Goodbye Hydro: zero electricity bill thanks to its solar panels

Four adults from a Muscochman family living in a net-zero home didn’t need to change their consumption habits in order to pay almost nothing for energy.

“Honestly, we haven’t really changed our consumption habits, because the house does everything,” said Jose Legres, the owner of the Net Zéro house, who lives with his wife and two children (19 and 32). They generate enough energy depending on what we consume.

The semi-detached house has 22 solar panels that provide the electricity used in the house. The panels are installed on the sloped roof of the house in a battery-free system.

Hydro doesn’t need to install anything extra in a batteryless system. However, Mr. Legris had to open an account with Hydro-Québec’s production department.

Thus, the family members produce electricity by staying connected to the grid and all surpluses are sent to the hydro power line.

“We get consumer credit in return, but we certainly use more credit in the winter because the panels produce less than they do in the summer,” explained Mr. Legris, who showed us around his house, which privately has two fridges, a freezer and a washing machine. Even a spa.

Prototype

The Mascouchois’ home is an Ecohabitation project, funded by Natural Resources Canada, in partnership with Owens Corning, a US company that develops and produces composite insulation, roofing and fiberglass, and construction and promoter Groupe TRÉMÄ.

“We applied the most profitable things to achieve high performance,” explained Emmanuel Cosgrove, Director of Ecohabitation, noting airtightness, increased insulation and triple-glazed windows.

“All the equipment is really very efficient,” said Mr. Cosgrove, who reports a consumption of about 12,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year for this house, while a standard code house would consume about 25,000 kWh per year.

“It’s as if I had a wall instead of windows at the insulation level,” photographed Mr. Legris, who showed us the three layers of the window with the light from his mobile phone directed at the glass.

Although not visible in the photo, José Legris can see the three layers of his window using the light from his smartphone.

Simon Desorault

There are also recessed LED lights throughout the house.

Mr. Cosgrove also noted that the federal government wants to build net zero across Canada in 2040.

So Mr. Legris bought this house in April 2021 at a cost of approximately $500,000 (slightly higher than the cost of similar properties) because the panels were already installed.

He therefore paid $557 to Hydro in 2022, including the administrative costs for each invoice which were about half of the $557. So the household’s excess consumption costs about $300.

“For a property like this, without solar panels, I would be paying $3,000 a year [son voisin paie près de 2800 $]Mr. Legris added. The system will pay for itself within 8 to 10 years because the value of the solar panels is about $25,000.

José Legris pays practically nothing to Hydro-Québec thanks to the use of solar panels.

Simon Desorault

Towards autonomy?

However, Mr. Legris reveals that he sometimes lacks a little energy. “I don’t have to support At the battery level, he remembers. If I had that, I would be 100% independent.

Mr. Legris also plans to purchase a battery system in the very short term. “The batteries will be there to help when they run out of power, and the surplus will continue to go to Hydro,” he adds.