Matthias Weyland likes people to ask about his balcony. A pair of solar panels hang from the railing, casting a glow of dark blue against the red brick of his apartment building. They are connected to a micro-inverter plugged into a wall outlet and feed electricity directly into his home. On a sunny day, he will 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 balcony strength workor balcony solar power. Other than photovoltaic roofthe technology doesn’t require users to own their home, and anyone capable of plugging in a device can set it up. Most people buy the simple hardware online or at the supermarket for around $550 (500 euros.)
The ease of installation and a powerful mix of government policies to encourage adoption have made the small arrays very popular. More than 550,000 of them dot cities and towns nationwide, half of which will be installed by 2023. During the first half of this year, Germany added 200 megawatts of balcony solar power. Regulations limit each system to just 800 watts, enough to power a mini-fridge or charge a laptop, but the cumulative effect is pushing the country toward its clean energy goals while giving apartment dwellers, consisting of 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 running the washing machine when the sun is shining, and knowing that it’s coming directly from the sun,” Weyland said. “It’s a small step you can take as a renter” and an act of “self-efficacy, not just sitting around and waiting for the climate crisis to get worse.”
Balcony solar emerged about a decade ago, but only caught on four or five years ago, thanks in part to years of lobbying by solar and clean energy advocates for policy to promote its adoption. The German government introduced the first technical regulations for plug-in solar devices in 2019, enabling balcony solar systems to use standard electrical plugs and feed into the grid. This led to an influx of plug-in devices and advocates to promote the technology.
The pandemic helped fuel the surge in popularity as people spent time at home and worked on DIY projects. More recently, the rising energy prices that followed Russia’s invasion from Ukraine has led more Germans to consider balcony solar power. “People just did anything they could to reduce their energy bills,” says Wolfgang Gründinger, who works with clean energy company Enpal.
Federal and local policymakers have redoubled their efforts to make the technology more accessible. In April, the government simplified permit and registration requirementsand in July federal lawmakers passed tenant protection which prevents landlords from arbitrarily blocking installations. Cities across Germany, including Berlin and Weyland’s home city of Kiel, offered millions of euros in subsidies to install balcony solar power.
Gründinger and experts at the German Solar Industry Association noted that the devices do not generate enough power to voltage the grid, and their standardized design and safety features make them smooth and easy to integrate.
Despite the hype, most users admit that balcony solar offers modest cost and energy savings. Weyland spent about $530 for his 600-watt capacity system. Although he is pleased with how his south-facing panels perform during balmy weather, such days are rare in northern Germany. He estimates that he will save about $100 in annual electricity costs and recoup his investment in about five years.
That’s pretty typical, although proponents of the technology say that a system’s efficiency — and thus the payback timeline — varies greatly depending on the number of panels, their location and orientation, and how much shade surrounds them. A household with a “relatively large well-positioned balcony system in a sunny, south-facing location” could produce 15 percent of its electricity with balcony solar, according to Peter Stratmannhead of renewable energy at the German Federal Network Agency, the country’s utility regulator.
While this may put a dent in a household’s utility bill, its impact on Germany’s consumption is much smaller. “Even if we attached panels to all eligible balconies across the country, we would still only meet 1 percent or less of our overall energy needs,” Stratmann said. Deutsche Welle.
So if balcony solar doesn’t generate a lot of power or save a lot of money, why are so many people flocking to it? Many of them like the idea of producing energy at home and gaining some independence from the grid. It also provides a tangible way to take climate action. “It makes the energy transition feel a little more concrete and not so abstract,” said Helena Holenweger of the nonprofit organization Deutsche Umwelthilfe, or Environmental Action Germany. About a year ago, she installed a balcony solar system on top of her garage. “You can literally do something about it.”
Holenweger and others who have tapped into the sun said balcony solar has led them to reevaluate their understanding of electricity use and take steps to reduce it. “For many people, energy is just something that comes out of your socket,” Holenweger said. “You never think about how it gets there or how it works.” The systems do not include battery storage, so the juice they generate must be used immediately, leading people to plan the best time to run the washing machine, for example, to ensure they are using renewable energy. In that way it becomes something of a game. Many balcony solar kits have an app to track daily energy generation, which has become a scorecard for many people. “They screenshot it, they send it to their Facebook groups, family WhatsApp groups. They are super proud,” said Gründinger.
Germany is unique in its rabid embrace of technology. Although it is increasingly popular in Austria, Netherlands, Franceand elsewhere in Europe, plug-in solar devices are not viable in the United States due to expensive permit requirements and other local regulations. In addition, most systems are designed according to European electrical standards, which make it incompatible with US power systems.
But even in Germany, balcony solar power still faces obstacles, including stiff resistance from landlords worried about electrical fires or put off by the aesthetics of the panels. Weyland sued his building’s property management company last year for what he called unreasonable requirements to install a system, including a formal inspection of the building’s electrical system. a court sided in October 2023but similar cases frequently arise.
Weyland hopes that as more people use balcony solar, that will soon change. Already, people in his life regularly ask him about his panels, and two friends are buying their own systems.
“So many people talk to me in our neighborhood and ask about the system when they see it,” Weyland said. “It’s kind of a snowball that keeps getting bigger and bigger.”
