Balcony power plants with zero feed-in – flexible adaptation to consumption

Balcony power plants are a useful addition to be more independent of electricity providers and energy costs and thus save energy costs. By using zero feed-in, you can adapt your balcony power plant individually to your energy needs. This means that the electricity you generate is only used in your household – for your devices and, if necessary, to charge batteries for temporary storage. This means you can largely cover your electricity needs and you don’t feed it into the grid at low prices. The implementation is very easy.

We will explain to you how to build your balcony power plant in such a way that you ensure that no electricity is fed into the grid!

Generate your own electricity to cover your needs

This form of operation gives you enormous flexibility. You can adjust the size of your balcony power plant at any time – depending on your consumption – and thus achieve a high degree of self-sufficiency and efficiency.

A solution with zero feed-in and balcony power plant can be easily implemented. In addition to a solar system with inverters, all you need is a Smart Micro Solar Controller, an openDTU (e.g. HO HM-DTU-K) and a smart meter (e.g. from Shelly), a SmartPlug or an IR reading head.

The Smart Micro Solar makes zero feed-in a breeze

he small controller has a display and is very easy to set up via WLAN via a web interface. The control works completely without Raspberry PI and SD cards. Only the IP of the openDTU and smart meter is stored and nothing stands in the way of producing electricity for your own needs. In addition, the Smart Micro Solar automatically recognizes multiple inverters connected to the opeDTU and is compatible with Hoymiles products and various smart meters.

In the classic setup with Smart Micro Solar, the installed smart meter measures your household’s current consumption in real time and sends it to the Smart Micro Solar via WLAN. This in turn communicates with the openDTU and sends the new inverter limit. Transferring the configuration from the openDTU to the inverter (or several inverters) ensures that the balcony power plant generates the electricity that is currently needed without feeding any excess into the grid.

It’s even easier with the new SmartPlug method: You can simply do without the central smart meter, which often has to be professionally installed by an electrician. With this variant, you initially set your household’s basic consumption. In addition, simply place a SmartPlug such as a Shelly socket in front of any device with high, sporadic consumption (e.g. washing machine, dishwasher, etc.). This means that the current consumption of these devices is sent to the Smart Micro Solar in addition to the basic consumption. This then communicates the current demand to the balcony power plant via the openDTU and inverter.

Follow these simple steps to install the Smart Micro Solar

You should now see the message “Setup complete” in the web interface. The device then restarts and the router assigns you a new IP, which you can use to connect to the device in the browser.

The installation of a compatible smart meter such as the Shelly 3EM on the three phases of the house connection may only be carried out by a qualified electrician when there is no voltage. If this has already happened, you can connect to Shelly’s WiFi and then connect to your router’s WiFi. Please make sure that the “Login Restriction” (access to Shelly requires a password) is disabled. Then you can proceed to the next step of setting up the Smart Micro Solar. If you use SmartPlugs, place them in front of your devices with high sporadic consumption and also connect them to your network. In order for all devices to be able to communicate with each other, they must be connected to the same network.

Likewise, the OpenDTU must be connected to the same grid and connected to the inverter during setup. After commissioning, the OpenDTU creates a WLAN spot. Connect with this. Then log on to the web interface and enter your router name and password. If you then connect to the OpenDTU WLAN spot again, the IP address will be displayed. This takes you to the web interface in your browser and you can register your inverter there under “Inverter Settings”. You can then view the consumption and status of the inverter.

Now continue setting up the Smart Micro Solar by connecting to the device again. In the user interface, select “Configure” for further setup. In the drop-down list you can now choose between the different smart meters and enter the corresponding address under “IP”.

Proceed similarly for “OpenDTU” by entering the IP address of your OpenDTU, as well as the user name “admin” for “User” and the password “openDTU24” for “Pass”. Then press “Return” to return to the home page. There you now have an overview of energy consumption and electricity production in real time.

Minimise energy costs and protect the environment

Now you are ready to operate your balcony power plant with zero feed-in. This not only allows you to use the capacity of your system efficiently, but also saves costs. If you have an energy storage system integrated into your system, the effect will be further enhanced. With zero feed-in, you don’t run the risk of losing it due to network losses, but use it in your household. In addition, by using solar energy you are contributing to a sustainable future.

Images: Adobe Stock, Selbstbau-pv.de