Generating Solar Power with a Balcony Power Plant
With solar panels for the balcony, tenants can also generate their own electricity on the balcony and use it in the household. How do the mini PV systems work and is self-consumption taxed? Photovoltaic systems on house roofs are part of the landscape in many places. Homeowners can use them to produce their own clean solar power and thus make themselves somewhat independent of high energy prices. But there are now also good opportunities for homeowners and tenants to produce their own electricity.
Balcony power plant: mobile and without grid feed-in
The devices differ from photovoltaic systems on roofs in several respects: They are significantly smaller and designed so that laypeople can also install them. In fact, balcony power plants are technically household electrical appliances, not plants. If you move, the solar devices can be dismantled and taken with you without much effort. In contrast to the photovoltaic system for house roofs, they are only intended for your own consumption and not for feeding electricity into the grid.
How do solar systems for the balcony work?
Plug-in solar devices are easy to install and can also be dismantled if you move house. The commercially available devices usually consist of one or two solar modules and a so-called inverter. Depending on the provider, components for attachment to the balcony, for example, are already included or must be ordered separately. After assembly or installation at a suitable location, the solar module is connected to the inverter. This converts the direct current that the module produces from the sunlight into alternating current.
The system can be connected to a socket in the apartment or on the balcony via a cable. Devices that are connected to the household power grid, such as washing machines, computers and all devices that are in standby mode, now primarily use the solar power fed into the grid.
How secure the devices?
Before installing the solar modules, the landlord and the community of owners must agree. As a rule, the inverters supplied with the purchase meet the requirements that also apply to normal photovoltaic systems and are therefore safe. There is still no separate device standard for plug-in solar devices, it is still being developed. What`s important is only one plug-in solar device or one inverter should be connected to a socket. Coupling several devices via a multiple socket would be dangerous.
How much do the devices cost and how much electricity do they produce?
Inexpensive complete packages are available from as little as 250 euros. However, they are often not very powerful. Devices from around 350 euros make more sense, more expensive models can cost up to 800 euros. Experts assume that a household can use them to produce around 10 to 20 percent of its electricity itself. The electricity meter then simply runs more slowly. However, how much electricity is generated depends on the orientation of the system and the annual hours of sunshine in the region.
Depending on the yield, it takes an average of six to nine years before the purchase pays for itself. An example: A typical plug-in solar module is 1.00 meters by 1.70 meters and has an output of around 300 watts. If it faces south, it supplies around 200 to 300 kilowatt hours of electricity per year.
Electric meter may need to be replaced
The electricity meter must not rotate backwards. Normally, this does not happen because the amount of electricity fed in is too small. If you want to be on the safe side, you can have an electricity meter with a backstop or a bi-directional meter installed. The conversion is usually carried out by the network operator. However, some operators have already stated that they do not consider it necessary to change the meter if only one module is connected. If electricity is nevertheless fed into the grid, you will not receive any compensation for it.
To learn more about balcony solar power, please follow Wuzeck official website:
