Plug-in solar

Project period

September 2020 until July 2023

Project management

DGS - LV Berlin Brandenburg e.V.

Funding organisations

Promotion of technology and knowledge transfer through patents, standardisation and standardisation for the commercial exploitation of innovative ideas from universities and companies (WIPANO)

Project description

There is great public interest in PV devices that can be connected to a power socket and reduce the amount of electricity you draw. They are marketed under names such as balcony module, solar rebel, etc. In some European countries, simplified grid connection conditions have been adopted for such devices in the power range up to 600 W (Austria, Portugal, Switzerland). In Germany, the basic use of these devices has been regulated by an amendment to the standard for electrical systems with feed-in, VDE 0100-551. A product standard must now be developed in order to define the safety requirements for users and grid operation and to be able to test them.

The following boundary conditions must be observed:

• The safety-related requirements for the electricity system and general grid compatibility.

• The properties of the domestic installations, especially possible load reserves

• Compatibility with devices for overcurrent protection and protection against electric shocks in domestic installations

These boundary conditions are national in nature. As part of the proposed project, the specific device requirements for German conditions are therefore to be developed first. Based on this, a product standard with corresponding requirements and tests is to be developed. Appliances that fulfil this standard offer safety for their users, the domestic electrical installation and the supply network.

This standard should first be developed as a national German standard in order to minimise market uncertainties. It will then be further developed internationally (by CENELEC or IEC). The application consortium expects the product standard to lead to significant market growth, as these devices are a low-threshold way for consumers to reduce their electricity consumption.