Solar panels in Medicine Hat, AB

Roofs in Medicine Hat get about 1,503 hours of usable sunlight a year — more than 50% of the cities we've measured. Here's what that means in cost, savings and payback, using real rooftop data rather than a national average.

Check your specific roof in Medicine Hat → City averages are a starting point; your own roof's size, pitch and shading change the answer a lot.

What a typical Medicine Hat solar system costs

A 22-panel system (8.8 kW) is about right for an average Medicine Hat home using 10,800 kWh a year. It would produce roughly 11,242 kWh annually and offset 100% of that usage.

How we worked this out for Medicine Hat

Every number on this page comes from these seven steps. Nothing is a national average — the sunlight figure is measured from Medicine Hat rooftops.

Step 6 matters more than it looks. Only 34% of what a system this size produces in Medicine Hat is used the moment it is generated; the other 7,462 kWh is exported and credited one-for-one under net metering. Because exports here are credited at or near retail, that split changes the payback very little — 12.3 years against the 12.7 we show. In places where exports pay a fraction of retail the same split moves payback by years, which is why we model it explicitly rather than assuming.

Assumptions: 400W panels, 15% system losses (inverter, wiring, heat, soiling), CA$2.85/W installed, 10,800 kWh typical annual household use, 18.1¢/kWh electricity. Change any of those and every figure above moves — which is exactly why a single national "solar costs X" number is misleading.

Notice that payback barely improves as systems get bigger, and eventually gets worse. That's because you can only save money on electricity you were going to buy anyway. Once a system covers your usage, extra panels mostly generate exports at a much lower rate.

Why Medicine Hat gets 1,503 sun hours

That figure comes from Google's analysis of real rooftops across Medicine Hat — it already accounts for shading from trees, chimneys and neighbouring buildings, which is why it's lower than the raw "hours of daylight" figures you'll see elsewhere. An unusually open, unshaded roof in Medicine Hat reaches about 1,562 hours, roughly 4% better than typical.

The numbers behind this page

When Medicine Hat actually produces

Annual totals hide the thing that catches people out: 41% of Medicine Hat's yearly sunlight arrives in May–July, and just 9% across November–January.

That is a severe seasonal swing — Medicine Hat produces roughly 5.4× as much in Jun as in Dec. A system sized to cover your annual usage will overproduce badly in summer and fall well short in winter, so how your utility credits exported power matters more here than in most places.

The annual total is measured from Google's rooftop imagery. Its split across months is calculated from solar geometry at Medicine Hat's latitude, not separately measured, so treat the monthly figures as the shape of a typical year rather than a forecast.

How Medicine Hat compares to the other 788 cities

What actually stands out about Medicine Hat:

• Roof space is the binding constraint. A typical Medicine Hat roof fits about 11 panels and a typical home needs 22 — so there is little room to oversize. If you add an EV or heat pump later, plan the array for it now.
• Small roofs. The median Medicine Hat roof is 37 m², smaller than 99% of cities measured — worth checking your own footprint before assuming a standard system fits.
• The case here is financial, not environmental. Medicine Hat's grid is already clean at 151 kg CO₂ per MWh, so the carbon saving from solar is modest. Judge this one on payback.
• Sunnier than the rest of Alberta. Medicine Hat roofs get 14% more usable sunlight than the typical Alberta city we've measured — statewide averages will understate what you can expect here.

Cities with almost the same sunlight

These are the closest matches to Medicine Hat's 1,503 usable sun hours from other states and provinces. Same sunlight, different electricity prices — which is usually what decides whether solar is worth it.

Nearby cities

See all of Alberta → statewide sunlight, rates, incentives and every city we've measured.

Medicine Hat solar questions

Worth reading before you buy

Estimates only, generated 2026-08-22 from Google Solar API rooftop samples and average Alberta electricity rates. Not a quote and not financial advice. Your roof, usage, utility plan and local incentives will change these numbers — get real quotes before buying.