For this article we have carefully researched all relevant facts.There is no influence from third parties.Reduce your own electricity costs?This should be possible with a mini solar system for the balcony.But how big should the model be at least?Not everyone has the opportunity to mount solar panels on the roof of their house - because they are not the owner or the roof area that can be used for mounting is too small due to numerous windows.A mini solar system usually consists of two solar panels.They can be attached to the balcony, carport or garage roof.If none of this is possible, mounting on the house facade is a good idea.Attention: In the case of rented apartments, the landlord must agree to the installation in advance.It is important that the panels are correctly aligned so that their purchase is worthwhile.A place that is sunny all day is ideal - i.e. has an easterly or ideally southerly orientation.During assembly, attention should also be paid to the correct angle of inclination.It varies from manufacturer to manufacturer.Info Since a balcony solar system usually only generates very little electricity, it is not sufficient to be self-sufficient from the electricity suppliers.It should only serve to reduce your own electricity costs.Anyone who wants to generate electricity independently can use these methods.No specialist knowledge is required for installation.It is usually sufficient for assembly and commissioning to read the operating instructions carefully.After the solar system has been set up, it is connected to the public power grid via a Wieland or Schuko socket.To put it very simply, the following happens when generating electricity: As soon as the sun shines on the panels, electricity is generated (coil current).This flows into the solar system – a small, compact device to which the panels are connected – is converted into mains electricity and then fed into the home's electrical circuit.If you like, you can also feed the self-generated electricity into the public power grid.The network operator then pays a certain sum for this.However, it is significantly lower than the usual electricity price.It is therefore more profitable to use the self-generated electricity yourself.The consumer advice center has calculated when the purchase of plug-in solar devices is worthwhile.They recommend "solar modules with a connected load of up to 600 watts with an inverter, which are connected to a circuit in the household".The individual panels or modules should be at least 1 x 1.70 meters in size.The connected load (600 watts) can also be divided between the panels - at least 300 watts connected load per piece results in 600 watts of module power.According to the consumer advocates, it is important that the "connected load of the inverter does not exceed 600 watts."According to consumer advocates, those who prefer not to feed into the grid and thus the additional financial income and prefer to use the electricity themselves can also use a solar device with an output of 350 to 380 watts.If the solar module with an output of 380 watts is installed on the sunny south-facing balcony, it can supply up to 280 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity per year.If the energy generated in this way is used by the user, this reduces the annual electricity bill by up to 103.60 euros (if the electricity price is 37 cents/kWh).The acquisition costs for a corresponding solar system for the balcony are around 350 to 600 euros.This means that the acquisition costs of a small solar system only pay for themselves after six to nine years, according to consumer advocates.However, they assume that the device can be used for up to 20 years and is therefore still worth the purchase.The University of Applied Sciences HTW Berlin has several independent online tools that you can use to calculate whether a plug-in solar device is worthwhile for you, how large your photovoltaic system and the power storage should be.The university also offers purchasing assistance.All offers can be found on this overview page.If the landlord does not allow you to install a mini solar system on the balcony or on the house facade, you could put the modules behind a sunny window, right?While this method sounds logical, it is less effective.Because windows often consist of different layers, which can block UV rays, among other things, but also heat or cold.The solar radiation is reduced.The result: the panels can work less effectively.The insulated glass panes can reduce the connected load by 20 percent or even more.It will therefore take even longer for the acquisition costs to be amortized.In addition, there is no guarantee that the panels can be set up at the right angle on the windowsill.Mini solar devices are only worthwhile if they are properly aligned and have a long service life.If the modules break after just five years, it's not really worth buying - unless the panels can be replaced individually and reconnected to the system.It should also be considered: Solar systems can only be used when the sun is shining.Of course, there are also ways to store the self-generated electricity.However, often only a small amount of electricity is supplied in the summer, so that this will not be enough as a "reserve" for the winter or the less sunny days.Before and during the purchase, you should make sure thatIf you want to feed the self-generated electricity into the public electricity grid, you also need a separate electricity meter and must inform your electricity provider about the feed-in.