How quickly will your balcony power plant pay for itself? A detailed insight into the payback period

Investing in green technologies is not only good for the environment, but also for your wallet. Today we're looking at how quickly a balcony power plant (BKW) actually pays for itself. Many households are faced with the decision of whether purchasing a BKW is a worthwhile investment. We'll explain!

A typical BKW (800 watt peak) achieves annual savings of 400 kWh at a utilization rate of 50%. At current electricity costs of €0.37 per kWh, you save €148 annually. With a purchase price of €600, this means a payback period of four years.

Things get more interesting with an additional storage unit. The initial cost increases to €900, but the annual savings increase to €250. This leads to a payback period of six years. Although the storage unit extends the payback period, it also increases the absolute savings.

For comparison: a large photovoltaic system with storage installed on the roof of a house costs around €20,000 and pays for itself over a period of twelve years.

These figures clearly show that balcony power plants are an efficient and economical solution for generating green energy on a small scale. They enable homeowners and tenants alike to become part of the energy transition and save costs in the long term.