This is how much money I saved with my 600W solar system

In June 2021, I turned on my mini solar system, and since then, I produce energy with the help of the sun, which I use directly in my apartment, so I do not have to pay for it. In this article, I will tell you how much energy I have produced, used myself and therefore really saved in the past 12 months.

Mini Solar System: More Than One Year Balcony Power Plant

A mini solar system with electricity is an easy way to produce your own energy that you use directly. If you produce more, you will not get paid for it, as there is simplified approval of such systems. I have summarized what to consider here. But how much power has the 600W system actually produced over the past 12 months and how much money have you saved with it? Let’s take a look at a file Income from September 2021 to August 2022 Exactly 12 months.

Since I have a FritzBox, I used the AVM FRITZ socket! DECT 210 External Smart (see Amazon) for energy flow metering. Then it looks like this:

Odd months at a glance

• September 2021: 32 kWh
• October 2021: 22 kWh
• November 2021: 8.8 kWh
• December 2021: 3.1 kWh
• January 2022: 5.1 kWh
• February 2022: 15 kWh
• March 2022: 43 kWh
• April 2022: 62 kWh
• May 2022: 67 kWh
• June 2022: 71 kWh
• July 2022: 64 kWh
• August 2022: 67 kWh
• Altogether: 460 kWh

I have 460 kWh produced by the power plant on my balcony Effectively consume 340 kWh. I didn’t use 120 kWh and gave it to my network operator. You can use a two-way electricity meter to see how much power you have supplied to the grid. You get no compensation for this with a small solar system.

I really saved that much money

One kilowatt hour is currently costing me about 30 cents. so i have Save 102 euros in electricity costs. The cost of my system is 800 euros. Eight years later, the system would have paid for itself, and with a service life of about 25 years, it would continue to produce electricity for another 17 years for free. If electricity prices continue to rise, my balcony power plant will pay for it much sooner. Either way, you can make a lot of profits in the long run. And I’m not fully tapping the potential, as you can read below.

What you need to know about balcony power plants:

Important details about my solar system

From June 2021 to March 2022, my solar system was on Earth and often in the shade. Since I hung up the solar panels (see title picture), the yield has been much better since April 2022. So I expect more returns in the next 12 months, but you have to make sure that you are consuming the electricity that you produce. From October to February, the sun doesn’t shine enough to produce a lot of energy. The sun is low there and there is also a big tree in my path whose shadow falls on the solar panels from about 3pm. So if you don’t have any shades, you can of course make better use of hours of sunshine.

This is the most important lesson for me: It is extremely important to properly align the balcony power plant. The more sun you capture and then actually use for energy, the more worthwhile such a system will be. But even if conditions aren’t as ideal as mine, the extra mini solar system is worth it. You just have to have the (right) place for it.