Eliminate your power bill, Up to $10,000 with BC Solar Rebate
By Chris Ogilvie
Eliminate your power bill with the BC Hydro Solar Rebate for up to $10,000 BC Hydro Rebate As of July 23, 2024, British Columbia homeowners can save up to $10,000 on eligible solar panels and battery storage systems. The BC Hydro Rebate Program offers rebate money for grid tied solar panel setups and solar panel [...]
Eliminate your power bill with the BC Hydro Solar Rebate for up to $10,000
BC Hydro Rebate
As of July 23, 2024, British Columbia homeowners can save up to $10,000 on eligible solar panels and battery storage systems. The BC Hydro Rebate Program offers rebate money for grid tied solar panel setups and solar panel setups that also have the optional battery storage systems. Whether you choose to install just solar panels, just a battery, or both, you can unlock significant savings on your monthly electricity costs by eliminating your power bill with solar.
Outlining the requirements for the BC Hydro Rebate
The rebate is only available for BC Hydro customers, but the rebate still covers almost everyone in the province since BC Hydro services 95% of British Columbia.
A grid connected home solar system allows you to sell your excess energy back to the power company for credits on your power bill via the Net Metering program. This is how you can cover 100% of your power bills by your excess energy production generating credits to cover your power costs at times when you aren’t producing electricity from solar – like at night. Let’s look at the requirements for a grid tied home solar panel system.
Grid Tied Home Solar Rebate Details
- Rebate Amount: Up to $5,000
- Details: $1,000 per kilowatt (kW) of installed generator capacity
- Cap: Rebate is limited to 50% of the total installation cost (including both labor and materials)
- Maximum rebate: $5,000
This means that a 5KW system will net you the full available rebate amount. Most people need a larger system than this to cover 100% of their power bill, so this rebate makes it easy to access a system that can eliminate your electricity bill.
Home Solar + Solar Batteries Rebate Details
Battery storage systems allow you to store excess energy generated by your solar panels for use at night, on cloudy days, or during power outages. If your home solar system is only grid tied, then a power outage will mean that you won’t have electricity at night when your panels can’t produce energy from sunlight. Storing your excess electricity locally in solar batteries allows you to still have power during a grid outage. This technology adds resilience to your home energy system, ensuring you always have power when you need it. Eligible battery energy storage systems qualify for:
- Rebate Amount: Up to $5,000
- Details: $500 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of installed storage capacity
- Cap: Rebate is limited to 50% of the total installation cost (including both labor and materials)
- Maximum rebate: $5,000
- Minimum storage size: 5 kWh
By combining both solar panels and battery storage, you can maximize your savings and create a more efficient home energy system.
Should you Invest in Solar Batteries?
For most people, a grid tied home solar setup is more suitable than also investing in solar batteries. Solar panels with modern solar technology can last as long as 30 to 40 years, and a home solar system will typically return its value to you by eliminating your power bills within a 7-12 year timeframe depending on how much you pay for power. Electricity prices tend to increase over time with inflation, so the more you pay for power the more rate increases will impact your bills as years go by.
If your primary concern is long term energy savings, then it may be better to go with a strictly grid tied system at a lower cost. This is because your system will pay itself off sooner. After that you’ll have decades of essentially free electricity.
If you are concerned about power outages in your area and your goal is 100% uptime on your access to electricity, then it will be better to go with a system that has batteries installed as well. This does mean your system will take longer to return its value to you by eliminating your power bill, but you will still have decades of free energy where solar is covering your electricity costs.
Rebate Eligibility
These eligibility requirements were pulled directly from the BC Hydro Rebate website which can be found at this link.
Eligible customers and properties
- You must have a BC Hydro residential account.
- The property must be a grid-connected residential home.
- You must own or lease the home
Eligible Installations
- Solar generation must connect to our distribution system through the self-generation program (Net Metering)
- Systems must have a combined aggregate nameplate capacity of no more than 100 kW.
- Installations and connections must be completed after June 27, 2024.
- As of June 2024, a new rate structure for self-generation has been proposed to the B.C. Utilities Commission (BCUC). By applying for and accepting these rebates, you’re accepting this potential future rate.
Eligible Solar Panels
- Must be new, not previously installed in another home or property.
- Must be purchased in Canada; products can be manufactured outside of Canada.
- Cannot replace an existing solar photovoltaic system. However, additional solar panels added to an existing system will qualify.
- Has a Canadian Standards Association certification, has a nameplate rating of no more than 100 kW, and is compliant with CSA C22.2 No. 107.1:16 (R2021), CSA C22.3 No. 9:20 and CSA C22.2 No. 61730. See terms and conditions [PDF, 108 KB] for more details.
Eligible Battery Storage Systems
- Must be new, not previously installed in another home or property.
- Must be purchased in Canada; products can be manufactured outside of Canada.
- Can not replace an existing battery energy storage system.
- Is compliant with CSA C22.2 No. 107.1:16 (R2021), CSA C22.3 No. 9:20.
- Battery energy storage systems must be certified to CUL 1973 and CUL 9540, and if installed in the habitable or living space of a dwelling must be tested to pass CUL9540A requirements. Lithium-ion batteries must be certified to CUL 1642. See terms and conditions [PDF, 108 KB] for details.
How to Apply for the Rebates
Getting started is simple, the first thing to do is make sure the above eligibility requirements apply to you. Most of the eligibility requirements are standard procedure for any solar install, so if you are a BC Hydro customer and you own your home then this is worth looking into.
The next step is to pick a qualified contractor and then complete the rebate application. After reaching out to a contractor you should receive the vital first step of a solar proposal, which will show you your system design, the system costs, and how much you stand to save from going solar.
Then you would apply for BC Hydro Net Metering here and login to your BC Hydro website to complete the online rebate application.
Get the most out of the BC Hydro Rebate Program
If the rebate application process sounds overwhelming, don’t worry – there is an easy path forward. Our Solar Specialists and Project Managers can cleanly walk you through the steps of what is required for the BC Hydro Solar Rebate and make sure you maximize the value of any other government programs in your area. We’ll also get you started on the vital first step of acquiring a tailor-made solar proposal for your personal energy needs at home.
Schedule a consultation for our solar specialist’s expert guidance here.
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