ᐅ Photovoltaic Systems: What Has Been Your Experience?

Created on: 9 May 2018 15:26
B
Bien-Zenker
Living off the grid. Never paying for electricity and rent again. This is the dream of many of our homebuilding families. We always recommend including a photovoltaic system. Clean electricity is definitely a great benefit—especially when it is self-generated.

Of course, adding a photovoltaic system increases the overall budget for your home construction project. In the long run, it pays off. But is that really the case?

What has been your experience? Are you truly living energy self-sufficient?
C
cybergnom
10 May 2018 12:37
I can’t include the €600 savings in the calculation. At the end of the year, I receive a bill and have to pay €500, not get €100 back. It doesn’t matter how much I supposedly saved somewhere else. There is no profit to speak of...

You can also calculate it more optimistically:
Energy costs without photovoltaic system: 8,000 kWh x €0.25 = €2,000
Energy costs with photovoltaic system: €1,400 - €900 = €500
Savings: €1,500 per year

But that doesn’t change the fact that you are still far from energy self-sufficiency.
Mycraft10 May 2018 12:38
No matter how you look at it, photovoltaic systems are profitable... for the seller/installer of the system.

That doesn’t mean I’m against it. At some point, I’ll have one installed on my roof too. But not for the purpose of achieving some kind of self-sufficiency.
N
Nordlys
10 May 2018 12:58
And what isn’t there can’t break, doesn’t need maintenance or monitoring. That’s why they say in maritime circles: make it simple, make it rugged, and make it reliable.
M
Mastermind1
10 May 2018 13:04
What does this have to do with the post and the question?

With a good calculation, even if an inverter fails and there is an annual insurance against damage, a return of 3% can easily be achieved.

You could also invest the money in a fixed-term deposit at 0%, minus inflation rate ;-)
Keep IT simple is, well... :-)
Nordlys schrieb:
And what isn’t there can’t break down, doesn’t need maintenance or monitoring. That’s why they say in shipping: make it simple, make it rugged, and reliable.
A
Alex85
10 May 2018 13:30
cybergnom schrieb:
I can’t include the 600€ savings in the calculation. At the end of the year, I receive a bill and have to pay 500€, I don’t get 100€ back. It doesn’t matter how much I saved somewhere at some point. There’s no profit to speak of...

Of course you can. The 600€ is real. Without the solar panels, he would have to pay 600€ more on his electricity bill.
M
Mastermind1
10 May 2018 15:35
Alex85 schrieb:
He saves €600 through self-consumption and receives €900 per year from feed-in tariffs. He spends €1,400 on electricity consumption. That results in a €100 net gain.

However, this calculation is purely optimistic, as is the whole topic of energy self-sufficiency in general.

The only decisive factor is the return on the photovoltaic system itself, which can easily reach 5%. The profit is actually made in the purchase phase, meaning you buy from a specialist rather than from the local electrician (or home builder or utility company).
Yes, purchasing the system is the key to either a profitable/effective installation or an overpriced one. It’s advisable to seek advice in the photovoltaic forum. There, the offers you have can be evaluated—both technically and in terms of price.

With my installed 9.85 kWp system, I was able to save almost €600 per kWp. That’s nearly €6,000 saved! First, you have to earn that back.

Technically, there is also a lot that can go wrong with a photovoltaic system.

But the same applies to house construction in general :-)

It’s about separating the wheat from the chaff.