On November 15, 2021, the Calgary City Council declared a Climate Emergency, obligating the local government to support emergency action to fight climate change.
Calgary is striving to become a greener and more sustainable city, and one way to achieve this is by installing solar panels on homes. With an estimated 333 sunny days per year, or roughly 2,396 hours of sunlight, Calgary offers an excellent opportunity for solar energy generation. However, the size of the solar power system required will depend on several factors, including the amount of energy consumed by the home, the location of the home, and the orientation of the house. External factors like shade, chimneys, trees, roof steepness, and direction can affect the number of solar panels needed to power a home. To calculate the approximate number of solar panels needed for a home, the annual energy use (kWh) is multiplied by 12 and divided by 400 (W/panel) and 1.0 (MWh/kW). The average Alberta home uses approximately 600 kWh of electricity per month, which translates to 18 solar panels. Installing solar panels in Calgary has several benefits, such as increasing the supply of renewable energy to the city, reducing utility costs, increasing the value of the property, and promoting environmental benefits. Incentives and rebate programs are available, including the Canada Greener Homes Grant, Canada Greener Homes Loan, Clean Energy Improvement Program, and the Commercial Solar Tax Incentive.
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