Frequently asked questions

Sometimes the answer is no, and I’ll tell you if it is. A heavily shaded roof, a north-only roofline, or very low power usage can push the payback out far enough that I wouldn’t spend your money on it. Where it does work — a reasonably unshaded roof and normal-to-high power usage — locking in your rate against 25+ years of NB Power increases usually pays for itself well inside the life of the panels. Run your numbers in the ROI calculator, then let’s talk about whether the ballpark holds up for your specific roof.

Not much. Grid-tied panels have no moving parts. Snow usually slides off a pitched array on its own once the sun hits it, and the panels keep producing through the shoulder seasons when our rates bite hardest. I’ll set up production monitoring so you — and I — can see at a glance that the system is doing what it should, and I’m here if a number ever looks off.

Net metering is the arrangement that lets your solar panels spin your meter backwards. When your panels make more power than your house is using, the extra flows to the grid and NB Power banks it as a credit. At night or in winter, you draw that credit back down at the same rate you earned it — a one-to-one credit against the retail rate. Systems up to 100 kW are eligible. Credits reconcile once a year, so I size systems to match your annual usage rather than overbuild.

NB Power reconciles net metering accounts once a year, on March 31. Any credits left over at that point are cleared — you don’t get paid out for them. That’s the main reason I don’t oversize a system: banking power you’ll never draw back down is money spent for no return. The goal is to match your production to your yearly usage as closely as the roof allows.

Yes. Saint John Energy runs its own utility, separate from NB Power, and it credits exported power at roughly 8.15 ¢/kWh — about 90% of avoided cost, and well below the retail rate you pay. That changes the sizing math: with a lower export credit, a system tuned to cover what you use during daylight often makes more sense than one built to bank a large surplus. If you’re in Saint John Energy territory, talk to me before finalizing a design.

There is a proposed change — not an approved one. NB Power has filed a proposal that would move to a buy rate near 6.77 ¢/kWh, a sell rate near 9.22 ¢/kWh, and a demand charge around $13/kW. It has not been approved by the Energy and Utilities Board. The filing also describes a grandfathering window: systems connected to the grid by October 31, 2026 may keep today’s terms. I’d rather walk you through what this means for your specific situation than tell you to rush — see the Net Metering page for the full breakdown.

Programs and eligibility change, so I do not publish old incentive amounts or build a proposal around funding that may no longer exist. When I prepare your proposal, I will identify anything currently available and point you to the official source so you can confirm the rules for your situation.

The honest answer is: it depends on how much power you use, how much roof you have facing the right direction, and how much shade falls on it. A rough starting point is your annual kWh divided by how much a kilowatt of panels produces in your area — around 1,140–1,150 kWh per kW per year across most of New Brunswick. The ROI calculator on this site does that math for you as a ballpark. A real design accounts for your roof pitch, shading, and panel layout, which is what a site visit is for.

Every proposal lists the exact equipment and warranty terms in writing. As one published East Coast Sun example, a system using LONGi panels and a Solis grid-tied inverter included a 12-year panel product warranty, a 25-year panel performance warranty, and a 10-year inverter product warranty. Products can change, so the warranties in your own written proposal are the ones that apply.

The process starts with a conversation and site review, followed by a custom design and written proposal. If you proceed, the next stages are the utility application, permitting, installation, provincial electrical inspection, and the final meter or grid-connection work. A typical residential roof installation may take only a few days, but the complete schedule depends on weather, permitting, inspection, and utility processing. I will give you a realistic project schedule before work begins.