Submitted 3 days ago by silence7@slrpnk.net to energy@slrpnk.net
Balcony solar promises to cut energy costs and grid reliance for renters and apartment-dwellers. I did a trial run at my home.
Mostly notable because the Washington Post is a US publication, and there is approximately zero balcony solar in the US.
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A long time ago I saw a thing about how foolish the creator thought it was people had stopped using awnings. They keep out the worst of the sun in summer and let it in during winter, when the sun is at a lower angle. My immediate next thought was, ‘why don’t we have solar panel awnings?’ They don’t require making holes in your roof you then have to worry about leaking. They can be mounted at the same angle as the roof so they wouldn’t be less efficient in many places. They could be added like eaves and keep the sun from heating the walls too, a huge benefit in hot areas.
The thing you saw: www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhbDfi7Ee7k
I basically did that exact thing, putting two PV modules on the glass roof of our patio. Works quite well ☀️
Where do you buy equipment for this kind of thing though?
I could buy a bunch of Jackery panels and batteries but isn’t that pretty expensive for the capacity you get? They are easy to use but not really designed for this, I doubt batteries for residential use are drop tested for example.
2kWh £1400, +2kWh at £900 each up to 12kWh. Solar panels: 200w £400 each, (up to 6? - £2400 for 1.2kW)
So 1.2kW solar with 6kWh storage would be £5.6k. Could be worth it for building your own off grid cabin but not sure how reasonable it would be for a regular household.
In countries where it is widespread, there are dedicated panels sold for this, rather than ones designed for off-grid emergency batteries. They’re reasonable compared with the cost of electricity.
This is a great article in that it explains it well. This has been talked about for awhile and every article I have seen required some conversation to get how the system worked in the comments. Its nice to see one spell it out (mainly that yes it can use a regular outlet and that it has some sort of internal safety mechanism to not push energy to the grid). States allowing them is a great first step but unless they pass a right to have one I bet a lot of condos and apartments won't allow them.
Rip my north-facing apartment
Concave1142@lemmy.world 3 days ago
Last I heard, Utah was the only US state that allows for this. I’ve got a perfect south facing side of the house that I could easily put some panels just outside the windows to help offset my power bill that I’d love to use.
phneutral@feddit.org 3 days ago
Quote from OPs article. Emphasis is mine.
scytale@piefed.zip 3 days ago
My backyard faces west and gets the full brunt of the sun the entire afternoon. I already have panels on the roof. If I could, I’d fill half my backyard with plug-in planels.