Solar + battery installation in Ontario

Ontario is Canada's largest residential solar market by population, with decent southern-Ontario sun-hours and time-of-use electricity pricing that rewards self-consumption. Unlike the United States, Canada has no federal investment tax credit for residential solar; instead homeowners rely on net metering plus any federal or provincial programs available at the time of purchase. Ontario offers net metering through local distribution utilities, crediting exported solar against future bills at the retail rate (kWh-for-kWh) with credits carried forward for up to 12 months. Battery storage is increasingly popular for shifting solar into expensive on-peak hours and providing outage backup. Because there is no upfront federal tax credit, paybacks are longer than in comparable U.S. states - a typical 7.5 kW Ontario system generally pays for itself in roughly 10-13 years, after which it produces low-cost power for the rest of its 20+ year life.