Once your solar energy system from a solar company Edmonton goes live, the first year becomes an important milestone.
It’s your first real look at how your system performs. This gives you a sense of its efficiency, return on investment (ROI), and how real-world conditions compare to your original design expectations.
MAG Solar experts provide homeowners across Edmonton with a detailed year-one performance recap to help you understand how your system is doing and what to expect moving forward.
Key Takeaways:
- Your solar system’s actual first-year production may differ slightly from software predictions due to Edmonton’s climate, but MAG Solar tracks and audits performance to make sure you’re on target.
- Minimal upkeep is needed, and a year-one inspection is recommended to guarantee peak efficiency and long-term system health.
- With Alberta’s net metering, summer overproduction offsets winter dips, helping most homeowners save money around $1,000+ in their first year.
Year-One Expectations — How Actual Production Compares to the Model
In the first 12 months, your solar photovoltaic (PV) system’s energy output won’t always match exactly what the design software predicted, and that’s normal. Real-world conditions in Edmonton can create slight differences between expected and actual production.
- Latitude (53.5°N): Edmonton’s northern location means long daylight hours in the summer but shorter days in winter.
- Annual Solar Irradiance: Gets around 1,200 to 1,300 kilowatt-hours per square meter (kWh/m²) per year. This impacts how much energy your panels generate.
- Climate Zones: Seasonal shifts matter. Due to snow accumulation on panels and low sun angles that reduce available sunlight, December and January typically result in lower output.
Expected Solar System Efficiency Losses
Even with a perfectly installed system, some energy loss is inevitable. Expect around 2–6% energy loss from dust, dirt, and snow in winter. As electricity moves from your panels through wiring and inverters, you’ll see about 4–10% loss, a standard part of any system.
Panels perform better in cooler weather and lose some efficiency during hotter days. In Edmonton, you can expect a temperature-related impact of around ±2–4% over the year.
How We Track Solar Performance at MAG Solar
We use software like PVWatts, HelioScope, and Aurora Solar during the design phase to simulate your system’s expected monthly generation. Once your system is running, we encourage you to compare actual monthly output against these projections. This project management gives you a clear picture of how your system tracks toward your ROI goals, and helps our solar contractor troubleshoot or optimize if needed.
Your first year of solar starts the moment you contact MAG Solar. By next year, you’ll have a complete picture and experience of how solar works for your home.
Production Patterns You’ll Notice Across the Seasons
One thing you’ll notice pretty quickly: solar production in Edmonton is highly seasonal, and that’s completely normal. Here’s what a typical year looks like:
- May to August: Expect around 35–40% of your total annual solar production during these sunnier months.
- November to January: Only about 5–10% of your yearly production happens in winter due to shorter days, low sun angles, and snow cover.
- Annual Performance Ratio (PR): A PR of 0.75 to 0.85 is typical for grid-tied systems in our region. This ratio compares your system’s actual output to its theoretical maximum, considering real-world losses.
First-Year Tip: Don’t stress if your production drops in the winter months. Lower output from November to January is completely expected, and your system’s high summer output will help balance it out over the full year despite rising energy costs.
Edmonton’s Weather and Snow Affecting Production in Your First Year
While snow buildup can temporarily stop your panels from producing electricity, our systems are designed with this in mind. MAG Solar team installs solar panels at a 35–45° tilt angle to help snow slide off naturally after most snowfall events. Plus, Edmonton’s dry, cold climate reduces dust and grime, so you won’t face as much panel soiling as homeowners do in wetter, coastal regions.
Here’s What Clients Typically Experience
- Winter Downtime: Around 5–15 days per year, snow might fully cover your panels and halt production. This depends on how many big snowfall events you get.
- Cleaning Requirements: Only 1–2 cleanings per year, just after pollen season or following a particularly dusty period.
Strong Year-One Utility Savings with Net Metering Benefits
In your first year, you can expect meaningful potential savings (often $1,000 or more) due to self-consumed solar energy and Alberta’s net metering credits. While savings in winter months dip, summer surplus production helps balance your annual energy costs. Over time, these savings contribute directly to your system’s payback and ROI.
Sample Year-One Saving Calculation
Metric | Value |
System Size | 6 kW |
Annual Production | 7,500 kWh |
Electricity Cost | $0.18/kWh (average all-in) |
Self-Consumed | 5,000 kWh × $0.18 = $900 |
Exported (credited) | 2,500 kWh × $0.15 = $375 |
Total Year-One Savings = $1,275 | |
Note: In addition to net metering, you can also take advantage of government rebates to offset the installation costs.
Minimal Maintenance Required, But Don’t Skip the Year-One Solar Installation Checkup
Your solar energy system doesn’t require much maintenance, but that doesn’t mean we forget about you after installation. Schedule a 1-year system inspection to make sure everything’s still running smoothly. During this checkup, our experts will review:
- Voltage Balance: Making sure your system is producing consistent power across all panels.
- Connection Integrity: Checking all wiring and panel connections for safety and performance.
- Inverter Software Updates: Making sure your inverter is running the latest firmware for peak efficiency.
- Roof Penetration Seals: Inspecting any points where wiring passes through your roof to prevent leaks.
Common Year-One Observations & Troubleshooting
Observation | Cause | MAG Solar Response |
Lower-than-expected yield | Snow, shade, or inverter reset | Remote diagnostics & dispatch |
Monitoring app data mismatch | Wi-Fi signal loss | Reconnect the gateway or install a range extender |
Panel hotspot detected | Faulty bypass diode (rare) | RMA under warranty |
Solar PV Performance Auditing & Optimization
As you wrap up your first year of solar energy usage, examine your system’s performance more closely. A comprehensive Year-One Performance Audit helps you understand how your actual results compare to your original system design.
- Modelled vs. Actual Output Comparison: Check how your system’s real-world energy production compares to the original performance forecasts from tools.
- Panel-by-Panel Variance Analysis: If one panel is underperforming compared to the rest, we’ll spot it.
- Inverter Performance Curve Assessment: Analyze your inverter’s output curve to guarantee it’s operating at its optimal efficiency range.
- Future Upgrade Recommendations: Thinking about adding a battery or an EV charger? Our experts advise you on system compatibility and benefits.
Experience Your First-Year Milestones with MAG Solar
PV systems are smart investments, but you need expert solar services to reap their benefits within a year. From your initial consultation to system commissioning, our amazing team at MAG Solar guarantees that each solar installation process is managed professionally and efficiently.
We tailor every solution to meet your home’s energy needs, all at competitive pricing. Your dedicated project manager will walk you through the entire process, answering questions and coordinating the install crew to keep everything moving smoothly from day 1 to the following years.
