The rising electricity prices are gradually becoming noticeable on bills. With a balcony power plant you can take matters into your own hands and reduce your electricity bill. You also make an active contribution to more sustainable energy. In this guide you will find out what using such a module can mean for your electricity bill and what you need to pay attention to when installing it.
Solar system on the balcony: What are the advantages of a balcony power plant?
Basically, a balcony power plant is nothing more than a photovoltaic (PV) module that generates electricity for your own home network. Equivalent to the large PV systems on house roofs, for example, you can easily feed the electricity generated into your home network and use it. However, the electricity is not fed into the public power grid.Permanently reduce your electricity bill
The biggest advantage of such a small power plant is that you can sustainably reduce your electricity bill. A single power plant allows you to power multiple standby devices at the same time. These include cell phone chargers, televisions, WiFi routers and many other devices that require an output of between three and twenty watts. You can save money, especially in the current times of sharply rising electricity prices.
With current electricity prices of around 30 cents per kilowatt hour, a four-person household with an average annual electricity consumption of 4,000 kWh will pay around 1,200.00 euros. A balcony power plant that generates around 250-300 kWh of solar power per year can save you around €80-90 per power plant. This amount is also reflected directly on your electricity bill – unlike a PV system that is fed into the public grid. In addition to the complicated billing for the feed-in based on the EEG, the prices for a kWh fed in are gradually falling. Since the electricity generated by the balcony power plant is consumed directly in the residential unit, you benefit from lower bills in the long term.
Easy installation – no electrician required!
The modular design, which does not need to be approved in advance, can be installed almost anywhere – on the balcony, on the roof or even in the garden. So you don’t just benefit from a balcony power plant as a homeowner. As a tenant or allotment garden owner, you can also produce your own electricity. The simple installation even allows you to put the miniature power plant into operation without having to consult an electrician.
From the panel into the house network – how a balcony power plant is constructed
The balcony power plants consist of various modules and inverters with which you can cover your own consumption for your standby devices with specially generated solar power.
Components of a balcony power plant
The power plants consist of compact plug-in solar modules that are connected to an inverter such as the APSYSTEMS EZ1-M from AP systems and have a protective contact plug. You simply plug them into the socket – and the electricity produced flows into your home network.Depending on the inverter, you are also able to integrate your balcony power plant into your smart home. They ensure seamless monitoring of your yields in real time and also allow you to visualise and analyse your yields graphically.
Devices like the HO HMS-800W-2T from Hoymiles also allow you to connect multiple panels to one inverter. This makes larger balcony power plants made up of several PV modules possible. Instead of having to connect each solar module individually to a socket, you connect the modules to each other and just plug one of them into a socket. Depending on the manufacturer, up to four individual power plants can be operated with one power connection.
You are absolutely independent when choosing the location. The balcony power plants can not only be attached to the balcony grille, but also to the house facade, on the house or garage roof as well as on the terrace or in the garden. You should just make sure that a permanently installed socket is within reach of the cable – extension cables and multiple sockets are strongly discouraged.
Requirements for the home network
Balcony power plants are geared to the general standard of German power grids (230 volts; 50/60 Hz). But even if the installation is easy to carry out, it makes sense to protect yourself in advance. On the one hand, you should make sure that your home electrical system complies with accident prevention regulations. If it is necessary to configure lines, you should always consult specialist personnel.
On the other hand, it is important to ensure that all components correspond to the protection classes for an outdoor structure. Certification according to IP67 is particularly important here. This certificate confirms that your device is dust and splashproof. This ensures trouble-free operation of your balcony power plant.
What should you take into account?
Since the electricity generated is only fed directly into the home network, you cannot store your electricity in lithium-ion batteries. If you want to unplug your power plant, make sure that there is no longer any power.
Conclusion
With balcony power plants, you not only make a sustainable contribution to the energy transition, you also save money. The power plants, consisting of PV modules, inverters and the necessary connections, are easy to install and can be used for the house network as well as for individual residential units and garden plots. You can find the corresponding components for your balcony power plant in the Reichelt online shop.
Images: Adobe Stock
