Balkonkraftwerk: a German word meaning “balcony power plant”, aka the low-cost solar panels people are hanging from their balconies to generate extra household energy.
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Comments 3
I posted about this back in July, but I just had to circle back for "balkonkraftwerk".
I don’t live in Germany but I did set up a 1.2kw solar array on my balcony here in Japan. I use it to run the aircon / heating / computer in my office - it’s a bit of a niche thing here though - very envious that you can get ready to use solutions in Germany.
At first glance, it may seem brilliant, but then...I imagine the stone facade of my 1910 building, with its nice wrought-iron balconies, completely covered in large black panels. And not just my building, but all buildings with balconies in the street. It would be terribly ugly. A dead orwellian city look. Post "1984"... All this to run air conditioning and computers. Do you believe that's the right answer to the energy problem ?
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