Following the Bundestag, the Bundesrat has now also approved the legislative changes concerning balcony power plants. Landlords and owners’ associations may therefore no longer refuse consent to their installation without good reason. There are, however, exceptions.
Balcony power plants are privileged projects
Under the legislative amendment, plug-in solar systems, also known as balcony power plants, are classed as privileged projects. As already applies to structural alterations that improve necessary accessibility or enable electric vehicles to be charged, for example, owners’ associations may no longer refuse the installation of plug-in solar systems for generating electricity without good reason. Owners could previously install a balcony power plant with the owners’ association’s consent, but obtaining that consent had often proved difficult, according to the explanatory memorandum to the legislation.
Tenants now likewise have a right to their landlord’s permission to install a plug-in solar system. Exceptions apply, for example, to listed buildings.
Balcony power plants: how they work
Balcony power plants generally consist of two or three solar panels and an inverter. The inverter converts the solar electricity generated into standard household electricity. The solar panel is attached to the balcony railing, for example, and connected. As soon as the panel generates electricity, the electricity meter runs more slowly because appliances connected in the home use the solar electricity first before drawing electricity from the public grid again.
Under current German law, the feed-in output of balcony power plants is limited to a maximum of 800 watts. Registering a balcony power plant is required by law, but the process was greatly simplified under the Solar Package in April 2024 and now requires only a small amount of data. Registration with the grid operator is no longer necessary.