BalconySolar Set 450Wp - 600W - for round railing poles

Use your own solar power easily and without a permit (subject to registration).

In Switzerland, you can feed up to 600W of solar energy into the household grid without a permit. This is then consumed directly by the connected appliances. This means that less energy is purchased from the power grid. Surplus energy is fed back into the power grid.

All you need is a socket on the balcony and a railing that is suitable for installation.


Our BalkonSolar set offers you all the components you need:

1x solar panel 450Wp
Micro inverter
Connection cable
SolarHook mounting set

And this is how it works:

- Attach the solar panel to your suitable balcony railing using the SolarHook mounting system*
- Mount the Sun Micro inverter and connect it to the solar panel with the solar cable
- Report to the electricity company with declaration of conformity
- Connect the connection cable to the Sun Micro inverter and connect it to the balcony socket
- Connect to the Wifi / Internet (video instructions for connecting NEP to Wifi)

* Tenants please consult with landlord

Things to know about balcony solar systems

• How much energy can be generated with a balcony solar system?

  
  The yield basically depends on 3 factors.
  - Installed power (panel power / size)
  - Weather (sunshine duration, intensity, temperature)
  - Orientation & shading of the panels

  
  With our set with 2x 450Wp panels, the following yield* can be expected (south orientation, vertical installation):

  
  - Weesen approx. 800kWh
  - Zurich approx. 7900kWh
  - Bern approx. 870kWh
  - Chur approx. 910kWh
  
  

  This corresponds to slightly more than 1/3 of the annual consumption of a single-family house without a heat pump (2200kWh / year).
  
  At an electricity price of 40Rp./kWh, a yield of 800kWh can save around CHF 320 in electricity costs.
  
  

  * Calculated with the PHOTOVOLTAIC GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION SYSTEM of the EU.

• Do I need permission from the landlord?

  
  

  Balcony power plants are recommended by the Federal Office of Energy, especially for tenants.
  
  Please check your tenancy agreement to see if there is anything against a privacy screen on the balcony.
  It is best to consult your landlord so that surprises and a possible dismantling can be avoided. Apparently the authorities are not yet in agreement here. It is therefore surprising that certain environmental and energy authorities recommend the installation of balcony solar systems to tenants and others point out in newspaper interviews that the landlord must give his consent.
  
  A solar panel can certainly be compared to a privacy screen on the balcony, for which no permission is usually required.
  However, this can be interpreted differently when installing framed panels. Care should also be taken to ensure that the balcony railing is not damaged/scratched. If you move away, the system can simply be dismantled again. As long as no changes are made to the electrical installation, there should be nothing to prevent a balcony solar system.
  
  However, other rules may apply to listed buildings or in core zones.
  Solar panels can reflect the sun like a mirror at certain sun angles, which can disturb neighbors.

• Do I need permission from the grid operator?

  
  

  No. However, the grid operator must be informed in writing before the system is commissioned.
  In addition to the name and address of the grid connection, the grid operator also requires a declaration of conformity for the inverter. However, it may not prohibit the system.
  
  In its bulletin on plug & play photovoltaic systems, the ESTI (Inspectorate for Heavy Current Installations) requires an RCD (residual current circuit breaker) type B in the feed-in line or a residual current monitoring unit (RCMU). The RCMU in accordance with DIN VDE 0126-1-1 is built into our NEP Micro inverters.
  
  

• Are feed-in tariffs also possible?

  
  

  According to newspaper reports, this depends on the grid provider. A survey has shown that feed-in tariffs are possible with Berner Kraftwerke and Elektrizitätswerk Zürich, for example. However, the conditions vary. In any case, a meter is required that can measure the feed-in. Depending on the system, a replacement can exceed the yield. Replacing a meter costs up to 200 euros. The Basel energy supplier IWB, for example, refuses to pay a feed-in tariff.

• What happens if my refrigerator is not on the same phase as the balcony socket?

  
  

  Today's grid meters have phase compensation. This means that if your SolarBalcony produces energy on phase 2, but the refrigerator consumes energy on phase 1, this is compensated for by the grid meter.

• Can the NEP Micro inverter also be operated on an off-grid system?

  
  

  Our NEP Micro inverter can be operated on an off-grid system from Victron Energy (MultiPlus with assistant). However, feed-back into the grid is then excluded or must be realized through device selection, programming and approval. You can find more information on this under energy storage systems.