Save money with photovoltaics

Stefan uses solar energy to heat his water and saves half of his energy costs every year

There is a stubbornly persistent rumour that photovoltaic systems do not actually pay off.

“It’s simply not true,” says Stefan. Since he installed a photovoltaic system in his house, he has saved half of his energy costs every year.

“Our house was built by my parents, so it’s a bit older. Despite this, I was keen to use the latest technology. We’ve had a photovoltaic system on the roof since 2014. Since then we have saved over half of our energy costs every year,” says Stefan.

» Our energy costs have been cut in half. «

Hot water with solar energy

Stefan still uses an oil heating system for his heating.

“Of course, you wouldn’t do it like that nowadays,” says Stefan. As long as the heating system is working, he does not want to replace it.

“Until a few years ago, we used the heating system only to produce hot water from April to October. However, we can also do this with solar power and switch off the heating system completely during the summer months.”

How has he managed this? Easy: Stefan had a Fronius Ohmpilot installed in his energy system. This small device uses the electricity that is not consumed in the household and heats the water in the boiler.

“Now all our hot water comes from the PV system during the summer months, without the need for a solar heating system. This technology saves us over 300 euros in oil costs per year.”

Here you can find out how to generate heat with solar energy.

Increase the service life of the existing heating system

Not only does the Fronius Ohmpilot save Stefan money, it also takes the load off his oil heating system – switching it off over the summer extends its service life.

Increase self-consumption

The Ohmpilot has another trick up its sleeve: before it was installed, Stefan’s family was able to use around 30% of their solar energy themselves; today it stands at over 60%.

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