This week’s summer weather isn’t just fun by the pools, it’s also ideal for those with solar panels. At least you would think so. Yet so much sun does not necessarily only bring benefits. Before you know it, you are generating too much power.
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How exactly that works, explains spokesperson Cyriel Hamstra of grid operator Enexis. “It becomes especially difficult at peak times of the day, when the sun shines the strongest. Especially if the residents are away from home, you may have a lot of electricity left over, some of which you cannot return. Simply because it just isn’t designed for that yet.”
In fact, it may even be the case that the inverter, which converts generated energy into usable power, switches off completely. “That is a safety mechanism, which must ensure that the local grid is not overloaded.”
The latter has nothing to do with the lock on the electricity grid, which was announced by TenneT last week. This only applies to large consumers, such as new companies or companies that want to install more than 1500 solar panels. For private individuals, supplying electricity back is in principle no problem, although it may be the case that you are left with a surplus of energy.
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“Recently, the number of solar panels has increased fivefold.”
Whether it will indeed come to that depends entirely on a number of factors, according to Hamstra. “For example, what kind of house you live in. You will not easily have these kinds of problems in new neighborhoods, because thick and better cables were already taken into account during the construction. In neighborhoods with many 1930s homes, that is often not the case yet. be case.”
Not yet, because that should change in the coming years. “The Netherlands will be completely overhauled. In the coming years, at least one in three streets will be open for a better infrastructure.”
And that is desperately needed. “We live in a revolutionary time, in which we all have to get rid of gas. But this suddenly puts a much heavier burden on the electricity grid. Recently, the number of solar panels has increased fivefold.”
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“Unfortunately, it’s the growing pains that come with electrification.”
Until then, we have to be content with the fact that we cannot fully return our generated power on these kinds of hot days. “Unfortunately, it’s the growing pains that come with electrification.” Yet, according to Hamstra, you do not have to sit and watch as that energy disappears into thin air. “Try to use it as much as possible at peak times. For example, charge your car during the day and switch on the dryer as well.”
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