Solar systems for the balcony: are the small balcony power plants worth it?
Created: 04/07/2022 15:06
By: Andrea Stettner
Many balconies offer enough space for a mini solar system - it helps to save electricity (symbol image).
© Sascha Steinach/Imago
With a mini solar system for the balcony, tenants can also produce their own electricity.
Installation is easy - but how much money are you really saving?
Small photovoltaic systems for the balcony have not only been in vogue since the rise in electricity prices*.
With a small-format solar system, tenants or owners can set up their own small power plant on the balcony or terrace and use it for their household.
How it all works, how much money you save and which regulations you have to observe is explained below.
What are mini solar systems and how much do they cost?
A balcony power station is a
mini solar system
that is connected to the electricity grid of the apartment or house with a plug.
Various names are circulating for them in the trade, such as mini-PV or plug-in power plants.
Strictly speaking, these are not systems, but
electrical household appliances
.
They are designed in such a way that laypeople can easily install them, at least up to an output of 600 watts.
More powerful devices must be installed by professionals.
The electricity produced can then be used to make coffee, for the TV or the washing machine.
The latter devices are considered the biggest power guzzlers anyway*.
The PV electricity is primarily used in the household, but the electricity generated cannot be fed into the grid.
You don't have to dig too deep into your pocket for this either: the cheapest balcony power plants are available
from as little as 400 euros
.
When buying, it is advisable to pay attention to the seal of the German Society for Solar Energy eV (DGS) - they pay attention to a high safety standard.
Do I have to get permission from the landlord?
Before installing a balcony power plant, tenants must obtain the
consent of the landlord
or the community of owners in order to be able to attach the modules to the balcony or house wall.
After installation, the
network operator
and the
Federal Network Agency
must be informed.
To ensure that the electricity meter does not run backwards, you should have an electricity meter with a backstop or a bidirectional meter installed.
The conversion is usually carried out by the network operator.
Balcony power plants: How much electricity do the devices produce?
How much electricity is produced depends on the orientation of the solar panels and the annual hours of sunshine in the region.
Excessively large sums of money cannot be saved in this way, even under ideal conditions.
According to experts, a balcony power plant can produce
around 10 to 20 percent of your own electricity needs
.
In an example calculation by
NDR.de
, the annual savings for a south-facing standard module with an output of 300 watts is a
saving of 60 euros per year
(with 200 kilowatt hours generated, average electricity price 30 cents).
So you can't be completely self-sufficient with a solar system on the balcony, but it helps to save costs at least in the long term.
However, it can take five to nine years for the acquisition costs to pay for themselves.
Read here how you can reduce heating costs and thus save several hundred euros a year.
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*Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.