Balcony solar, small, plug-in systems you can hang off a balcony or fence, has exploded in Germany, with millions of households now generating their own power.
Low cost solar panels and micro-inverters, regulatory changes that allow simple plug-in installation without the need for an electrician, and soaring energy prices after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have all driven the surge.
What began as a DIY workaround is now an off-the-shelf consumer product, reshaping how people think about energy at home.
But balcony solar has its detractors, with resistance emerging from large co-operative and municipal landlords who control much of the rental market.
Sebastian Müller, the chair of the German association for plug-in solar, Balkon Solar, explains how the movement gained momentum, what’s holding it back, and what it reveals about the roll out of consumer-led energy systems.
SwitchedOn Australia · The plug-in solar hack that’s now booming in Germany
Anne Delaney
Anne Delaney is the host of the SwitchedOn podcast and our Electrification Editor. She has had a successful career in journalism (the ABC and SBS), as a documentary film maker, and as an artist and sculptor.
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