December 16, 2025
For the first time ever, Solar builder recognizes a Canadian Project of the Year Award as part of its annual celebration of innovative solar energy installations.
Developer/EPC/Installer: Ready Solar Inc. | Modules: Long | Inverters: AP systems | Assembly/racking: S-5! And Kinetic stretch
The massive Estrada residential solar system in Vancouver, BC, built by Ready solar energyhas won Solar builder‘s first Canada Project of the Year Award. The 25 kW solar system should produce about 26,000 kWh per year, virtually eliminating the $4,500 annual energy bill for owners, said Sukhpaul Parmar, the owner of Ready Solar, also based in Vancouver.
One of the challenges for the project was the versatile roof surfaces of the house, which was built with a slope of 27 degrees. Parmar credits the use of Aurora solar energy software (with Lidar) and the help of inverter supplier AP Systems to overcome the challenges of planning, the layout of the 18 individual roof planes and the selection of the protected location to mount equipment.
Solar energy instead of a 400 Amp main panel
The decision to go solar came from the homeowners’ renovation plans to turn the sprawling residence into a mini-resort for the household of seven children. The owner had sought approval from local utility BC Hydro to upgrade the main panel from 200 amps to 400 amps, but was denied due to high demand on the area’s electrical grid, near Vancouver Airport. The solution to the owner’s plan to use more electricity was to generate it himself by having solar panels installed.
Although BC Hydro declined the 400-amp upgrade, the utility did provide a $5,000 grant for the solar system, Parmar notes. The size of the system was increased by about 10% to accommodate the planned future use of both batteries and electric vehicle charging, he says. The homeowner’s rate plan is 11.6 cents for the first 1,300 kilowatt hours every two months, increasing to 15 cents after that, Parmar adds.
What contributed to the solar system’s performance was the choice of double-sided panels, notes Parmar. Although the racking system only lifts the panels about six inches above the roof surface, Ready Solar installed 54 bifacial panels Long Hi-MO 7 solar panels – the LR7-54HGBB – use a 450W module N-type TopCon cell technology, along with rodent guards for wiring protection and snow guards on the standing seam metal roof.
Because the homeowner did not want a breach in the roof, the cables ran across rows to the underside of the metal ridge cap and then to the new subpanel,” notes Parmar.
Bifacial panels on a roof mounting
Made for the Canadian market, the all-black Longi modules feature a double-glazed design and are known for their high efficiency, superior temperature performance and long-term reliability. The panels should see a two-way boost of about 10% thanks to the low snowfall typical of the neighborhood, just east of the ocean coast. “Even when it snows, it turns to rain and is gone by the end of the day,” says Parmar. “We install snow rails on about 80% of our tracks,” says Parmar. His company has created about 300 jobs in British Columbia since its founding in 2020, he noted.
The scaffolding for the project was supplied by S-5! And Kinetic stretch. “Our original plan was to not use scaffolding and to create a rail lift system. But because some roof surfaces were upright and some were horizontal, we had to be versatile,” notes Parmar.
25 year warranty from start to finish
The entire Estrada system is backed by a 25-year warranty on Ready Solar craftsmanship, the AP systems inverters and the Longi panels.
Most of the residential systems Ready Solar installs are in the 13 kW to 14 kW range, Parmar estimates. The company tends to focus on more high-end residential systems, and they have also begun installing commercial and industrial systems, he notes. “We are seeing more high-end jobs being offered, so no real market slowdown is expected even though the Greener Homes federal financing program has expired,” he says.
“BC Hydro has a good demand response rebate program in the C&I market, so that’s where our work is growing,” says Parmar.
Tags: Canada, Project of the Year
