19.3 million – that’s the number of residential buildings in Germany. Over the next 20 years, more than half of these buildings will need to be renovated and fitted with photovoltaics (PV). But this is not just true for Germany – residential buildings play a central role in PV deployment all across Europe. More and more buildings that already have solar panels are now being equipped with storage systems, a combination that is becoming the standard for new installations. This allows the needs-based use of the generated solar power.
In Europe, it becoming more common for newly installed PV systems to be complemented by a storage system. SolarPower Europe, the European industry association, predicts that the total storage capacity will increase to 32.2 gigawatt hours by 2026 – enough to power nearly four million European homes.
Can the solar power generated on the roofs of residential homes and stored in storage systems be used for anything other than domestic electricity? Of course! To charge e-cars, for example. In 2023, around 15 percent of all registrations in Europe were battery electric passenger cars. The combination of PV and storage systems is perfect for e-cars: The German government’s Charging Infrastructure Master Plan (“Masterplan Ladeinfrastruktur”), for example, is based on the assumption that about 85 percent of all charging takes place at home or at work. This allows battery electric vehicles to be charged with low-cost, climate-friendly solar power generated at home.
Solar power can also be used for heating – for example, by powering a heat pump. Last year, heat pump sales in Germany were up 51 percent over the previous year. With the adoption of the EU Heat Pump Action Plan, this development will continue at the European level.
PV system, residential storage, e-car and heat pump make an effective combination of units that generate, store and consume electricity.