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Germany just now approved new laws that make setting up solar on your balcony super easy (www.tagesschau.de)

submitted 7 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Just 10 years ago, landlords could ban you from putting solar cells on your balcony because it makes their building look "messy". Now Germany is really pushing forward to let everybody put solar modules on their balcony with these new laws. How is legalization of balcony solar cells in your country? Is setting up solar modules on your balcony easy or difficult law-wise?

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago (1 children)

How does this work in practice? I saw one where you plugged the solar cell into a device and the device plugged into a regular wall socket.
Is it really that easy?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (2 children)

Yes with a grid tie inverter it's pretty much that easy. But doing it yourself this way can be dangerous to electricians who thought they cut the power. If the "island protection" on the inverter fails to disconnect after the loss of power those wires could still be hot.

Edit fixed a word

[–] [email protected] 5 points 7 months ago

I would hope electricians would always double check the line they're working on regardless.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago

What's interesting about this is that you don't have to necessarily pull permits for electrical work, as nobody is running conduit or attaching to electrical panel.
Im grandfathered into an old solar rate plan, and if I change the system or add more panels I'll lose that privilege. However, if I don't have to tell the city or utility anything, that opens the door for expanding with balcony solar panels.