Sunny side up, always!

There is a revolution happening in Germany – a very quiet household revolution, which will change their world forever.

A growing number of homeowners in Germany are installing batteries to store solar power. As prices for energy storage systems drop, they are adopting a green vision: a solar panel on every roof, an EV in every garage, and a battery in every basement.

On sunny days, the photovoltaic panels supply all of the household’s electricity needs and charge their hybrid car’s electric battery, too. Once these basics are covered, the rooftop-generated power feeds into the stationary battery until it’s full — primed for nighttime energy demand and cloudy days. Then, when the battery is topped off, the unit’s digital control system automatically redirects any excess energy into Berlin’s power grid, for which the homes will be compensated by the local grid operator.

The initial spend is $36,000 for a home solar system consisting of 26 solar panels but after that, most of the electricity used in the house will cost nothing.

The home furnishing company Ikea even offers installed solar packages that include storage capacity. Battery prices have plummeted so dramatically that Germany’s development bank has now scratched the battery rebates — covering about 30 percent of the cost — that it offered from 2013 to 2018.

When  we read all this, sitting in India, looking at our headline news, we realise we live in such different worlds, almost like on two different planets.