The Vandewal family from Tongeren invested in solar panels, a home battery and a smart charging installation. “A serious investment, but definitely worth it,” explains Marc Vandewal Livios boutique. “Every day we see profit.”
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in collaboration with Livio
17-08-22, 11:00
Last update:
11:17
Bron:
Editorial Livio
Ten years ago, the Vandewal family of Tongeren installed a solar panel system with a peak capacity of 5 kilowatts. In the last ten years, a second 5 kilowatt peak installation, a second inverter, a charging system and a domestic battery have followed. “A serious investment, but definitely worth it,” says Marc Vandewal.
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Marc Vandewal and his family live in a house built in 1987, where heating oil and a condensing boiler provide energy. The production of domestic hot water is partly by diesel and partly by thermal solar panels. Those are panels that capture solar energy and convert it into thermal energy or heat. You shouldn’t confuse these solar panels with photovoltaic or photovoltaic solar panels that convert solar energy into electricity. The insulation of the house is still the original one: 4 cm in the cavities and 10 cm on the roof. In 2012 the family had five members, now they are three.
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“In 2006 we installed a swimming pool and a heat pump,” says Marc Vandewal. “And when that pump is running in the summer, we need a lot of power. That’s why we installed photovoltaic solar panels in 2012, just before support through green energy certificates was again reduced on July 1st of that year ”.
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Installation of solar panels
The 2012 installation contains 24 solar panels and an inverter, good for a peak capacity of 5 kilowatts. Another installer doubled that capacity in 2019 by adding another 25 solar panels to the roof. The Vandewal family thus has 10 kilowatts peak, the maximum power allowed for private homes. Including the inverter, € 6,800 were paid for the second installation. The first installation – including the inverter – cost much more: about 13,100 euros. Marc Vandewal was able to count on support through green energy certificates for the first installation. Contains a separate counter for this. For the second settlement, the family was no longer eligible for grants, because you can only apply for them once.
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Domestic battery
In 2021, the Vandewal family bought a 15-kilowatt domestic battery. “It became interesting for us thanks to the awards,” says Marc Vandewal. “We mainly need it to load the car at night. Our hybrid car needs 10-11 kilowatts to be fully charged. So there are still 4 to 5 kilowatts left for other appliances that use electricity at night: for example the refrigerator and the freezer ».
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Tip: make the most of the power generated? This is how much you pay for a home battery
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Charging installation
This spring, the house received another device – an Etrel smart charging installation for the car was installed on the garage wall. “That charging station looks at what the house needs in terms of electricity. On this basis, it takes what’s left of the electricity, ”explains Marc Vandewal. “When the pool pump is on, the house needs a fair amount of energy. When you connect the plug to the car, it will automatically dim. As soon as the pool pump is turned off, we can use the charging station at full capacity. There is protection so that the charging system can charge a maximum of amps.
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Cost
The cost of electricity for the Vandewal family is 1,100 euros per year. “We pay just under 90 euros per month. This will also be approximately sufficient for the settlement. In the past, without solar panels, I had prepaid bills of 180 euros per month and sometimes I had to pay extra ”.
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Marc Vandewal puts the excess power back on the grid. He receives money for this from his energy supplier. “Over the past three months, I have injected a lot more electricity than I took off due to the good weather. But in winter it is just the opposite. In principle, I have to buy electricity mainly from September to the end of February. I am not involved in energy sharing at the moment. I haven’t studied it yet. “
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Investment with return
Marc Vandewal admits he had to invest seriously. In all, he paid around € 30,500: € 13,100 for the first installation, € 6,800 for the second installation, € 8,400 for the battery and € 2,200 for recharging. “But once everything works, you see your profits day in and day out.” For part of this investment, Marc Vandewal could enlist the support of the government. For the home battery, this resulted in a surcharge of around 2,100 euros. Marc also receives a green energy certificate every time he has produced 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity, which means that 217 kg of CO2 emissions have been avoided. The amount of a green energy certificate depends on the year you started using your solar system. With Marc, this is 230 euros per certificate.
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less electricity costs for years
On August 12, 2022, the meter reading indicated a consumption of 56,193 kilowatt hours. With that volume, Marc is now ready for his 56th green energy certificate. This means that he has already recovered 12,880 euros (56 x 230 euros) of the 13,100 euros paid for his first installation. “In a normal year, the plant produces five green energy certificates, but this year could be more thanks to the good weather,” he says. “With my next certificate, my installation was reimbursed, but in principle it happened much earlier because I had less electricity costs from my solar panels all those years,” concludes Marc.
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So we will heat up in the future: “No hydrogen, but solar panels and heat pump”
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Reduced VAT rate of 6% for solar panels, solar boilers and heat pumps
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This article was written by our partner Livios.be. Livios.be is an expert site that focuses on construction and renovation.
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