World News

22096 readers

99 users here now

Breaking news from around the world.

News that is American but has an international facet may also be posted here.

Guidelines for submissions:

Where possible, post the original source of information.
- If there is a paywall, you can use alternative sources or provide an archive.today, 12ft.io, etc. link in the body.
Do not editorialize titles. Preserve the original title when possible; edits for clarity are fine.
Do not post ragebait or shock stories. These will be removed.
Do not post tabloid or blogspam stories. These will be removed.
Social media should be a source of last resort.

These guidelines will be enforced on a know-it-when-I-see-it basis.

For US News, see the US News community.

This community's icon was made by Aaron Schneider, under the CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.

founded 2 years ago

MODERATORS

‘If 1.5m Germans have them there must be something in it’: how balcony solar is taking off (www.theguardian.com)

submitted 6 days ago by alyaza@beehaw.org to c/news@beehaw.org

57 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Manufacturers say that installing a couple of 300-watt panels will give a saving of up to 30% on a typical household’s electricity bill. With an outlay of €400-800 and with no installation cost, the panels could pay for themselves within six years.

In Spain, where two thirds of the population live in apartments and installing panels on the roof requires the consent of a majority of the building’s residents, this DIY technology has obvious advantages.

With solar balconies, no such consent is required unless the facade is listed as of historic interest or there is a specific prohibition from the residents’ association or the local authority. Furthermore, as long as the installation does not exceed 800 watts it doesn’t require certification, which can cost from €100 to €400, depending on the area.

As with all solar power systems, balcony power only works in daylight and a battery storage system can add at least €1,000 to the installation cost.

Vernetta says the vertical surface area of cities is far greater than that of the roofs and that, in Spain, balcony panels benefit more than roof panels from the low winter sun.

Cities such as Helsinki are already experimenting with buildings with solar panel cladding.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] Powderhorn@beehaw.org 3 points 6 days ago (1 children)

We agree for the most part ... people unaware of how an off-grid DC setup operates fixate on the parts least likely to fail (that was me, as well, when I first started looking into things). MPPT, fuse panels and various step converters should be the anticipated replacements. They're inexpensive compared to wholesale PV and LFP upgrades.

[–] HumanPenguin@feddit.uk 1 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Grins, actually My MPPT cost more than the panels. £70 for each panel plus £33 shipping the pair. The 2 30a MPPTs £90 each.

But when fitting to a house it's likely to be mounting by a pro that is the bigger cost. So yeah, way easier to replace the MPPTs etc then climb on a roof.

Fortunately, with a narrow boat a can do it all myself with just the risk of wet feet ;)

[–] Powderhorn@beehaw.org 3 points 6 days ago (1 children)

I'm in that in-between use where it's a tool van. So I have acreage for solar on the roof and 1200W. I negotiated a remarkably reasonable rate with myself for the install.

[–] HumanPenguin@feddit.uk 1 points 5 days ago

Really great day. When you can screw yourself.