Edmonton Solar Panels

Solar panels (more accurately solar “modules”) are an increasingly important part of human civilization. We have the potential to generate a majority of our electrical energy silently using totally green, recyclable, renewable methods as this technology expands in use across homes, businesses, fields, lakes and more.

To answer “how do our Edmonton solar panels work” more intricately there is a really fun video below that explains it visually in terms more detailed than “light hits it, magic/science happens, electricity comes out” but basically that’s what happens in the simplest terms.

Solar panels degrade over time but modern solar panels (post 2016 era) of high efficient Monocrystalline types degrade so slightly that many are still in the 90% productive range after 25 years and have a theoretical lifespan of over 200 years! A “useful” life cycle might be more like 60 – 75 years, at which point a solar panel is producing less than 70% of its initial output. So, that should end any worrying about life span. There are systems built in the 1970s still working fine today and the materials are nearly 100% recyclable. They are the “greenest” form of energy generation over their lifecycle, including factoring mining, transportation, cleanup and repair. Warranties of 25 years include a performance guarantee and are standard in the industry among all top tier modules.

Including solar power for electricity in your life is a new but natural evolution, we use solar power in many ways every day. It dries clothes, grows plants, provides warmth (sometimes too much), and is the foundation of every beautiful day people enjoy whether its winter or summer. We see its power in how it fades our paint, burns our feet on hot concrete or decks, blinds us while driving and burns our skin (in moments for some of us it seems). Sunshine is a central part of our existence and it’s only natural that we use it more and more effectively as technology allows us.

Solar panels are manufactured all over the world including in Canada and the USA. There are various grades and qualities but in Canada we generally only find and work with the top level “Tier 1” solar products with consistent ratings and performance characteristics.

Solar panels are:

• Hail Resistant and Impact rated
• Self cleaning (when installed at normal, common rooftop angles)
• Able to melt/shed snow to perform in winter without actively being cleaned (angle and direction dependent)
• Attractive (in todays variety of black modules with modern attachment hardware)
• Able to add value to a property
• Heat Blocking (light radiation that would heat your attic to incredible temperatures is now redirected in large part to electricity production)
• An indisputably vital component to our future of healthy and safe modern electricity production

Our Edmonton solar panels work by changing sunlight into DC electricity, which we then convert to AC electricity useful to the grid and your home by using inverter technology. In other cases we use this DC electricity directly to charge batteries instead. In modern solar residential applications the inverters are usually installed on the roof under the solar panels. These “Micro inverters” are more efficient, easier to work with and service, and make the resulting wiring to the home simpler and safer. In larger installations including on the ground, and commercial applications larger central string inverters are more commonly used.

It is very important that solar panel installations are performed by qualified and certified electricians. In Alberta (indeed all of Canada) it is illegal for people without electrical qualifications to install solar including all racking and supporting components that are connected to the electrical system. Serious problems have occurred because of companies circumventing these rules in order to save cost and it is unfortunately up to the customer to check and insist on whether a service provider uses legal, certified tradespeople.

You can read about Solar Panel Recycling and the amazing opportunities involved as well.

Welcome to the future, where electrification and the use of solar panels will allow people to afford to drive without pollution, light homes without concern for cost, cool the air in summer without negative environmental impacts and live a modern civilized convenient life with a maximum of energy efficiency.