World News

22095 readers

152 users here now

Breaking news from around the world.

News that is American but has an international facet may also be posted here.

Guidelines for submissions:

Where possible, post the original source of information.
- If there is a paywall, you can use alternative sources or provide an archive.today, 12ft.io, etc. link in the body.
Do not editorialize titles. Preserve the original title when possible; edits for clarity are fine.
Do not post ragebait or shock stories. These will be removed.
Do not post tabloid or blogspam stories. These will be removed.
Social media should be a source of last resort.

These guidelines will be enforced on a know-it-when-I-see-it basis.

For US News, see the US News community.

This community's icon was made by Aaron Schneider, under the CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.

founded 2 years ago

MODERATORS

[email protected]

‘If 1.5m Germans have them there must be something in it’: how balcony solar is taking off (www.theguardian.com)

submitted 1 day ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

40 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Manufacturers say that installing a couple of 300-watt panels will give a saving of up to 30% on a typical household’s electricity bill. With an outlay of €400-800 and with no installation cost, the panels could pay for themselves within six years.

In Spain, where two thirds of the population live in apartments and installing panels on the roof requires the consent of a majority of the building’s residents, this DIY technology has obvious advantages.

With solar balconies, no such consent is required unless the facade is listed as of historic interest or there is a specific prohibition from the residents’ association or the local authority. Furthermore, as long as the installation does not exceed 800 watts it doesn’t require certification, which can cost from €100 to €400, depending on the area.

As with all solar power systems, balcony power only works in daylight and a battery storage system can add at least €1,000 to the installation cost.

Vernetta says the vertical surface area of cities is far greater than that of the roofs and that, in Spain, balcony panels benefit more than roof panels from the low winter sun.

Cities such as Helsinki are already experimenting with buildings with solar panel cladding.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

Because back feeding the grid means the power company can’t shut the power down to work on a line. It requires coordinating everyone that might have something like this to unplug it. Rooftop installations add controllers to only supply when grid power is on, or to disconnect the house from the grid. Same thing when you add a generator inlet you’re supposed to also add a grid disconnect.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 55 minutes ago (1 children)

You're sure these kits in Germany dont have that check in place? If I know Germans, it does.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 24 minutes ago

I live in Germany, and I can assure you no such check exists. I have one of these systems (although I don't plug mine into the grid, I store power in batteries and use it)

I'm not sure how the electricians protect themselves, I can only assume that they measure for voltage on the line after disconnecting from the grid, and then search for the culprits. Generally speaking any service providers inform residents well beforehand about outages, and there might be fines if you hold back work? I haven't looked into it, perhaps someone else has more info.