Solar devices for rented apartments: produce your own electricity with the balcony power plant

When you look at the landscape in the neighborhood, you’ll notice that more and more people are using solar panels on their roofs. Property owners want to save on electricity costs and do something good for the environment. What was previously only possible for people who own their own property can now also be made their own by people in a rented apartment with a balcony. According to an NDR article, these so-called balcony power plants or plug-in solar devices are, from a technical point of view, electrical household appliances. These can also be put into operation by non-professionals with little effort.

Saving with a balcony power plant?

In contrast to solar systems on house roofs, plug-in solar devices are only intended for personal use. The solar devices, which usually consist of one or two solar modules, are commercially available with an inverter. This ensures that the direct current produced can be converted into usable alternating current after successful commissioning. When the solar device is connected to the socket, the household appliances then first of all use the electricity fed in. According to the NDR, a south-facing solar device with an output of 300 watts can supply 200 kilowatt hours of electricity per year. A household can therefore produce around 10 to 20 percent of its electricity on its own and thus achieve annual savings of 60 euros at an average electricity price of 30 cents.

safety first

According to the online portal EFAHRER, the landlord must always be contacted in the event of structural changes. The network operator and the Federal Network Agency must also be informed of the use. According to reports by the NDR, since 2019 laypeople can also commission a solar device with up to 600 watts. It should also be noted that the electricity meter must not rotate backwards. Although this scenario is rather unlikely due to the small amount of electricity fed in, it can be prevented by using an electricity meter with a backstop. Safety also plays an important role. So you should always only have one solar device in operation and refrain from using a multiple socket. The seal of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Sonnenenergie eV also defines extensive safety standards.

Tim Adler / Editor finanzen.net

Image sources: Johannes Kornelius / Shutterstock.com