Residential solar panel installation has boomed in Spain in the last two years. In 2022, 2.5 gigawatts (GW) of self-consumption power was installed on more than 200,000 homes, twice as much as in 2021. Most were single-family homes, as residential installation is more complicated. However, new solutions that adapt to balconies are emerging with panels tailored to smaller spaces or photovoltaic railings.
Spain's housing stock is mostly multi-family buildings (70%) and single-family homes (30%). Therefore, most of the population in Spain lives in flats, which prevents them from having photovoltaic installations of their own. However, more and more self-consumption solutions are emerging that can be installed on balconies or terraces of high-rise buildings.
Since the end of the pandemic, interest in self-consumption and self-production of energy has continued to grow, driven by the end of the so-called sun tax, the high energy prices experienced with the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, and also by a greater awareness of the climate challenge.
Among these renewable energies, photovoltaic technology is one of the most developed technologies on the market, achieving high efficiency and being increasingly economical. Producing electricity from the sun has become a 'must' in Spain, with the hours of sunshine the country enjoys.
Installing solar panels on balconies can generate, store and use solar energy during the day, such as the solution presented by the company Solarlab, in which a private individual can set up such an installation in about 20 minutes.
"They are connected directly to the household power supply and produce domestic electricity in an environmentally friendly way. As for dimensions, two or four small panels are usually installed, depending on the balcony length. A kit with a battery and a smart Zendure hub allows this solar energy to be stored," says Solarlab.
This solar self-consumption system for balconies can be relocated at any time. "From a smartphone 'app', you can configure how much energy you need at any given moment, starting from 400W, expandable to 800W of power and from 1kWh of storage up to 4kWh.
Photovoltaic railings for buildings
Another solution that has come onto the market is photovoltaic railings, a complete system for the entire building that transforms sunlight into energy thanks to the photovoltaic solutions installed on the façade through its glazing. The companies Glassolutions are part of the Saint-Gobain Group, together with Onyx Solar and Comenza.
"These railings, known as SOLAR-connected railings, are a complete system that integrates the glass with the photovoltaic cells and the profiling, making them easy to install and also allowing multiple configurations, wattages and designs," say Saint-Gobain.
The laminated glass technology with a photovoltaic system generates electricity to reduce the building's energy demand, reducing CO2 emissions. Other advantages include the high level of safety they provide to users and their aesthetic appearance.
According to the company, the system is suitable for hotels, flats and buildings used for tourism. It has different ranges of crystalline silicon and amorphous silicon. They generate up to 144 Wp/m2 of electricity, the maximum that can be achieved with one of its glasses, allowing it to produce a high energy level and reduce CO2 emissions.