Renting is more expensive than buying

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BerlinSelf-generated solar power is the cheapest. Especially now, when electricity prices are rising and the providers are continuously increasing their prices, it can be worthwhile to think about your own photovoltaic system (PV system). In Berlin, solar energy will also be mandatory from 2023. A PV system must be installed on every new building with more than 50 square meters of floor space. Existing buildings must also be retrofitted if a roof conversion is due for other reasons. There is a choice between buying and renting solar modules. The costs here differ significantly.

Overall, the costs for PV systems have fallen sharply in recent years. According to the consumer center, a PV system with an output of eight kilowatts costs around 13,000 euros, for example. The larger the system, the cheaper the kilowatt price tends to be. With a PV system, electricity can be generated for four to twelve cents per kilowatt hour. Electricity from the public grid, on the other hand, costs around 25 to 32 cents per kilowatt hour. The fact that electricity from your own solar system is cheaper is mainly due to the fact that no taxes, levies, surcharges or fees have to be paid. Only sales tax is due on personal consumption.

Renting a solar system: comfortable, but more expensive

More and more energy providers, but also start-ups, are also offering PV systems for rent. Most providers not only take care of the installation of the system and the registration with the network operator, but also the entire maintenance. For this they charge a monthly rent, over a term of mostly 20 years. “If you don’t have the time to plan such a system, if you don’t want to deal with the technical details, but still want to do something to protect the climate, renting a PV system can be an option,” says Ines-Rutschmann, Energy expert at the consumer adviser Finanztip. However, you pay for the service: A Finanztip study showed that customers over 20 years would pay two to three times more for rental offers than for a purchase.

According to the consumer advice center, such rental offers cost between 50 and 150 euros per month. What sounds manageable, adds up to a high five-digit amount over the long term of up to 20 years, which almost always exceeds the acquisition costs when buying a system, according to the consumer advice center. “The rental providers usually have the last electricity bill given in order to then agree a rental price that is lower,” says Rutschmann. And that remains constant over the entire duration. “But it doesn’t pay off for the customer if the electricity price falls or stagnates,” says Rutschmann. And that’s what it looks like at the moment – in the long term, the price of electricity will fall rather than rise further.

Funding opportunities for the purchase of a solar system

The Berlin rental company Enpal confirms that a fixed price is always agreed. “In this way, the customer knows exactly what he is paying and has full transparency about his expenses. The rent remains constant – even with inflation, ”says Stephan Rink, sales manager at Enpal. And even if solar modules or inverters don’t work, the start-up takes care of them. This means that there are no major cost risks during operation. “The disadvantage is that the leases run for up to 20 years and are practically impossible to terminate. Even if a house is sold or if the house is inherited, these must be continued, ”said the consumer advice center.

“A purchase is definitely cheaper overall,” says Andreas Henning, energy consultant at the Berlin consumer center. However, several thousand euros then have to be financed in one fell swoop. If this is not easily possible, you can, for example, fall back on low-interest loans from the KfW development bank. In Berlin, the Energy Storage PLUS funding program was also extended. This means that Berliners can purchase a battery storage system in addition to the solar system and apply for funding of 300 euros per kilowatt hour of storage capacity. With a battery storage system, the proportion of self-consumption can then be increased significantly. It is true that there is money back in the form of feed-in tariffs for solar power that is not specifically used – electricity that goes beyond self-consumption is fed into the public grid. However, the remuneration is falling increasingly and is currently only around seven cents per kilowatt hour. “The proportion of self-consumption should be at least 20 percent without battery storage and around 60 percent with battery storage, otherwise the purchase of a system does not pay off, at least financially,” says Henning.

Consider operating costs

When purchasing, the operating costs must also be considered. Around 150 to 250 euros – depending on the size of the system – could be incurred annually, according to energy expert Henning. This then includes insurance against damage to the system, possible cleaning costs or, after years, the replacement of the inverter. If power consumption and investment costs are correct, a system should generally have amortized after ten to 14 years.

Homeowners can use the solar suitability check from the consumer advice center to check whether their house is suitable for a photovoltaic system. Further information is available at consumerzentrale-energieberatung.de. Stiftung Warentest also offers an online photovoltaic calculator that can be used to calculate costs, income and returns.

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