Solar Panel FAQs

Most home systems in BC cost between $9,200 and $30,000 installed, or about $2.30 to $3.00 per watt. A typical West Kelowna family home needs 6–8 kW, which runs from about $13,800 to $24,000.

West Kelowna is BC Hydro territory, so most homeowners can subtract a rebate of up to $5,000. That brings a 6 kW system to about $8,800 net.

For a lot of West Kelowna homes, yes. It depends mainly on how much power you use and how much of your solar you use yourself. All-electric homes with heat pumps, EVs, pools or workshops see the best returns.

A well-sized 8 kW system here pays back in about 11 years with the BC Hydro rebate, and a 4–6 kW system in about 9–10, against panel warranties of around 25 years. A low-use home on a shaded lot often doesn’t make sense, and we will say so.

Yes, for BC Hydro customers, which includes West Kelowna and Peachland. BC Hydro pays $1,000 per kW of panels, up to $5,000 for a home (capped at half the installed cost), plus $500 per kWh of battery, up to $1,500, or $5,000 if you join Peak Saver. Funding is first come, first served, and the application must be accepted before installation.

Summerland runs its own municipal utility, so BC Hydro’s rebates don’t apply there. Qualifying solar equipment is also PST-exempt. See the BC Hydro solar rebate guide.

BC Hydro. West Kelowna, Westbank First Nation and Peachland are all supplied through BC Hydro’s Westbank substation, nearly 26,000 customers in all. Kelowna, across the lake, is mostly FortisBC, which is where the confusion comes from.

It matters because only BC Hydro customers can claim the solar and battery rebates. Summerland is on its own municipal utility. We confirm your utility at the start of every estimate.

On July 1, 2026, BC Hydro closed net metering to new customers. New solar systems go on the self-generation rate (RS 2289): power you export is credited at a flat 10¢/kWh each billing cycle, instead of being banked at the retail rate. Customers who take the solar rebate are on the new rate too.

Power you use yourself still saves the full 11.87–14.08¢. So systems should be sized to your use, not to fill the roof, and a battery that stores afternoon solar for the evening is worth more than it used to be.

Not on their own. A standard grid-tied system shuts off when the grid goes down, so it never sends power onto lines crews are working on. To keep power during an outage you need a battery and an inverter that can island the house.

With that in place, your chosen circuits switch over automatically and the panels recharge the battery during the day. On the Westside, where one transmission line feeds the whole area, that is the main reason people add a battery. See West Kelowna power outages.

Floor area is only a rough guide. What matters is how much power the house uses. As a starting point, a 2,000 sq ft West Kelowna home usually suits a 6–8 kW system, about $13,800 to $24,000 installed, less up to $5,000 from BC Hydro.

Two identical houses can need very different systems depending on whether they heat with gas or electricity, and whether there is an EV in the garage.

It is a rule of thumb, not a regulation, and people use it to mean different things. Most often it means sizing a system about 20% above your current use, to allow for panel ageing and future loads.

Under BC Hydro’s 2026 rules we are more careful than that. Surplus exports only earn 10¢/kWh, so we size for the power you use today plus loads you are sure to add, such as an EV or a heat pump, and not for a guess.

The upfront cost, and the fact that panels produce most in summer, when you use least. Under the 2026 self-generation rate, summer surplus is credited at 10¢/kWh, so sizing carefully matters more than it used to.

The other one people miss: a standard grid-tied system shuts off during a power outage. If you want power during outages, you need a battery.

Most of the time they aren’t. What gets removed is usually an early system taken off for a re-roof, or an array that was badly sized or installed and never performed.

The fix is to plan the roof and the solar together, size to your real usage, and use an installer who will still answer the phone in year ten.

Most homes take one to three days on site. BC Hydro has to accept the self-generation application before the install, and permits take time, so allow four to eight weeks from signing to switch-on. We handle the paperwork.