Hello everyone,
A brief background: I own a fully renovated historic building from 1920. The garage is a prefabricated unit, located separately across the street from the property, see image.
Since I have a plug-in hybrid vehicle and plan to renovate the garage (adding an electric gate opener, lighting), I will need electricity there in the future.
My question now is what would be more cost-effective or practical—or even possible: a house connection or a solar power system?
I requested a quote for an off-grid system—15kWh (5,300 Wh) storage capacity, 1kWp photovoltaic panels, 3kW inverter. The total cost for the complete system is about 5,000 euros. The system is from the following provider (although not the exact model, as it was specially configured for me with a discount): actually there is a link here, but the terms and conditions prohibit this!
The batteries used are: actually there is a link here, but the terms and conditions prohibit this!
The car’s battery pack has 4kWh (1,400 Wh), but the seller recommended a 15kWh (5,300 Wh) storage capacity to charge the car, as battery capacity is reduced in winter.
Solar power system:
Advantages: free electricity, environmentally friendly driving.
Disadvantages: high initial investment (?), possibly insufficient electricity in winter (although I use the car less during winter, the additional battery pack shuts off below -5°C (23°F) for safety reasons, and the combustion engine is primarily used for heating), aging and possibly weaker batteries in winter.
House connection:
Advantages: independent, simpler, no maintenance, potentially cheaper?
Disadvantages: Is it even possible?, excavation work, non-renewable electricity, ongoing costs, electricity costs per kWh, must be installed officially by a qualified professional, permits and bureaucracy.
My question is whether anyone has experience with this topic, especially whether a separate house connection is even feasible for a freestanding garage like this, and if so, what approximate costs I should expect.
My gut feeling is that the photovoltaic system would pay off after just a few years.
Thank you very much!
Best regards,
Markus
We moderators also have nothing else to do than to correct T&C violations. Regards, Yvonne
A brief background: I own a fully renovated historic building from 1920. The garage is a prefabricated unit, located separately across the street from the property, see image.
Since I have a plug-in hybrid vehicle and plan to renovate the garage (adding an electric gate opener, lighting), I will need electricity there in the future.
My question now is what would be more cost-effective or practical—or even possible: a house connection or a solar power system?
I requested a quote for an off-grid system—15kWh (5,300 Wh) storage capacity, 1kWp photovoltaic panels, 3kW inverter. The total cost for the complete system is about 5,000 euros. The system is from the following provider (although not the exact model, as it was specially configured for me with a discount): actually there is a link here, but the terms and conditions prohibit this!
The batteries used are: actually there is a link here, but the terms and conditions prohibit this!
The car’s battery pack has 4kWh (1,400 Wh), but the seller recommended a 15kWh (5,300 Wh) storage capacity to charge the car, as battery capacity is reduced in winter.
Solar power system:
Advantages: free electricity, environmentally friendly driving.
Disadvantages: high initial investment (?), possibly insufficient electricity in winter (although I use the car less during winter, the additional battery pack shuts off below -5°C (23°F) for safety reasons, and the combustion engine is primarily used for heating), aging and possibly weaker batteries in winter.
House connection:
Advantages: independent, simpler, no maintenance, potentially cheaper?
Disadvantages: Is it even possible?, excavation work, non-renewable electricity, ongoing costs, electricity costs per kWh, must be installed officially by a qualified professional, permits and bureaucracy.
My question is whether anyone has experience with this topic, especially whether a separate house connection is even feasible for a freestanding garage like this, and if so, what approximate costs I should expect.
My gut feeling is that the photovoltaic system would pay off after just a few years.
Thank you very much!
Best regards,
Markus
We moderators also have nothing else to do than to correct T&C violations. Regards, Yvonne
Personally, I believe this investment will not be cost-effective.
Point 1: The installation costs.
Point 2: It is questionable whether enough electricity is actually produced in winter to properly charge the car/batteries. For example, we have a 5.5 kWp system on our house. In December, the system produced only minimal amounts – the feed-in was just over 30 kWh, and self-consumption was also low. This is not an isolated case in winter, as shown by the fact that in January, we only reached about 90 kWh.
Point 3: As far as I know, prefabricated garages have a limited lifespan. Could it happen that the garage might need to be demolished before the system even starts to pay off in any way?
Do you have the option to use a parking space directly at the house?
Then install the system on the house (ideally increasing the system size), charge your car at the house, and use any remaining power for your home or feed it back into the grid.
You really need to have a strong environmental commitment for a photovoltaic system on the garage.
Regarding electric cars and photovoltaics, maybe @Elina can provide some advice.
Point 1: The installation costs.
Point 2: It is questionable whether enough electricity is actually produced in winter to properly charge the car/batteries. For example, we have a 5.5 kWp system on our house. In December, the system produced only minimal amounts – the feed-in was just over 30 kWh, and self-consumption was also low. This is not an isolated case in winter, as shown by the fact that in January, we only reached about 90 kWh.
Point 3: As far as I know, prefabricated garages have a limited lifespan. Could it happen that the garage might need to be demolished before the system even starts to pay off in any way?
Do you have the option to use a parking space directly at the house?
Then install the system on the house (ideally increasing the system size), charge your car at the house, and use any remaining power for your home or feed it back into the grid.
You really need to have a strong environmental commitment for a photovoltaic system on the garage.
Regarding electric cars and photovoltaics, maybe @Elina can provide some advice.
wrobel schrieb:
If the top of the image is north, I would first consider the shading.
You are absolutely right. I hadn’t paid any attention to that at all.
T
toxicmolotof1 Mar 2015 10:01Olli, and how exactly do you prove that with which calculation?
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