Solar Power in the City
The cost of electricity is climbing and many residents in our inner-city apartments might be looking at alternatives.
Retro-fitting solar to the roofs of apartment buildings might be one way - but probably an expensive and untested option for Wellington at this stage.
So the good news is that Rewiring Aotearoa has been working on something that might work within an apartment.
Here’s an extract from their info sheet.
Plug-in solar (also known as portable solar or balcony solar) are small photovoltaic systems, typically one or two panels paired with a microinverter, that connect to a home through a standard wall socket.
The microinverter is not separate but rather affixed to the back of the panels. This means the system arrives ready to use: there's no additional equipment to source, no separate installation and no electrician needed to wire components together. Everything that converts sunlight into usable electricity is built in. It is plug and play.
By plugging into your standard wall socket, the electricity your panels generate flows directly into your home's circuits where your appliances draw from it first, mixing with grid electricity to meet your total energy consumption needs.
Generally kits will come with mounting brackets that allow the panels to be installed on a balcony, terrace, roof or on the ground. You identify where’s most optimal for the household layout and energy generation, then mount them, run the cable to the nearest wall socket, and that's it.
In Germany, they’re most commonly found on balconies and called Balkonkraftwerk, best translated as “balcony power plant.” Savvy plug-in panel owners may choose to change their location or orientation, over their lifetime or even throughout the day, to maximise energy production. In addition to their size, it’s their flexibility and portability that sets them apart from fixed rooftop systems.