, the system can pay for itself over time.

Wondering if you should invest in a storage system for your PV panels? Consider a few of the advantages that batteries have to offer:

• Power your home during outages and emergencies. If the local power grid goes down, any grid-tied solar system will go down, too. This is to protect the safety of workers while they repair damaged lines. But with a backup storage system, you won’t have to deal with power outages.
• Lower your electricity bill to $0. With a reservoir of energy, you can remain independent from the grid and avoid purchasing electricity from utility companies.
• Meet your energy demands even at night or on cloudy days. Even when weather conditions aren’t optimal, you can still power your property by drawing from a battery.

Are you thinking of purchasing a battery for your Winnipeg solar system? We can help. At Powertec Solar, we offer high-quality equipment at affordable prices. Contact us today to learn more about storage systems.

Solar power can be a boon for individuals, communities, businesses, and anyone else who cares about:

• Saving the environment
• Saving money

We’re pretty sure that covers just about everyone on the planet. There’s a deeper question, though - where is solar power most efficient? More specifically - what are the benefits of solar power for Winnipeg, in particular?

To answer this question, we’re going to look at a few different factors: sunlight hours, potential for savings, and environmental impact. Let’s get started:

Sunlight hours

When it comes to sunlight hours, Winnipeg is tough to beat. We’re the second sunniest city in Canada, behind only Calgary. The more sunlight hours you get each year, the more effective your solar system will be. That makes our sunlight hours a clear boon.

Now, many of you are probably wondering how winter affects this calculation. You’re right in thinking that we get less sunlight in the winter (though we still get a lot more than most other Canadian cities). Fortunately, the lack of winter sunlight is made up for by the ample sunlight in the summer. That brings us to our next point:

Potential for savings

Manitoba Hydro estimates that the average solar system will pay for itself within 19 to 25 years. That’s with current government incentives - we’re hoping to get even better incentives in the near future, which will lead to even greater savings.

How can you save so much? There are a couple of ways. First, every kWh of solar energy you produce is energy you don’t have to buy from Manitoba Hydro. Second, Hydro will buy the excess energy you produce. That’s perfect for when you’re getting all of those hours of sunlight in the summer. Most of us use less electricity in the summer - we don’t need to turn our lights on as early, and we spend more time outside. That means the time you’re generating the most electricity is the time that you’re least likely to use it - and that means money in your pocket.

Environmental impact

This one is really interesting. You might see some rhetoric online about how Winnipeggers getting solar panels doesn’t help the environment, because our hydroelectricity is already so effective.

It’s much more complicated than that.

First, it’s not like the excess electricity generated by hydro dams is going to waste - it gets sold to people outside of Manitoba; folks who would otherwise rely on fossil fuels to generate their electricity. That’s a huge boon.

Second, there are ecological damages associated with flooding large swaths of land, not to mention, potential political consequences. To say that solar power doesn’t help the environment when hydroelectricity is available is to take a far too narrow view of a very broad problem.

When you get Winnipeg solar, you gain a degree of energy independence, you save money over the long-term, and you help the environment. Those are all great things, and it explains why so many Winnipeggers are turning to solar.

For decades, solar panels have felt like the future. Now, thanks to a massive increase in manufacturing, solar panels are one of the most affordable sources of energy on the planet - in fact, they’re the least expensive way to generate electricity in history! 

The future is now.

To us, solar panels will always feel futuristic - in part because we’re always following the new technologies available on solar panels. While a number of technologies tangential to solar panels (like batteries) have also made incredible strides (which we’ll certainly talk about on another post), today’s post is all about the panels themselves.

New materials are being used

There’s something called the Shockley-Queisser limit - it determines the maximum efficiency of a solar panel made out of one material. We’re not going to get into the science of it here - just know that for silicone panels, this limit is around 30%.

Obviously, the more efficiency we can get out of our arrays, the better. That’s why scientists are starting to experiment with panels made out of multiple materials. One such material is perovskite, which, when used in tandem with silicone, is already breaking efficiency records. Together, solar cells made with these materials should be able to break the Shockley-Queisser limit for silicone (or perovskite) alone.

New shapes are being used

The hexagon is a very good shape, as CGP Grey explains in a very silly (but informative) video. Solar panel producers seem to agree - there’s at least one panel producer experimenting with using hexagonal lenses to concentrate light and improve efficiency.

The ways that solar panels are being integrated into buildings and other structures is changing, too. Solar skins are a type of PV technology that can have images printed on them to match their surroundings. Building-integrated photovoltaics are things like Tesla’s Solar Roof - they’re seamlessly integrated into buildings because they do double duty as building materials and solar panels.

There are even solar fabrics, like solar curtains, being manufactured. As solar cells continue to become less expensive to produce, we can expect them to come in even more varied shapes and sizes - expect to see panels everywhere soon.

They’re being deployed in new places

Floating solar farms, sometimes cheekily referred to as floatovoltaics, are becoming more popular. By placing solar arrays on the water, you reduce the amount of land needed to create arrays - that land can then be used for other purposes. Better yet, floating solar panels are actually more energy-efficient than their land-based cousins. PV technology works better when it’s cooler, you see, and the water these panels float on provides a cooling effect.

The government has also become interested in using solar panels in order to create noise barriers between highways and homes. Europe has already begun deploying solar technology on existing noise barriers.

These are only a few of the many new solar panel technologies that we’re excited to see more of in 2021. We expect to see continued innovation in the field of solar panels - there’s a huge influx of producers, start-ups, and government interest in the technology. We hope to see more solar power in Manitoba, too - between solar and hydroelectric, we could easily become the renewable energy capital of the world.