K
KellerMaus10 Mar 2025 03:01Hello everyone,
we are very interested in photovoltaic systems. Our idea is to start small with a balcony power system, but definitely with the option to expand to the roof later and possibly add an electric heating element for hot water as well.
What we are mainly looking for is a balcony power system with storage, including a backup power function. It seems a bit impractical to buy everything now just for the balcony system and then possibly have to replace many components later if we decide to install additional panels on the roof.
Best regards
we are very interested in photovoltaic systems. Our idea is to start small with a balcony power system, but definitely with the option to expand to the roof later and possibly add an electric heating element for hot water as well.
What we are mainly looking for is a balcony power system with storage, including a backup power function. It seems a bit impractical to buy everything now just for the balcony system and then possibly have to replace many components later if we decide to install additional panels on the roof.
Best regards
Skip the battery and especially the heating element for hot water. With a small solar power system on the balcony, there’s no surplus power left for the heating element, and installing a battery is more complicated in terms of registration. I would proceed as follows:
1. Buy a small solar power system for the balcony.
2. If you like it, expand to the roof. The balcony system doesn’t need to be removed and can be re-registered so you can also receive feed-in tariffs for it.
3. Possibly buy a battery later. Backup power only makes things unnecessarily expensive. You would need to have switching devices installed in the distribution board to isolate your home network from the utility grid. When was the last time you had a power outage?
4. Erase the heating element from your plans.
1. Buy a small solar power system for the balcony.
2. If you like it, expand to the roof. The balcony system doesn’t need to be removed and can be re-registered so you can also receive feed-in tariffs for it.
3. Possibly buy a battery later. Backup power only makes things unnecessarily expensive. You would need to have switching devices installed in the distribution board to isolate your home network from the utility grid. When was the last time you had a power outage?
4. Erase the heating element from your plans.
J
Jesse Custer10 Mar 2025 07:46I would simply separate it in my mind:
- A balcony solar power system with a small battery as a buffer – it’s not too expensive and can be quite practical at times. You can almost "remove" the battery to use it separately as a power supply in the garage or while camping.
- A solar power system on the roof, properly planned and implemented according to your own preferences (with or without a battery, with or without backup power).
- A balcony solar power system with a small battery as a buffer – it’s not too expensive and can be quite practical at times. You can almost "remove" the battery to use it separately as a power supply in the garage or while camping.
- A solar power system on the roof, properly planned and implemented according to your own preferences (with or without a battery, with or without backup power).
N
nordanney10 Mar 2025 08:44KellerMaus schrieb:
What this is really about is a balcony solar system with storage including backup power functionality. It seems rather pointless to us to purchase everything now for the balcony system and then possibly have to replace a lot of it later if additional panels are installed on the roof afterward. In that case, you should either plan the balcony solar system on a small scale (no storage, no backup power function) or not do it at all.
Because apart from the panel, you won’t be able to reuse anything for a proper system later. The inverter is too small, and the storage will be too as well.
A balcony solar system is definitely useful for covering basic electricity needs, with or without storage. It pays off relatively quickly due to the high share of electric vehicle (EV) usage—about 2 to 3 years. Backup power at this size is basically insignificant for a house but might work for camping.
A large photovoltaic system has only become sensible with battery storage since the new legally enabled shutdown option came into effect in February, in my opinion. We started operating our system just before this change, without storage. If battery prices drop a bit more or electricity prices rise, we will most likely add storage later. If you plan to do this soon, I would recommend skipping the balcony solar system.
A large photovoltaic system has only become sensible with battery storage since the new legally enabled shutdown option came into effect in February, in my opinion. We started operating our system just before this change, without storage. If battery prices drop a bit more or electricity prices rise, we will most likely add storage later. If you plan to do this soon, I would recommend skipping the balcony solar system.
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