<
https://grist.org/buildings/how-germany-outfitted-half-a-million-balconies-with-solar-panels/>
"Matthias Weyland loves having people ask about his balcony. A pair of solar
panels hang from the railing, casting a sheen of dark blue against the red
brick of his apartment building. They’re connected to a microinverter plugged
into a wall outlet and feed electricity directly into his home. On a sunny day,
he’ll produce enough power to supply up to half of his family’s daily needs.
Weyland is one of hundreds of thousands of people across Germany who have
embraced
balkonkraftwerk, or balcony solar. Unlike rooftop photovoltaics, the
technology doesn’t require users to own their home, and anyone capable of
plugging in an appliance can set it up. Most people buy the simple hardware
online or at the supermarket for about $550 (500 euros.)
The ease of installation and a potent mix of government policies to encourage
adoption has made the wee arrays hugely popular. More than 550,000 of them dot
cities and towns nationwide, half of which were installed in 2023. During the
first half of this year, Germany added 200 megawatts of balcony solar.
Regulations limit each system to just 800 watts, enough to power a small fridge
or charge a laptop, but the cumulative effect is nudging the country toward its
clean energy goals while giving apartment dwellers, who make up more than half
of the population, an easy way to save money and address the climate crisis.
“I love the feeling of charging the bike when the sun is shining, or having the
washing machine run when the sun is shining, and to know that it comes directly
from the sun,” Weyland said. “It’s a small step you can take as a tenant” and
an act of “self-efficacy, to not just sit and wait until the climate crisis
gets worse.”"
Via Christoph S, who wrote "Yep, it’s really cheap and a good idea. You can get
it for like 500 to 600 Euros in the supermarket"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
