Green Energy @slrpnk.net JohnLikesComputers @slrpnk.net 1y ago

Solar Power options for appartments, rentals, and small scale baseline energy usage at home

www.ecoflow.com PowerStream - Reliable Solar Power at Home by EcoFlow | EcoFlow UK

Generate your own power from the comfort of your balcony. Benefit from everyday sunlight with an EcoFlow PowerStream Balcony Power Plant right at home.

So ecoflow has come out with some crazy product that lets you offset your energy usage by using Solar. The target audience for this specific tech is apartment and rental units. (Anker is also currently working on one, but I think their product is only available in Germany at the moment)

While this can't/isn't designed to run your whole home, it can offset some of your energy usage, and since it utilizes a standalone backup battery you do have some small off grid redundancy.

What are the thoughts on this? Is distributing solar and batteries to potentially every appartment and environmental mistake? Or is this potentially a massive step towards a function and sustainable future grid?

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I think it’s an interesting product but not likely to be cost effective in areas that have reliable power. It’s also not likely going to reduce emissions in areas with low to semi-low CO2 electricity production. I imagine their sales with either be to people who want more energy reliability or to people who are misguided in to thinking it will reduce emissions over there local power supply.

Particularly since the lifecycle emissions of distributed systems like this are inevitably higher than those of a centralized system (and more costly!)
- I did a simulation to try.
  
  A person living in Belgium,
  
  buying the system without batteries,
  
  using the system for 10 years.
  
  don't have a perfect orientation on the balcony.
  
  In this situation the system is producing electricity at a cost of 0.158€/kWh. The average electricity cost in Belgium is 0.45€/kWh.
  
  So according to that it seems to be extremely cost effective. Especially if you use the system for longer since PV panels can last for decades.

20 comments