The short answer is: not necessarily.
Solar can significantly reduce how much electricity you need to purchase from the grid. Additionally, credits from excess solar production can offset other costs throughout the year. But installing solar does not automatically mean your electricity bill disappears completely.
That’s because your electricity bill is made up of more than just the electricity you use. Your savings depend on when you use electricity, how much your solar system produces, your electricity rate, and how excess solar production is credited.
Your Electricity Bill Is More Than Just Electricity
An Alberta electricity bill generally contains two major categories of costs: the electricity you consume and the cost of delivering that electricity to your property.
Your energy charge is based on the number of kilowatt-hours (kWh) you purchase from the grid. Your bill can also contain distribution, transmission, local access, administration and other charges.
The Alberta Utilities Consumer Advocate explains that energy charges are based on consumption, while the cost of delivering electricity is largely fixed. Even customers with micro-generation can continue to see distribution charges, transmission charges, local access fees and other applicable costs on their bills.[1][2]
That distinction is important because solar primarily changes how much electricity you need to buy from the grid. It does not necessarily eliminate every cost associated with remaining connected to it.
So, when someone says that solar will give you a “$0 electricity bill,” there is more to the story.
What Happens to the Electricity Your Solar Panels Produce?
During the day, your solar system generates electricity that can be used to power your home. When your system produces more electricity than you are using, that excess electricity can be exported to the grid.
Under Alberta’s micro-generation framework, small micro-generators receive credits for excess electricity supplied to the grid. Your electricity retailer is responsible for administering those credits on your bill.[3]
When your panels aren’t producing enough electricity to meet your needs, you still purchase electricity from the grid.
The simplest example is nighttime. Solar panels aren’t generating electricity when the sun is down, so unless you have energy stored in a battery, your home will rely on grid electricity for that portion of your consumption.
This is why when you use electricity can matter almost as much as how much electricity you use.
Research published in Energy Policy examined residential solar adopters and found that household characteristics and electricity-use patterns can influence the bill savings homeowners experience. The researchers specifically identified the timing and pattern of electricity use as relevant factors. A household that uses less electricity during peak daytime solar production and more during the evening can have a greater mismatch between when electricity is generated and when it is needed.[4]
In other words, two homes with similar solar systems could still see different results on their electricity bills.
Summer and Winter Can Look Very Different
Solar production also changes throughout the year.
In Alberta, our long summer days provide considerably more opportunity for solar production than our shorter winter days. But your household’s electricity consumption may change throughout the year too.
For example, one household may use considerably more electricity in the summer because it runs air conditioning. Another may use less electricity because the family is traveling more, spending more time outdoors or simply using less lighting during longer daylight hours.
The Energy Policy study also found that the factors affecting solar bill savings differed between summer and winter. In other words, something associated with greater savings during the summer was not necessarily associated with the same result during the winter.[4]
Although that research studied households in four U.S. states rather than Alberta, the finding helps illustrate an important point: solar savings should be considered over a longer period rather than judged by a single month’s electricity bill. The study itself analyzed 1,577 residential solar adopters across more than 570 ZIP codes, highlighting how much individual and regional circumstances can influence results.
What About Solar Club?
Your electricity plan can also make a difference.
Eligible Alberta micro-generators can choose electricity plans designed specifically for homes with solar, including programs such as Solar Club.
Solar Club offers a HI Rate designed for periods when a household is producing more electricity than it consumes. And LO Rate for periods when it is importing more electricity than it produces. Solar Club notes that members commonly use the HI Rate during higher-production months and move to the LO or variable rate during lower-production periods. Its optional RateSwitch program can also switch between the HI and LO rates automatically based on whether the household is a net importer or exporter. [5]
Therefore the value of your solar system isn’t determined only by how many kilowatt-hours your panels produce. The rate you receive for electricity exported to the grid also matters.
Research has similarly found that electricity prices, rate structures and the way exported solar electricity is compensated can have a meaningful effect on residential solar bill savings.[4]
Can Battery Storage Help?
Adding battery storage changes the equation again.
Instead of exporting all of your excess daytime solar production, a battery can store some of that electricity for later use. That can allow your household to use solar-generated electricity after the sun goes down rather than immediately purchasing electricity from the grid.
Research on residential solar economics has identified this ability to shift solar electricity from periods of generation to periods of demand as one way battery storage can further reduce grid dependence and electricity charges.[4]
That doesn’t mean every solar homeowner needs a battery. Whether battery storage makes sense depends on your goals, electricity-use patterns, desired level of backup power and budget.
So, Will Solar Eliminate Your Electricity Bill?
Possibly. But eliminating your bill entirely should not be treated as a guarantee.
A properly designed solar system can significantly reduce the electricity you need to purchase from the grid. During high-production periods, you may also generate credits from excess electricity that help offset costs at other times of the year.
But your results depend on several factors: your annual electricity consumption, when you use that electricity, your system size and production, seasonal changes, your electricity plan and the fixed and variable charges that make up your bill.
That’s why at Solar YYC, we believe the better question isn’t simply, “Will my bill go to zero?”
It’s: “What will solar realistically do to my electricity costs based on my home and the way I use power?”
Every household is different, and understanding those differences is an important part of deciding whether solar makes financial sense for you.
Thinking about solar for your home?
Contact Solar YYC and our team can review your electricity usage, property and energy goals to show you what solar could realistically look like for your household.
Sources
[1] Utilities Consumer Advocate. Understanding Utility Bills. Government of Alberta. https://ucahelps.alberta.ca/
[2] Utilities Consumer Advocate. Micro-generation. Government of Alberta. https://ucahelps.alberta.ca/
[3] Government of Alberta. Micro-generation. https://www.alberta.ca/micro-generation?utm_source=chatgpt.com
[4] Fikru, M. G. (2020). Determinants of electricity bill savings for residential solar panel adopters in the U.S.: A multilevel modeling approach. Energy Policy, 139, 111351. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2020.111351.
[5] Solar Club. Frequently Asked Questions. https://solarclub.ca/faq/
