Energy prices have risen sharply this year. Despite measures, there is still no relief in sight. More and more people are therefore interested in their options for generating electricity on the balcony. These options also work in cities.
Since the rising energy prices during the ongoing energy crisis, more and more people are interested in generating electricity at home. While there are numerous options available for rural areas, the options in cities are limited. With these options you can also generate electricity on the balcony in cities .
THE CLASSIC: THE BALCONY POWER PLANT
Due to the higher prices for electricity and gas , balcony power plants were particularly popular this year. The mini-PV systems can be registered faster with a suitable inverter with a maximum output power of 600 watts thanks to a simplified procedure in Germany. Compared to large rooftop PV systems , the cost is much lower, making it affordable for many households. The savings can still be high, especially if as much of the self-produced electricity as possible is used. Unlike many larger plants, balcony power plants offeralso the option to be erected without having to make costly changes to the building structure. Therefore, at most, landlords need permission to install a Wieland socket, but not permission to set up the balcony power plant.
The sunnier the location of your mini PV system, the higher the yield and thus your annual savings. Under good conditions, the acquisition costs for a mini PV system can be amortized in around 5 to 10 years. When purchasing a balcony power plant, you should expect costs of around 500 to 1,000 euros . The costs depend on which models and module performance you choose. However, profitable use presupposes that sufficient sunlight hits the solar modules. This is often not the case, especially in the urban canyons of big cities. However, those whose balcony is in the shadow of other buildings can resort to other options.
GENERATING ELECTRICITY ON THE BALCONY: O-WIND, THE OMNIDIRECTIONAL WIND TURBINE
Omnidirectional wind turbines are wind turbines that can handle wind flows from all directions. O-Wind represents the first truly omnidirectional wind turbine worldwide. This means that the wind turbines can be used not only in rural areas, but also directly in cities. O-Wind is a prototype from the company O-Innovations that does not require any rotor blades at all. The design of the windmill is remotely similar to that of Japanese lanterns, so that the windmill is also visually appealing.
In order to suit different building types and demands, O-Innovations wants to bring O-Wind to the market in different sizes. Individual wind turbines can be connected directly to the grid or used as stand-alone battery units. This property could even make the prototypes interesting for use with power stations. Similar to how small power stations can be charged by solar modules today, one of the wind turbines could be connected to it in the future. Since O-Wind is still a prototype, the exact release date of the wind turbines in Germany and the introductory price are still unknown.
SOLAR FOIL AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO GLASS MODULES
Balcony power plants with glass modules are not the only way to generate electricity on the balcony surface. Solar foil gives you access to additional areas of electricity generation that you would not be able to access with a balcony power plant. These include canopies with low load-bearing capacity, such as an awning that already exists on the balcony, thin corrugated iron sheds, facades or even uneven surfaces. solar foilcan be produced as roll goods and glued to the desired substrate like any form of film. It is crucial for ideal use that the surface is free of grease. The straighter this turns out, the higher the yield of the solar film. Since solar film is also available in transparent versions, entire window fronts can also be used to generate electricity .
Compared to the purchase price of a balcony power plant, solar foil is particularly cheap. However, at an average of 7 to 10 percent, the efficiency of the foil is lower than the efficiency of classic PV modules . Under laboratory conditions, however, solar films have already been able to achieve efficiencies of up to 20 percent. For the use of solar foil, the available area that you can fall back on is therefore decisive. A CIGS photovoltaic film, for example, can already achieve 1 kilowatt peak output with an area of 10 square meters. So far, solar foils have primarily been used in pilot projects, but with the further development of the technology, untapped potential could also be exploited in the future.
