I'm part of a small apartment building with four units (three residential and one commercial), and we're currently facing high electricity bills just for lighting our communal stairway and a very old doorbell/buzzer system. We use about 2kWh per month in winter and around 1kWh in summer, but the delivery charges are making our bills skyrocket. I'm considering replacing our connection to the grid with a small solar panel and battery setup. Is this a doable idea? What potential challenges should we be aware of?
3 Answers
There are a few things to think about before diving into this. First, who's currently racking up the high bills? If someone’s profiting off the charges, they may resist when you try to switch to solar. It's important to clarify the power company's role—if it’s just their base charge causing the expense, that's a different issue. So, being clear about that will help counter any objections you might face.
Absolutely, switching to solar could definitely work for your situation! The main concerns would be figuring out who pays for the setup and where to install the equipment, especially the solar panels. Ideally, you could mount them on the flat roof and place the batteries in a communal area. Just make sure everyone in the association is on board with the costs and the logistics of the installation.
It’s possible to set up what you're thinking. You'd need a couple of solar panels on the roof, with wiring going down to light up the stairway using LED DC lights. But keep in mind: what happens on cloudy days? You’ll need enough battery storage to keep things running when the sun isn’t shining. Since your usage is relatively low, it’s likely more about managing the legalities and getting all owners coordinated on the project. Also, you might want to consider having a backup connection since the Netherlands has periods of low sunlight.