Balcony power plants and inverters: How to achieve maximum yields

A balcony power plant is a photovoltaic module with an inverter that simply plugs into a wall socket. It can therefore be easily installed on a balcony or terrace. The mini-PV system has only a few, easy-to-install components. The electricity generated is fed directly into the home's electrical grid via the inverter and can be used there.

How to measure the power output of your balcony power plant

It's a good feeling for the owner of a balcony power plant to produce their own electricity. However, they would also like to have this output expressed in numbers. There are various ways to measure and visualize the output of a balcony power plant.

Measuring balcony power plants with an energy manager

An energy management system costs around €400,00 and measures and visualizes the total energy consumption in the house. It can also record the output of the mini PV system. The data it provides is quite interesting and suggests ways to optimize your electricity consumption. However, everyone should consider whether such a purchase is actually worthwhile for a mini PV system. It's more suitable for larger systems of 10 kWp and above.

Power outlets that can measure energy inputs

Smart plugs are now available that can measure the output of a balcony solar power system. The data is typically measured by an adapter and sent to a device like the FRITZ!Box. The data is then summarized as a trend graph or displayed as a bar chart. The information is then sent to the FRITZ!Box via push email.
Sent to the specified email address.

Visualization using Hoymiles DTU

Manufacturer Hoymiles offers a technical solution for visualizing the generated power of their solar system and microinverter. Data is uploaded to your Hoymiles account via the internet through a personal login, allowing you to view the daily performance of your PV system. The microinverter sends output information from the PV modules, as well as operating data, to the DTU, which provides the hardware for monitoring at the panel level.