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Homeowners in Saskatoon can now see the benefits of adding solar panels to their homes before making the investment.
The City of Saskatoon has partnered with an Alberta-based company MyHeat to create an interactive map. Homeowners can enter their address, and the tool will analyze the home, provide information on the potential benefits and suggest a solar installation size.
James Henry, MyHeat’s director of growth and sustainability, said the map is a way to help people who don’t know if solar is a good fit for them.
“There are two options, whether you are receiving power from SaskPower or Sask Light and Power, and that will have an impact on your financial calculations. So we worked with the city, and we worked with those two power providers to be able to provide that personalized platform,” Henry said.
Saskatchewan, Henry said, is one of the best places in Canada for solar power.
According to Henry, MyHeat has a partnership with Google allowing it to access some of the company’s solar data through what it calls Project Sunroof. Henry said the data is easy to visualize, helping make decisions on solar power more simple.
He said the city paid for the platform with funds it received through the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.
There has been a lot of interest in the map since it was first rolled out about two weeks ago. Henry said the platform has already seen about 10,000 visits.
Amber Weckworth, Saskatoon’s education and environmental performance manager, said the idea is to encourage residents to pursue climate-friendly options.
“We’re trying to let residents know that solar is an option for many households, and that it can be a good way to both save money and to save greenhouse gases and energy,” she said.
Because the tool is new, Weckworth said it may take a bit of time to see how many people are interested in switching to solar, but she was optimistic about the level of interest.
“(There were) lots of questions, lots of interest, and I think it’s going to be a really useful tool for people,” Weckworth said.
“It really aligns with the home energy loan program and some other programs we have.”
She said the city will see other climate programs announced this year.
The interactive map is available for use in certain other municipalities across the country, but Saskatoon is so far the only city in Saskatchewan to offer it.