Bye Bye Hydro: $835 savings in 9 months thanks to solar panels for its heat pump

A Saint-Laurent resident has fought for nearly two years to change municipal regulations that prevent him from installing solar panels on the roof of his home.

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Truong Nguyen, an electrical engineer by profession, is now recording an impressive savings of 2000 watts of power from his five solar panels (400 watts each) powering his heat pump.

This project, which he started planning in 2020, he had an oil heating system before buying a heat pump, however, the municipal administration had to agree.

Saint-Laurent’s municipal bylaw has allowed solar panels to be installed on flat roofs since 2015, but Mr. Nguyen’s has a sloped roof. So the city initially denied him a permit.

“The federal government gives us a subsidy for solar panels, but the municipal government prohibits us from installing it,” he told the city, starting his “battle” with this claim.

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Quick savings

Trung Nguyen invested $8,000 in his project. It cost him about $4,000 for the heat pump and installation, $2,000 for the solar panels and another $2,000 for the installation of the panels.

“The addition of solar panels and a heat pump reduced my hydro bill by $835 in 9 months, which I think is a return on investment in 10 years,” explains Mr. Nguyen, who monitors his energy bills to the letter, with comparisons. From last year.

“I only have 9 months of data, but I haven’t changed my windows, I haven’t changed the insulation, I haven’t even changed the doors,” he argued.

And Mr. Nguyen also added a funny anecdote about a recent power outage. “I didn’t realize it because the heat pump was working,” he said. I’m not independent of hydro, but when the sun goes down, I’m a little independent.”

Municipal Communications

Mr. Nguyen communicates with the municipal administration every month to see if his project file is moving forward.

“And there were municipal elections,” he recalls. The candidates told me: “Yes yes, we will do something for you”, but after the election they stopped.”

The municipal bylaw was finally amended on April 5, 2022 to allow solar panels on sloped roofs. The borough’s regulations specifically state that “planned installation of this type of material shall be conducted in a manner that minimizes their visual impact from the street while promoting the protection of the structural integrity of the building and its fixtures.”

It also states that “any electrical wires connected to the solar collector and other related equipment shall be concealed to minimize their visibility.”

“It’s not a question of energy efficiency, it’s a question of aesthetics,” Mr. Nguyen muses of the regulation. And hey, I don’t find solar panels ugly.”

Variable municipal regulations

Is there regulation governing the installation of solar panels on property in Quebec?

“Subject to municipal regulations, there are no regulations from the Régie du Logiment du Québec (RBQ) that apply to the installation of solar panels on property,” confirmed Laurent Bérubé, RBQ’s communications advisor.