Common Myths About Residential Solar

Despite the fact that the production from solar PV systems drops in the winter due to shorter days and lower sun angle, GTHA receives sufficient sunlight for solar to make economic sense. In the summer, with our long days, production rises exponentially adding the lion's share of the annual production. This seasonal imbalance is characteristic of higher latitudes, but does not stop these regions from successfully adopting solar at scale. What ultimately matters is the annual production, not month-to-month production.

Snow can temporarily cover solar panels, but it typically melts or slides off much faster than most people expect. Panels are installed at an angle, have smooth glass surfaces and use dark materials that absorb heat, all of which help snow clear quickly. Any loss during the winter months is minimal because it is not a high production time anyway. Also, short-term production loss due to snow is already accounted for in the system design and financial estimates. Solar systems are sized based on annual production, meaning occasional snow coverage has a minimal impact on overall performance or economics.

Modern solar panels are designed for long-term use and typically come with 25-30 year performance warranties. They are typically guaranteed to produce 80–90% of the original output after 25-30 years. While power output declines gradually over time, the rate is usually roughly 1% in the first year, then levels off to roughly 0.5% per year. In practice, panels can continue producing electricity well beyond 30 years.

Solar panel systems do not require batteries. The majority of homeowners use net metering, which allows excess electricity generated during the day or summer months to be sent to the grid and credited for later use. This effectively uses the grid as a battery, making physical batteries unnecessary for savings on bills.

For safety reasons, grid-tied solar systems automatically shut off during a power outage to prevent electricity from being sent back onto the grid while line workers are making repairs. Batteries can be added if you want your home to have power during an outage.

Solar can significantly reduce your hydro bill costs, but $0 bills are not possible in Ontario. Even homes that offset all of their annual electrical energy costs continue to pay fixed delivery, regulatory and service charges that are not offset by solar generation. With net metering, solar reduces (or eliminates) only the energy portion of your hydro bill over the year.

In Ontario, residential solar systems are designed to offset your own electricity use, not generate income. Under net metering, any excess electricity your system produces is credited to your hydro bill rather than paid out in cash. These credits can be used to offset future electricity consumption, but they cannot be cashed in. Net metering is intended to reduce annual hydro bills with solar systems that, at their biggest, are sized so that production closely matches household electrical consumption over the year.

While solar does reduce a home's carbon footprint, many homeowners go solar for financial reasons. Lower hydro bills, protection against future rate increases and long-term cost predictability are often the primary drivers. Solar can make economic sense regardless of environmental motivation.

Manufacturing solar panels does require energy, but modern panels typically generate more energy than was used to produce them within 3 years. With a longer than 30-year lifespan, panels will produce many times more energy than the energy required to manufacture them. Most modern panels are also over 90% recyclable and recycling infrastructure continues to expand as older solar installations reach the end of their lifespans.

Trees don't automatically rule out solar. It depends on how much shade they create and when that shading occurs. Modern solar systems are designed to handle partial shading and strategic system design can often minimize its impact. In most cases, shading can be evaluated remotely using solar design software that models trees and nearby buildings to estimate annual production. In some situations, an in-person assessment may be needed to confirm the impact of shade.

Solar panels are built to withstand harsh weather and are tested to resist high-speed impacts from large hail. While severe storms can occasionally damage panels, this would be the same extreme weather that damages roofs, windows and vehicles. It's not uncommon for hailstorms to damage asphalt shingles while the solar panels on the same roof remain unaffected.

Solar panels are generally covered under home insurance. You should notify your insurer before installation to confirm coverage and update your policy if required.

Current solar technology is proven, reliable and delivers predictable returns today.

Like any home improvement industry, solar has a mix of reputable companies and poor actors, but most installers are legitimate professionals. Issues tend to arise from high-pressure sales tactics, unclear pricing or lack of transparency, not from the technology itself. Comparing multiple quotes, reviewing cost per watt and working with established installers are effective ways to reduce risk.

Programs like the Home Solar Accelerator are designed to further reduce these risks by connecting homeowners with a vetted installer network and providing unbiased advice. Participating installers are reviewed in advance and required to follow a clear Code of Conduct, helping set consistent expectations around pricing, professionalism and homeowner experience.

Solar does have a high upfront cost, but it will reduce your hydro bill, which has historically increased over time. Without solar, households remain exposed to unpredictable hydro rate increases. With solar, much of your electricity cost is effectively prepaid upfront, adding stability to your electricity costs. For those who do not have enough savings to cover the whole upfront cost of solar, financing can be a good option. Financing spreads the upfront cost over time, allowing hydro bill savings to partially offset loan payments. However, your loan payments might be bigger than the savings from the solar system. It's important to remember that a solar PV system is a long term investment.

No matter what type of inverter system your solar system is, you will have online monitoring of your solar system and access through an app on your phone. If there is a problem you will see that there is an alert of failure, or low production and you can contact your installer to assess the situation. If a solar panel stops working and you have a microinverter system, the rest of the system will continue to work unaffected. This is also likely true if you have an optimized string inverter system, unless you have very few panels on that string, and losing one means the string won't produce enough voltage to turn on. If you have a string inverter system, depending on the type of problem the solar panel is having, that whole string may lose power partially or completely. Again, you will be alerted in your system's monitoring so that you can take action to have the problem fixed.

Generally, solar panels do not need cleaning. Rain and snow typically wash away dust and debris. Light dirt buildup has only a minor impact on production, as does snow. The snow accumulation in winter is accounted for in your solar production estimate and there is no need to brush off the snow during the lowest production months of the year. If the panels are heavily soiled or located near unusual sources of debris, professional cleaning could be considered, but is extremely rare residentially.

Net metering is an established program and changes to it do not typically affect existing systems overnight. When energy programs evolve, homeowners are usually grandfathered under the rules in place at the time their system was approved. While future policy changes are always possible, net metering has been stable for many years and systems installed today are designed to work within long-standing hydro frameworks.

Solar panels generally do not make a home harder to insure. Most insurers treat solar systems like other home improvements and include them under standard homeowner's policies. You should contact your insurer before installation to ensure the system is properly reflected in your coverage. If coverage terms or premiums change significantly, shopping for a solar friendly policy would be worthwhile.