FindSolar.caThe two Ontario solar deals on the table
As of August 2026, an Ontario homeowner installing solar panels has two distinct offers. The first is the Home Renovation Savings rebate: $1,000 per kW of installed solar, up to $5,000, plus up to $5,000 more for battery storage. The second is net metering, the long-standing arrangement where your utility credits surplus power you export at the retail rate, with credits rolling forward up to 12 months.
The condition buried in the rebate's fine print is the whole story: the rebated system must operate as load displacement, a non-export configuration. In plain language, a system that takes the rebate powers your house in real time and is set up so it does not push surplus power onto the grid for credit. That is not net metering, and utilities like Hydro One document it as a separate connection type.
What load displacement means for your house
A load displacement solar system only earns its keep while your home is using power. Sunny afternoon, nobody home, low usage: the surplus has nowhere profitable to go. That changes the design brief. Non-export systems are sized to your daytime consumption rather than your annual total, which usually means a smaller array than a net-metered design for the same house.
A net-metered system plays a different game: it can overproduce all summer, bank kilowatt-hour credits, and burn them down through the winter. Sizing runs closer to your full annual usage, and the 12-month credit expiry becomes the number to watch.
The math of each path, side by side
Run both on our flagged planning figures for Ontario and the shape becomes clear. The rebate path takes a smaller system, cuts up to $5,000 off the install cost on day one, and saves on the power you consume while the sun is up. The net metering path takes a larger system, gets no upfront help, and monetizes everything the roof can produce across the year. Which wins depends on one question: how much of your electricity use happens in daylight?
Homes with daytime load, like a home office, electric vehicle charging on a schedule, air conditioning, or a pool, extract real value from load displacement, and the rebate sweetens a system that already fits their pattern. Homes that sit empty from 8 to 6 waste most of a non-export system's output, and net metering's banked credits fit them far better. Model your own numbers in our solar savings calculator, then test both assumptions.
Questions to settle before you sign anything
Ask every Ontario installer which path they quoted, in writing, because the interconnection paperwork differs and switching after the fact is not a form, it is a redesign. Ask how the rebate's eligibility and equipment rules apply to the exact hardware in the quote. And ask your utility what a change of configuration would involve later, so you know the cost of changing your mind. Our hiring guide covers the rest of the conversation.
Common questions
Can I take the rebate now and switch to net metering later?
The rebate requires the system to operate as non-export, and moving to net metering afterward means a new interconnection arrangement with your utility, possible hardware changes, and questions about the incentive's conditions. Treat the choice as permanent when you make it, and get anything else in writing from the program and your utility.
Does a battery change the picture?
It helps the rebate path most: storage lets a non-export system time-shift solar power into your evening usage, and the program offers up to $5,000 for batteries as well. It adds cost, so run it as its own line item.
Which path pays back faster?
On planning figures, a well-matched load displacement home with the rebate often edges ahead early because of the $5,000 head start, while a high-usage net-metered home catches up and passes it over 25 years. The honest answer comes from your own last 12 months of bills, which is exactly what a good installer will ask for.
Questions homeowners ask
Can I get the Ontario solar rebate and still use net metering?
No: the Home Renovation Savings rebate requires the system to operate as non-export load displacement, which rules out net metering for that system, per the official program page, verified August 25, 2026. The choice between the two paths is the article above; the restriction itself is not negotiable.
What happens to solar power I do not use if I take the rebate?
A non-export system is designed not to send power to the grid, so surplus production must be used, stored or curtailed. That is why the rebate path favours daytime-heavy households and pairs naturally with a battery, which the program also supports with up to $5,000.
Who is a better fit for the rebate instead of net metering?
Homes that consume heavily during daylight, households adding a battery, and owners who prefer $5,000 now over decades of export credits. Net metering favours homes whose usage is concentrated in evenings with strong export volumes. Your last twelve months of bills, split by season, decide which profile is yours.
What should my installer show me before I choose between the two options?
Two written scenarios for your actual consumption: the rebated non-export design and the net-metered design, each with production, self-use share, bill impact and payback on stated assumptions. An installer unwilling to model both is recommending their margin, not your path.