Residential rooftop solar panel installation in Bedford, Nova Scotia

●Client Case Study

11.5 kW Solar Install in Bedford, NS

Real system specs and real numbers for Blair's property at 80 Shaffleburg Run, Bedford, NS, offsetting 68% of annual electricity use.

Solar design, roof layout, and monthly production versus consumption forecast for the Shaffleburg Run, Bedford installation

Bedford, NSSolar design, production and consumption forecast

Project at a Glance

A Bedford Property Locking In Against Rising NS Power Rates

Blair's home on Shaffleburg Run in Bedford had a high annual usage of 19,406 kWh and an NS Power bill running over $320 a month. Rather than stretch financing across three decades, Blair chose an aggressive 10-year payoff term on this 11.5 kW, 23-panel system.

System Size

11.5

kW DC

Panels

500W LONGi mono

Annual Production

13,214

kWh/year

Usage Offset

68%

of annual electricity use

Home with rooftop solar panels in Bedford, Nova Scotia

System Specifications

Solar panels: LONGi LR8-54HGBB 500W Tier-1 monocrystalline modules, CSA approved for the Canadian market.
Microinverters: Hoymiles HMS series (HMS-1800/900/500 mix sized to the array), panel-level monitoring included.
Racking: Pion Solar racking and roofing accessories, engineered for Nova Scotia snow and wind loads.
Design package: full production and consumption forecast with professional engineering stamping.
Installed by: the OYO Energy crew, start to finish. No subcontractors touched this roof.

☀

LONGi Panels

500W Tier-1 monocrystalline modules, CSA approved for the Canadian market.

⚡

Hoymiles Inverters

HMS-1800/900/500 series with panel-level monitoring included.

🏠

Pion Racking

Engineered for Nova Scotia snow and wind loads.

📋

Engineered Design

Full production forecast with professional engineering stamping.

Our Partners

Cost Breakdown

What This System Cost

Bedford Install, 11.5 kW

Cash purchase price, all-in

Equipment, labour, permits (subtotal)$20,125

HST (15% NS)$2,818

Total all-in cash price$22,942

Bill Period	NS Power Only	10-Year Solar Loan @ 4.75%	Savings
Monthly	$320.09	$352.05	-$31.96

Financing: 10-Year Solar Loan @ 4.75%. Figures are the customer's actual proposal numbers. Individual results vary based on roof, usage, and financing terms selected.

25-Year Outlook

Cumulative Cost: Staying on NS Power vs. Going Solar

Modelled from this property's actual system cost and a 25.78¢/kWh 30-Year Average average NS Power rate versus a 7.26¢/kWh effective solar rate, based on continued NS Power rate increases.

Cost of staying on NS Power

Cost of going solar with OYO

Break-even point

Illustrative cumulative cost comparison built from this property's real system price and bill data, assuming continued NS Power rate increases consistent with the province's historical average since 2002. Actual results depend on weather, equipment performance, and future rate changes.

~$100,295

Estimated 25-year net savings vs. staying on NS Power

Year 9

Cash Payback

If purchased outright

25.78¢

30-Year Average NS Power Rate

per kWh, provincial average

7.26¢

30-Year Average Solar Rate

per kWh, effective cost

How It Was Financed

Our Approach for This Property

Financed over just 10 years at 4.75%, the monthly payment on this system runs higher than the NS Power bill it replaces, $352.05 versus $320.09, a $31.96 monthly increase during the loan term. That is a deliberate tradeoff: a 10-year note pays off the system in a third of the time a 30-year term would.

Once the loan is paid off in year 10, Blair owns the system outright with 15 or more years of continued production ahead. The 30-year average effective solar rate on this system works out to just 7.26 cents per kWh, the lowest of any project in our recent portfolio, because the short loan term compresses most of the cost into the first decade and leaves the remaining system life essentially free.

Serving Bedford

Part of Our Bedford Service Area

This installation falls within our Bedford service area, where we handle permitting, NS Power interconnection, and applicable municipal financing programs directly. See our full Bedford solar page for local sizing benchmarks, financing options, and FAQs specific to the area.

FAQs

Questions About This Project

Why would a homeowner choose a payment higher than their current NS Power bill?

A shorter loan term trades a higher near-term monthly payment for owning the system outright much sooner and paying far less total interest. Once the 10-year note is paid off, the homeowner keeps producing free electricity for the remaining 15-plus years of the system's life, which is what drives this project's very low 30-year average rate.

Is 68% offset lower than typical for a system this size?

It runs on the lower end because this property's usage, 19,406 kWh annually, is high relative to what an 11.5 kW system can produce on this roof. A larger array could have pushed offset higher, but the homeowner prioritized the shorter loan term and lower total system cost instead.