Hello everyone,
I have now gathered several quotes for a photovoltaic system and have settled on a regional provider. They gave me the best overall impression and offered the fairest price with the best components. The 8 kW system with a 10 kW battery storage costs 17,500 euros. At first, that was more expensive than I expected when I started looking at this somewhat naively. By now, I have seen everything from 5 kW peak systems with 4 kW storage in a similar price range up to 10 kW with 10 kW storage for around 25,000 euros, a mix of regional and nationwide providers. So I think the price is reasonable. The 8 kW system is planned on the south side, and now there is an option to also install panels on a dormer facing north. That would bring the total to just over 11 kW for 21,000 euros. Do you think that is worth it? I am a bit hesitant to spend the additional 4,500 euros for electricity demand that I currently do not have (my current electricity consumption is about 2,500 kWh/year), and I also already have a small balcony system. I might replace my heating with a heat pump in the future, but that is not certain yet, and maybe someday an electric car will come, but that is not planned in the next few years. So my question is: would you recommend the smaller system or should I go for the larger one (especially since I have a few other projects where I could use the money)?
What is your opinion about the structural inspection? The quotes say there will be a visual inspection. I assume that will not hold up as a proper structural engineering report. On the other hand, my roof on the south side has almost a 40-degree pitch and was built in the mid-1990s, so hopefully it is strong enough. I don’t know anyone in my circle who has asked a structural engineer for this, but you never know. What do you think? On the north side, I actually feel it might be more critical—firstly, because snow tends to stay longer there (if it ever falls), and secondly because the dormer only has about a 15-degree pitch.
I look forward to your opinions. By the way, I live near the Swiss border, so prices are correspondingly higher here.
I have now gathered several quotes for a photovoltaic system and have settled on a regional provider. They gave me the best overall impression and offered the fairest price with the best components. The 8 kW system with a 10 kW battery storage costs 17,500 euros. At first, that was more expensive than I expected when I started looking at this somewhat naively. By now, I have seen everything from 5 kW peak systems with 4 kW storage in a similar price range up to 10 kW with 10 kW storage for around 25,000 euros, a mix of regional and nationwide providers. So I think the price is reasonable. The 8 kW system is planned on the south side, and now there is an option to also install panels on a dormer facing north. That would bring the total to just over 11 kW for 21,000 euros. Do you think that is worth it? I am a bit hesitant to spend the additional 4,500 euros for electricity demand that I currently do not have (my current electricity consumption is about 2,500 kWh/year), and I also already have a small balcony system. I might replace my heating with a heat pump in the future, but that is not certain yet, and maybe someday an electric car will come, but that is not planned in the next few years. So my question is: would you recommend the smaller system or should I go for the larger one (especially since I have a few other projects where I could use the money)?
What is your opinion about the structural inspection? The quotes say there will be a visual inspection. I assume that will not hold up as a proper structural engineering report. On the other hand, my roof on the south side has almost a 40-degree pitch and was built in the mid-1990s, so hopefully it is strong enough. I don’t know anyone in my circle who has asked a structural engineer for this, but you never know. What do you think? On the north side, I actually feel it might be more critical—firstly, because snow tends to stay longer there (if it ever falls), and secondly because the dormer only has about a 15-degree pitch.
I look forward to your opinions. By the way, I live near the Swiss border, so prices are correspondingly higher here.
So, here I am again. Unfortunately, I no longer have access to my account because my email address is no longer working. Never mind. I decided to go with the larger offer. I’m getting a discount of 1200 euros and then the extra costs for the additional 3.5 kW would be about 2300 euros. Overall, that’s still above my original plan, but I think it’s worth it when looking into the future. To reduce the cost a little more, I’m considering a) installing 2 fewer modules on the north side, which I think would lower the price by about 800 euros, but I would still have around 10.1 kW peak plus my 800 W from the small balcony solar system. Then, theoretically, I could also reduce the battery storage from 9 kWh to 6 kWh, which would save another 800 euros. However, I think the additional 3 kWh of storage for 800 euros is a good deal. This would make me more flexible in the future regarding dynamic electricity prices, which the system is already capable of handling.
What would you recommend?
A quick extra question: what do you think about pigeon protection for photovoltaic systems? Is it necessary?
What would you recommend?
A quick extra question: what do you think about pigeon protection for photovoltaic systems? Is it necessary?
You can safely ignore bird protection and focus on snow guards, dear Schneefanggitter—if you even have snow.
On the north side, it holds up well. I have a hip roof with a 24° pitch, and looking at the individual strings, the north side doesn’t need to hide. Currently, it produces 25% of the total output at 8 a.m.
Yesterday was a record day for me: I produced 70 kWh but unfortunately fed about 45 kWh back into the grid. There is still room for optimization here. For example, surplus charging of the electric car when it’s not present.
As for the battery, it is, of course, fully charged and lasts through the night; this will probably continue until December. Although in winter it also often reached full capacity. So it could be larger, or I could finally buy an electric car. But both cars we have are great, so a change is not worthwhile.
And have you asked for a quote in that other forum? Because 2,000 euros is definitely way too much.
On the north side, it holds up well. I have a hip roof with a 24° pitch, and looking at the individual strings, the north side doesn’t need to hide. Currently, it produces 25% of the total output at 8 a.m.
Yesterday was a record day for me: I produced 70 kWh but unfortunately fed about 45 kWh back into the grid. There is still room for optimization here. For example, surplus charging of the electric car when it’s not present.
As for the battery, it is, of course, fully charged and lasts through the night; this will probably continue until December. Although in winter it also often reached full capacity. So it could be larger, or I could finally buy an electric car. But both cars we have are great, so a change is not worthwhile.
And have you asked for a quote in that other forum? Because 2,000 euros is definitely way too much.
Yes, I would definitely include the north side, but possibly with two fewer modules than could theoretically fit. Even so, with the balcony solar system, I reach over 11 kWp.
Is it worth extending the warranty on the battery storage to 15 years?
In the end, I also had another offer that was significantly cheaper. However, the hardware was much simpler, and the layout was not very efficient. The south side wasn’t utilized at all. Ultimately, I chose the more expensive option, also because I’m doing it together with my neighbor, which allowed us to negotiate better pricing conditions.
Is it worth extending the warranty on the battery storage to 15 years?
In the end, I also had another offer that was significantly cheaper. However, the hardware was much simpler, and the layout was not very efficient. The south side wasn’t utilized at all. Ultimately, I chose the more expensive option, also because I’m doing it together with my neighbor, which allowed us to negotiate better pricing conditions.
M
MachsSelbst8 Apr 2026 11:09"Profitable" in the sense of breaking even and actually making money is hardly achievable anyway. You pay around 20,000 EUR, realistically save maybe 1,500 kWh per year, and feed the remaining 8,500 kWh into the grid at 6.73 cents per kWh because the system is over 10 kWp 😉 For systems under 10 kWp, the feed-in tariff is 7.78 cents per kWh. That alone is an argument for the smaller system.
That adds up to about 1,000 EUR per year, so after 20 years you would have recouped your investment, provided you don’t take out a loan.
Whether a few kWh on the north side are worth over 2,000 EUR to you is something you need to decide. Whether a larger battery storage is more valuable to you is also your choice. You consume just under 7 kWh per day, so what do you want to do with a 9 kWh battery?
You have to see the added value here... the north side generates at best 25% of the output but costs you just as much as a module installed on the south side.
Go with the solution of 8 kWp and a 6 kWh battery. This is the option with the best cost-benefit ratio, also considering the feed-in tariff, which still exists at the moment.
Don’t listen to the people here who want to cover their entire roof... clearly, money is no object for them, as it apparently is for you.
That adds up to about 1,000 EUR per year, so after 20 years you would have recouped your investment, provided you don’t take out a loan.
Whether a few kWh on the north side are worth over 2,000 EUR to you is something you need to decide. Whether a larger battery storage is more valuable to you is also your choice. You consume just under 7 kWh per day, so what do you want to do with a 9 kWh battery?
You have to see the added value here... the north side generates at best 25% of the output but costs you just as much as a module installed on the south side.
Go with the solution of 8 kWp and a 6 kWh battery. This is the option with the best cost-benefit ratio, also considering the feed-in tariff, which still exists at the moment.
Don’t listen to the people here who want to cover their entire roof... clearly, money is no object for them, as it apparently is for you.
MachsSelbst schrieb:
Whether a few kilowatt-hours on the north side are worth over 2,000 EUR to you is something you have to decide. Whether a larger battery storage is more valuable to you is also your choice. You consume nearly 7 kWh per day, so what would you do with a 9 kWh battery? You are forgetting that currently there is still a heat pump installed, probably no electric car yet, and I see both of these being added in the very near future.
M
MachsSelbst8 Apr 2026 14:55HubiTrubi40 schrieb:
I am possibly planning to replace my heating system with a heat pump, but it’s not certain yet, and maybe an electric car will come at some point. However, that is not planned for the next few years. I don’t see how you can conclude “in the very near future” from this.
Aside from that... the electric car is not there during the weekdays, and whether you have 6 or 9 kWh in the storage, accounting for charging losses, the car battery will effectively get 5 or 8 kWh usable charge. That difference corresponds to about 10 to 15 kilometers (6 to 9 miles). My long-term average with the ID.4 over nearly 70,000 km (43,500 miles) is 22.6 kWh/100 km (36.4 kWh/62 miles).
The heat pump is mainly needed in winter, when photovoltaic output is very low, so the battery storage won’t even get fully charged. On the north side, the output during the heating season is almost zero. With a 10 kWp system, even in the best southern orientation, you can expect only about 200 to 300 kWh (215 to 320 kWh) per month during the winter months.
Besides that, such a battery storage can be expanded later if you buy the right one.
Stick with that plan. If money is not abundant, skip the panels on the north side and choose the smaller battery; even 6 kWh (7.2 kWh) seems too large to me.
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