Solar Solutions for St. Albert Homes and Businesses

Alberta receives approximately 2,396 hours of sunshine annually.

Installing solar panels in St. Albert allows property owners to generate their own clean electricity, reducing reliance on the grid and lowering utility bills. It also increases property value and contributes to a more sustainable community.

FortisAlberta's net metering program allows solar owners to send excess electricity back to the grid, earning credits on their bill. These credits can then be used to offset electricity consumed from the grid when solar production is lower.

Yes, especially for properties with larger land areas like acreages and farms in Sturgeon County, ground-mount solar systems are a viable option. They offer flexibility in panel orientation and can be optimized for maximum sun exposure.

It comes down to consumption, which is why we start with the 12-month usage graph on your most recent power bill. As a reference point, a 4 kW block of panels in central Alberta produces roughly 5,000 to 6,000 kWh per year, so a home using 1,000 kWh per month needs roughly 8 to 10 kW to offset most of its annual usage. Most residential systems we design land between 8 and 15 kW. Shading from mature trees can shift the answer, which is why the site assessment matters more in St. Albert than in newer communities.

Shade is the most common design constraint on established St. Albert lots. Depending on how an array is wired, a shadow across a few panels can pull down the output of more than just those panels, so we measure shading at the site assessment and keep the array on roof planes that stay clear through the productive hours. The production estimate you receive is built from what your roof will actually see. On heavily treed lots the right answer is sometimes a smaller array — and occasionally the honest answer is that solar is not a good investment for that particular house.

If your shingles are within about five years of replacement, yes — reroof first. Panels carry 25-year performance warranties and commonly last more than 30 years, so the array will outlive an aging roof beneath it, and removing and reinstalling panels for a later reroof adds cost that early planning avoids. If your roof is newer, this is a non-issue. We confirm roof condition during the site assessment either way.

December and January are the lowest-production months, and the long days from March through October carry most of the year's output. Cold works in your favour — panels generate electricity from daylight rather than heat, and efficiency improves in cold, clear air. Summer surplus exports come back as credits on your bill, so we size the system against your full-year consumption rather than any single month.

St. Albert is in FortisAlberta service territory. Every grid-tied system requires a micro-generation interconnection application filed with FortisAlberta under Alberta's Micro-Generation Regulation, plus a bidirectional meter that records both the electricity you import and the surplus you export. We prepare and submit the application on your behalf and schedule installation around the approval, which typically takes 2 to 6 weeks.

On a city lot, the roof is almost always the right host. On Sturgeon County acreages just north of the city, a ground mount is often the stronger option: due-south orientation at the ideal tilt, no roof-area limit, posts set below frost depth, and easy snow clearing. Acreage properties also tend to carry the larger loads — shops, outbuildings, and yard services — that justify a bigger array. Where a property could take either, we quote both.

Mostly on its own. Snow sheds from pitched rooftop arrays within a day or two of accumulation, and because December and January are already the lowest-production months, a few snow-covered days cost very little annual output. Ground-mount arrays sit at a steeper tilt, shed faster, and can be cleared manually if you want the production back sooner. We do not recommend climbing onto a snowy roof to clear panels.

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