April 12, 2013. With residential electricity prices rising and solar power subsidies falling, self consumption is now an attractive supplement to grid feed-in. Recognising this, aleo solar has made extensive additions to its product portfolio – from system components optimised for self consumption to a professional training course for installers. "The more solar power used by the owner, the more economical it is to operate a photovoltaic system," comments Jörn-Bo Hein, Head of Sales Germany. As one example, if a four-person household with a 5kW rooftop system in Germany uses a third of the solar power themselves, then the economic advantage compared to using all of the power for grid feed-in can be as much as a third higher – amounting to around € 7,000. System owners can thus gain independence from rising electricity prices. The aleo Solar Calculator can be used to work out the impact of self consumption on the operating efficiency of a photovoltaic system.
In terms of planning and sales, self consumption systems differ essentially from photovoltaic systems that feed all their power into the grid. System size and components therefore need tailoring to individual consumption patterns. This makes profitability calculations more complex, as they depend to an extent on the load profile and electricity price trends. On the topic of planning and sales for self consumption systems, the aleo academy now offers a two-day course for authorised aleo dealers and installers. Benefits to participants include a practice-based sales guide plus an exclusive software application for calculating the profitability of own consumption systems and storage solutions.
Alongside its premium modules, system supplier aleo solar also offers monitoring and power management systems for use in increasing the operator's own consumption quota. aleo also offers user-friendly storage systems that home owners and small businesses can deploy to gain a greater degree of independence. The Bosch PowerTec VS 5 Hybrid (formerly Voltwerk) and S10 power station from E3/DC distributed by aleo solar have entered series production and thus also offer short-term availability.