Ontario’s Home Renovation Savings program now pays toward solar panels and home batteries, and the amounts are significant. But there’s a catch that changes how you should design the system.
What the rebates pay
- Solar panels: $1,000 per kW, up to 50% of the cost, to a maximum of $5,000.
- Battery storage: $300 per kWh, up to 50% of the cost, to a maximum of $5,000.
Together that’s up to $10,000, and no home energy assessment is required.
The catch: load displacement only
The rebate is for load displacement systems, where the solar power is used to meet your home’s own needs. If you take the rebate, you can’t also have a net-metering agreement with your local utility. Under net metering, surplus power you send to the grid earns bill credits; under the rebate program, the aim is to use what you make.
That’s why the battery matters. Without one, a load-displacement system wastes much of its midday production. With one, the battery stores the surplus and runs the house through the evening, when time-of-use rates are highest.
Battery rules
To qualify, the battery must be:
- paired with a new solar system,
- sized appropriately for that system, and
- used primarily to store solar power, not to charge from the grid.
Which is better for you?
It depends on how much power you use, when you use it, your roof, and your rate plan. As a rule of thumb, homes with high evening usage, a heat pump or an EV, and an interest in outage backup often do well with the rebated solar-plus-battery route. Homes that are away all day with a large, unshaded roof may do better with net metering. We model both for your home before you decide.
Before you sign anything
Don’t buy or install equipment until you have written pre-approval from the program and connection approval from your local utility. The program doesn’t endorse any solar contractors, so be cautious of anyone who claims to be “from” the program.