Germany’s Solarwatt in tie-up to boost household energy self-sufficiency

Germany’s Solarwatt has entered a partnership with home technology and heating specialist Stiebel Eltron to help households escape dependence on fossil fuels, the solar company said on Wednesday.

Owners of rooftop photovoltaic (PV) systems can save money and carbon emissions if they store unused electricity in batteries to be used later around the house, to charge electric vehicles or feed electric heat pumps.

Solarwatt provides PV systems, batteries and energy management devices.

The partnership announced on Wednesday will entail Stiebel Eltron heat pumps being fitted by Solarwatt tradesmen to link them to household PV systems.

Solarwatt last year hooked up with carmaker BMW in a tie-up as both companies seek to maximise the electric vehicle sector’s growing potential.

The Dresden-based solar power business, which is majority owned by billionaire BMW shareholder Stefan Quandt, said that high energy prices and the war in Ukraine had demonstrated to Western European consumers the value of energy self-sufficiency.

Solarwatt Chief Executive Detlef Neuhaus said that, given progress in digital energy management and falling solar PV costs, it had become easier and more economically attractive to widen the applications for home-produced energy.

“Such a system pays for itself after only a few years because the majority of cheap solar energy is actually used directly within the home,” he said.

On a wider scale, if all households installed PV systems for heat, power and e-mobility, a quarter of Germany’s CO2 emissions could be avoided, he said.

Notably, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Germany Chancellor Olaf Scholz have recently signed a joint declaration in Berlin, according to which Germany has pledged €10 billion ($10.52 billion) support to India until 2030 to help the country meet its target of raising its non-fossil energy generation capacity to 500 GW.

Modi and Scholz signed six other documents, which include those related with the implementation of triangular development cooperation projects by India and Germany in third countries, cooperation in the field of renewable energy partnership and forest landscape restoration.