Many Alberta homeowners can be surprised when they buy a home that has a solar system but still end up paying for electricity bills, or even worse, get a system installed that doesn’t offset their bills from day 1! This issue isn’t a reflection of solar performance in Alberta but is a result of undersized solar systems and oversold expectations. In this article, we will explain why this happens and what you can do to get the most out of your solar system.

Most Albertans don’t realize that when you purchase a solar system, you generally end up with one of two types:

• a smaller system designed to simply reduce monthly bills,

• or a full‑offset system designed to match the home’s annual usage (plus a little), allowing the solar system to offset all electricity costs. This is why the Solar Offset Percentage that comes in every solar proposal is the most important number, after the cost-per-watt. We have a great video that explains this!

To maximize the effectiveness of your solar system’s financial returns without having to reach further into your pocket, you first need to understand how you get billed for electricity in Alberta, and what you can leverage as a microgenerator. Read more about that in our article on how net-billing works and how to use the SolarClub™ in Alberta to improve your financial returns.

Undersized Solar Systems

Typically, you will only get an undersized solar system if you move into a home that has a housing developer solar system. These can help drop electricity costs but typically aren’t large enough to fully eliminate the home’s electricity bills.

Other situations where a solar system might not fully offset electricity bills are:

• A family moves into a home with a solar system designed to offset the consumption of one or two people.

• You buy a new high-consumption item such as an EV, hot tub, steam shower or AC

• Your roof didn’t have enough space to accommodate a solar system large enough to offset your bills

• You just like using your dryer to heat up your towel every time you shower while running a cookie business out of your kitchen using the oven for 8 hours a day. Hey, it could happen!

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“But I was promised a 124% offset!”

We’ve heard this one before, and it’s very unfortunate. Some solar installers overpromise and underdeliver. A 124% offset isn’t even allowed according to microgeneration regulations in Alberta.

The trick when it comes to solar system design is getting the offset to fall perfectly between two limits - high enough to cover your bills, but low enough to fall within regulatory limits. Typically, we land at about 105%. Choose a solar installer that does their due diligence in validating their performance calculations and ask them how they do it. If they don’t have a good answer, then take their performance promises with a pinch of salt.

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How to Fix It.

To put it plainly, you don’t have enough solar panels to offset your consumption needs. But all is not lost! There are only a few ways to deal with it:

1. Reduce Your Consumption

This might not sound fun but it is the easiest way, and it’s usually free or inexpensive. Try hanging your clothes, turning lights and the TV off when you’re not in your room or adding some smart devices that turn your appliances on and off when you need them. If you haven’t already changed all your lightbulbs to LEDs, now is the time. Even 2 or 3 incandescent or halogen bulbs can use a lot of power.

2. Join the SolarClub™

Take a look at your production vs consumption – if you are producing more than you consume in the summer months (you will be if your offset is higher than 85% or if you are a winter-heavy consumer), then joining the SolarClub™ might work for you! You don’t have to necessarily be at 105% to get benefit from the dual rate system.

3. Shop around for electricity rates

If the SolarClub™ doesn’t work for you, then your best option is to lock in the lowest possible electricity rate that you can. Alberta’s utility scene is pretty competitive so chances are you could improve your rate without a penalty. That way your solar system will offset a portion of your energy bills, and you will pay the lowest possible amount for the remaining portion.

4. Expand Your System

Most solar systems are expandable to an extent, and if you have available roof space, you can probably just get a few more panels installed! A good installer will evaluate exactly how many more panels you need to get to the 105% offset sweet spot to start getting the most out of your solar system.

If your current solar setup isn’t offsetting...

as much of your electricity bill as you’d like - Give us a call today. Our team can run a quick, engineering‑backed solar assessment to show your actual production, savings, and export earnings. Let us help you reach your solar system’s full potential!