Most single-family houses in Germany now have a solar system on the roof - in most new buildings it is even standard. With their own PV system, homeowners can produce cheap and sustainable electricity for their own consumption over a period of 30 years or more. With a modern electricity storage system, up to 75 percent of the annual electricity requirement can already be covered in this country without any problems.
But have you ever thought about operating an air conditioning system with photovoltaics? In this article, we'll look at why this is a good idea and how it can improve your quality of life while saving you tons of money.
How much electricity does a photovoltaic system supply for the air conditioning system?
First a few basics about the solar system and its electricity production. In this article, we always take a solar system for a regular single-family house in Germany with a pitched roof as a reference. In order to find out how much electricity the solar system can probably produce per year, we first have to look at some important basics.
The self-consumption in a household is decisive for the selection of a solar system of the right size. An average family of four has an electricity requirement of around 4,000 kWh per year. However, this can increase in the next few years, especially if an electric vehicle or an electric heater is added.
The maximum output of a photovoltaic system is specified in kilowatt peak (kWp). A system with an output of 5-10 kWp is recommended for a four-person household. Approximately 4.5 square meters of roof area must be expected per kWp. Such a system supplies around 6,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per year, but you cannot use all of it.
Here's an explanation: The power peaks of the solar system are at the hottest time of the day, i.e. around noon. Usually nobody is at home here and the electricity is not needed, so it has to be fed into the public grid for a small premium. With a modern electricity storage system, on the other hand, a lot of electricity can be preserved. However, it costs about as much as the system itself, but you can produce around 75 percent of your electricity yourself over the year.
That was the most important basic information about the photovoltaic system - for more exciting blog articles on the subject of solar power and air conditioning , you are welcome to visit our cooling guides .
Advantages of the combination of photovoltaics and air conditioning
So far, only a few private households in Germany have decided to invest in air conditioning. Concerns about high electricity and maintenance costs for the systems are too great, and many consumers overestimate the purchase price . In this paragraph we look at why you should combine the photovoltaic system with an air conditioning system and whether the maintenance and operating costs can really become a financial burden .
The PV system on your roof produces the most electricity at the hottest time of the day, i.e. in the afternoon. This also means that this is the time when your living space heats up the most, so when you come home in the evening, the room temperature often reaches 30 degrees Celsius. At the same time, the solar system also produces much more electricity in the afternoon than you can use yourself - this is fed into the public grid for a small premium. For this reason, it is worth combining air conditioning and photovoltaics - electricity generation and demand largely cover each other and you can cool your living area cost-effectively.
By the way: Would you like to find out more about the various air conditioning systems from Kältebringer or would you like our customer service to advise you? Then take a look at our homepage , here you will find detailed descriptions and application examples .
Combining photovoltaic and air conditioning: That is the added value
In addition to the benefit of power coverage mentioned above, you benefit from other advantages if you opt for an air conditioning system operated with photovoltaics :
- Energy independence: Thanks to your own solar power, you are less dependent on energy companies and take care of your own cooling and heating of the apartment
- Cost savings: If you decide to combine both systems, you will save enormously high electricity costs over the years
- Environmental friendliness: Thanks to the photovoltaic system, you can produce sustainable and environmentally friendly green electricity for your household yourself
- Reduced carbon footprint: With green electricity, you don't have to worry as much about the impact of your behavior on the environment
The split air conditioner is the most suitable for combination with the PV system. Of all types of air conditioning, it works the most efficiently and ensures rapid coolness in the entire living area. The split air conditioning system consists of an indoor and an outdoor unit and offers the advantage that it also cleans the air through different filters.
Also interesting: Six different filters are installed in the Kältebringer split air conditioning system . This includes, for example, a pollen filter or a vitamin C filter, which improves the air quality and the smell in the room enormously.
Inverters as energy managers: Only use cheap solar power for cooling
If you operate the air conditioner with regular mains power instead of solar power, this can quickly become expensive. Here we recommend an inverter as an energy manager, which ensures that the air conditioning is only switched on when sufficient solar power is produced. So you don't have to make sure that only solar power is used. Because the electricity from the grid is about three times as expensive as that from your own roof.
Important: With a Kaltbringer split air conditioning system, you can not only cool your house in summer, but also heat it in the transitional period and sometimes in winter. All systems from Kältebringer have an integrated heat pump, which sucks in heat from the ambient air and converts it into usable heat. The heat pump switches on automatically when the indoor temperature falls below a limit you set.
Conclusion: combine photovoltaic and air conditioning
The combination of your own photovoltaic system and air conditioning is the ideal solution if you want to ensure a pleasantly cool room climate at low cost. A PV system is often already installed and you only have to invest in a split air conditioning system. These are no longer as expensive as they used to be and are affordable for every household - please visit the Kältebringer website if you would like to find out more.
Tip: With our free assembly instructions on the website , the installation of the Kältebringer air conditioner is no problem for a company in your area . Just have a look!
