Four years ago on April 25, 2014, we powered up our solar panels and began feeding electricity back to the provincial grid.

Every spring, I like to look at our numbers and compare how we’ve done with past years. Here are our previous annual summaries:

• Year 1
• Year 2
• Year 3

We don’t track how many kilowatts we generate, so all of my calculations are financial.

Over four years, we’ve made a total of $17,469.28.

Our initial investment in the panels was $40,727.16, so I guess you could say we still have awhile before we’re truly ahead (based on this year’s numbers, our total payback period will be just under 8 1/2 years).

However, we already feel like we’re ahead every year because we consistently generate more power than we consume.

Last year, we paid $2,594.40 for electricity, and we earned $4,855.15–$2,260.75 in “profit.”

The amount of power we produce is very much determined by the weather, so we see a lot of fluctuation month-by-month and year-by-year. Last year we made more than $300 more than the year before. Here is the comparison over the last four years.

Obviously solar panels are a big investment. Knowing that we’re going to be at the farm for a long time, it’s a choice that made financial sense for us.

And now that we have Ellie, I feel even more strongly about the environmental reasons that we chose to install our solar panels. I want to do my part of create a healthy world for her and set an example of taking personal responsibility for the planet.

For all of the details on our solar panels, you can see previous posts about Going Solar here.

Forty solar panels. Three years. $0.396 per kWh.

Grand total so far? $12,614.13.

It’s been three years since we turned on our solar panels. As I’ve done for the last two years, I’m looking back at how much income we have generated. Here’s the summary from our first year and from last year.

As a reminder, we’re part of Ontario’s microFIT program. Under this program, we installed solar panels, and then the power that we generate goes back into the provincial grid. We have a 20-year contract where the province pays us $0.396/kWh. You can read about the whole saga of Going Solar here.

The grand total that we made on our solar panels last year was $4,519.09–close to the previous year’s $4,473.91 but up just a little.

Here’s the comparison over the last three years.

After a dismal January–seriously, in the whole month we had less than 50 hours of sunlight–things started to brighten up. We even had a few days of double digit income in February, which is a very good day in the winter.

Beyond looking at the income we generate on its own, the other check I like to do every year is comparing the income we’ve generated to what we’ve spent on hydro. This year, we came out ahead by $828.06.

It is such a nice feeling to know that our electrical bills are essentially covered.

The solar panels were a big investment three years ago. We’re still looking at about 6 more years before we’ve generated as much revenue as we put out for the panels and the install. However, we’re a third of the way in both time and money, so we’re right on track.

Also, our motivation in going solar is not solely financial. As nice as the money is, it’s equally as nice to feel like we’re making smart choices for the environment, for the future and for our little corner of the world.

Two years ago we flipped the switch on our solar panels. It’s hard to believe we’ve had them that long. They’re still a bit of a novelty for us, and we check often to see how much power we’re generating.

Last year, I took a look back at our first year, remembering some of the highs and lows, and calculating how much we’d made and how long it would be until we’d made as much money as we invested in the panels.

I’ve been waiting to do the same thing again and see what progress we’ve made.

Last year, my calculations were only based on part of the year. While the panels were live as of the end of April, we didn’t receive our first cheque from the hydro company until July. This year is the first time we have a full 12 months of payments.

Just in case you’re new to our solar saga or don’t remember all the details, we’re part of Ontario’s microFIT program. Under this program, we install solar panels, and then the power that we generate goes back into the provincial grid. The province pays us $0.396/kWh. You can read about the whole saga of Going Solar here.

But now onto this year’s report.

The grand total that we made on the solar panels last year was $4,473.91–up just a bit more than $850 over the year before.

So what does this look like? Something like this. The golden yellow is this year and bright yellow is last year.

We had a better fall and winter this year compared to last year. Everybody knows it was a much milder winter, but it was also sunnier.

I was often amazed when Matt told me at the end of the day how much we’d made. When the sun’s in the southern hemisphere, it sometimes doesn’t matter how bright it gets during the day. The angle of the sun is just so bad that there’s no way our panels produce at their max. But even in the depths of winter we had days where we were making double digits, which was a huge win.

The other huge win this year was finally getting our HST refund. This is the 13% sales tax we pay in Ontario on pretty much everything–including the labour and materials to install our panels. Because we run the solar almost like our own small business, we’re able to claim a portion of the tax–in the amount of more than $4,000.

Our other big numbers were finally setting a new daily record when we finally broke the $28 mark and making $831 more than we spent on electricity for the whole year.

Because it was such a mild winter, we didn’t have any issues with snow on the panels like we did last year. Even the ice storm wasn’t a big deal.

In fact, now that we have them, we really don’t have to do anything–except count the deposits to our bank account.

Last year, I estimated that it would take about 9 years and 4 months before our income equaled the investment we made in the panels. When the panels were first installed, I thought 8 1/2 years was a realistic estimate. Using this year’s numbers, the payback period would be just over 9 years.

This is definitely a long term investment, but the money is only part of the equation for me. I really feel alternative energies like solar are something we need more in the world. And I feel like I have a personal responsibility to support these alternatives as I can.

At the farm, we rely on our own well for water and our septic for sewage, we have geothermal for heat and air conditioning, and we generate power for the grid through these solar panels. Plus we’re preserving 129 acres, doing our best to be responsible stewards of our own little chunk of the earth.

A year ago, we flipped the switch on our solar panels and started generating electricity. I thought it might be neat to take a look back at the past year and see how our little generating station worked out.

If you want to catch up, here are all of the previous posts about Going Solar.

Just a reminder, we’re part of Ontario’s microFIT program. Under this program, we install solar panels, and then the power that we generate goes back into the provincial grid. The province pays us $0.396/kWh.

Over the past year (10 months actually, since our first payment didn’t arrive until July), we made $3,621.13. Each month the hydro company pays us for the electricity we generated two months before.

Just for comparison, we spent $2,604.35 on electricity for the same time period (including the wee bit of power it takes to run the panels). That’s a profit of just over $1,000. Yay to coming out ahead!

Our inverters tell us roughly how much we make each day. So far, our record is just over $29. Matt so badly wants to break $30.

When the panels were first installed, I estimated it would take 8 1/2 years before our income equaled the investment we made in the panels. Using the numbers from the past 10 months, it looks like the payback period is about 9 years and 4 months. I’m optimistic that spring is going to be a good generating time for us, though, so I think the 8 1/2 is still achievable.

The winter was pretty dismal. There were lots of days where the income was in the single digits. The sun being in the wrong hemisphere was the biggest problem, but then there was the snow. Snow on the panels drove Matt crazy. After a couple of big storms, he climbed up on the barn roof with a broom and very gently cleared the panels.

The solar array is pretty big though, and Matt’s arms are only so long. There was one hard-packed drift that he just couldn’t reach. This thing was his nemesis.

Eventually, with some yoga-like contortions and gentle shovel work from Matt, combined with the help of–what else?–the sun, the drift slid down the panels and off the roof in big icy sheets.

Once we hit February, we started having lots of sunny days. As the sun returns to the northern hemisphere, our output has been climbing every day. Even cloudy days result in double digits.

Beyond the snow, we’ve had no issues at all. The inverters and the panels all are chugging along, the money is trickling in, and we’re doing our part to generate some clean power. We’re really happy with our decision to install the solar panels.