Cheap power for non-homeowners

For people renting apartments, solar panels on the balcony offer a viable source of green energy.

HOME owners have been using solar power on the roof for a long time. But for people renting, they usually have no say in the matter.

However, now there are miniature solar power units that can be installed on a balcony, for instance. They are easy to install and don’t need much space – and if you move, you can take them with you.

Technically, the mini solar panels work the same way as the bigger versions for the roof.

“The solar module turns the sun’s energy into direct current,” explains Marcus Vietzke from the German Solar Energy Association.

The direct current is then transformed into alternating current in a power inverter, and from there it runs into the flat. Any electronic devices you then plug in are mainly using solar power. They will only start going back to the other power source if the solar power runs out.

“While the modules on the roof

can create several thousand kilowatt hours, solar units on a balcony only create a few hundred kwh,” says Martin Brandis, who is an energy consultant for consumers. This is partly due to the angle

in which the panels can be installed on the roof – but also because there’s more space for more panels up there.

“Standard solar units for the roof start at 15 modules, but there

are often more,” says solar economist Carsten Koernig. A normal photovoltaic system for a balcony, however, only has one or two modules. These systems can’t possibly create enough energy to provide a household entirely – Koernig estimates they could only produce enough electricity to cover 20% of the average electricity use per household in a country like Germany.

Both Vietzke and Koernig recommend that homeowners always go for the bigger systems if they can. But for people renting, the smaller solar power units can be a great alternative. All you need to do is plug in the devices, as they are allowed to be attached to any normal power circuit. They can easily be uninstalled again when you move.

The differences between the mini-photovoltaic systems and their bigger brothers don’t stop at performance. The smaller rooftop versions are also significantly cheaper, starting at around US$6,000 (RM24,854).

Meanwhile, plug-in solar units of good quality that include a module, a power inverter, a mount and a connection cable start at around US$500 (RM2,071), says Vietzke.

— Bundesverband solarwirtschaft/dpa The classic photovoltaic systems on home rooftops have many more modules than the newer smaller countertops made for apartment balconies.

— Indielux/dpa In theory, anyone with a balcony can set up a mini-photovoltaic system at home to start harvesting the sun’s energy. But don’t expect much more than 20% of an average household’s energy consumption.

— Infinitum energie/dpa Installing a mini-photovoltaic system at home isn’t hard. Basically they just need to be plugged into a socket.