Waldo JaquithJul 30, 2024
This is brilliant. In Germany, it's popular to buy €200 solar panel / inverter combos that plug into a nearby power outlet, feeding the power back into the grid, running their power meter backwards. "Installation" just takes a minute. Folks in apartments simply hang them from their balcony “like wet laundry.” Over 500,000 have been sold. With power at €0.25/kWh, the payback time is about 27 months—after that, it's just free electricity. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/29/business/germany-solar-panels-climate-change.html?unlocked_article_code=1._E0.zL83.1FCeoxOrFDBY&smid=url-share
Germans Combat Climate Change With D.I.Y. Solar Panels

Plug-and-play solar panels are popping up in yards and on balcony railings across Germany, driven by bargain prices and looser regulations.

The New York Times
Show threadRichard "RichiH" Hartmann

@waldoj not quite. It will usually take you an hour or so in the trivial case of putting it into the balcony. That will give you really bad returns though.

Installing the panels on the outside requires proper installation, wind load consideration, etc. An average glass panel weighs 35kg, which can easily kill or maim if it falls on someone.

The incoming new law will privilege these installations so landlords can't do much any more as long as they are installed properly.

Jul 30, 2024 at 7:13amWeb
Show threadRichard "RichiH" HartmannJul 30, 2024

@waldoj importantly, proper installation won't require professional installers. The point is currently fuzzy in law, hopefully it will be tightened, or else some courts will need to clarify.

I expect newer sets on the market to come with certificates for X amount of load, and that load being higher than some same worst case. That would allow for layperson installation and high confidence in things being proper.