Record number of sunshine hours in spring 2020 ensured high electricity feed-in from photovoltaics

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Solar power was a source of income for 2.9% of private households in 2018 – Solar energy in new buildings: Every tenth new residential building primarily used solar thermal energy in 2019 – Climate-friendly water heating: Solar thermal energy as a secondary energy source provided hot water in every fourth new residential building in 2019

Weather records for Germany show more sunshine in the months of March, April, and May in spring 2020 than ever before – according to the German Weather Service, it was the sunniest spring since records began in 1951. April, in particular, boasted an abundance of sunshine with approximately 294 hours, resulting in record levels for the share of photovoltaics in Germany's electricity feed-in. As reported by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), this share reached 17.2% in April 2020, representing, along with wind power (24.2%), the largest portion of renewable energy feed-in to the grid. Overall, 55.6% of the total electricity generated was supplied by renewable energy sources.

When sunlight is converted into electricity, it is called photovoltaics. The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems calculated that in 2019, photovoltaics, with an electricity generation of 46.5 terawatt-hours, covered 8.2% of Germany's gross electricity consumption, while renewable energies as a whole accounted for 43%. In addition to professional photovoltaic operators, private households or individuals who jointly operate photovoltaic systems (so-called community solar power plants) can also feed solar energy into the grid and benefit from it.

In 2018, solar power was a source of income for 2.9% of private households

In 2018, 2.9% of private households (around 1.2 million) in Germany generated income from the sale of solar power. In 2013, this figure was 2.4% (927,000 households). The average monthly income for these households from electricity sales in 2018 was €243, a decrease of 25.9% compared to €328 per month in 2013. One possible reason for this decline is the decreasing feed-in tariff for newly installed photovoltaic systems under the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG).

As the number of people in a household increases, so does the percentage of homeowners, and consequently, the proportion of households with income from selling solar power also rises with increasing household size. While in 2018 only just under 1% of single-person households had this type of income, the figure was already 3.5% for two-person households and 6.3% for four-person households.

Even with increasing net household income, the proportion of households that have income from the sale of solar power also increases: While 1.8% of households with a monthly net income of 2,600 to under 3,600 euros had this type of income, the proportion was 7.3% for households with a net income of 5,000 to under 7,500 euros.

One in ten new residential buildings primarily uses solar thermal energy as a heat source

When sunlight is converted into heat rather than electricity, this is called solar thermal energy. In residential buildings, this can be used for heating or hot water preparation. In 2019, 9.7% of newly completed residential buildings converted solar energy into heat and used primarily for heating and hot water preparation.

An analysis of residential buildings completed last year, categorized by energy type, shows that solar thermal energy is currently of minor importance for primary energy use in space heating (0.6%). Only 600 out of 108,071 completed residential buildings use this renewable energy source for heating. Solar energy, however, plays a more significant role in hot water preparation: in 9.2% of new residential buildings, solar thermal energy is used as the primary energy source for heating water, ranking third in primary use (only ambient heat and gas are used more frequently).

Solar thermal energy as the most important secondary energy source for hot water preparation

If more than one energy source is used in a building, solar thermal energy is usually employed as an additional (secondary) energy source. With a share of 24.7%, it was the most important energy type in secondary supply systems of new residential buildings in 2019. Compared to the previous year, the share was slightly lower (24.7% in 2019 compared to 25.7% in 2018).

The use of solar thermal energy as a secondary energy source in new residential buildings has declined somewhat in recent years. Five years ago, solar thermal energy was used as a secondary energy source for hot water preparation in almost 30% of new residential buildings.

Solar power was a source of income for 2.9% of private households in 2018 – Solar energy in new buildings: every tenth new home in 2019 primarily used solar thermal energy – heating water in a climate-friendly way: In 2019, solar thermal as secondary energy provided hot water in every fourth new residential building

Never before has the weather recording in Germany recorded as many hours of sunshine as in spring 2020 in the months of March, April and May - according to the German Weather Service, it was the sunniest spring since records began in 1951. With around 294 hours of sunshine, the month of April in particular had plenty of sunshine and brought peak values ​​for the proportion of electricity fed into the grid by photovoltaics in Germany. As reported by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), this share was 17.2% in April 2020 and, together with wind power (24.2%), accounted for the largest share of grid feed-in from renewable energy sources. In total, 55.6% of the total electricity volume was fed in from renewable energy sources.

When the sunlight is converted into electricity, one speaks of photovoltaics. The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems has calculated for the year 2019 that photovoltaics covered 8.2% of the gross electricity consumption in Germany with an electricity generation of 46.5 terawatt hours, the renewable energies in total came to 43%. In addition to professional photovoltaic operators, private households or even private individuals who operate photovoltaic systems on a community basis (so-called citizen solar systems) can also feed solar energy into the grid and benefit from it.

Solar power was a source of income for 2.9% of private households in 2018

In 2018, 2.9% of private households (around 1.2 million) in Germany had income from the sale of solar power. In 2013, the figure was 2.4% (927,000 households). The income of these private households from the sale of electricity in 2018 averaged 243 euros per month and thus fell by 25.9% compared to 2013, when the monthly income was 328 euros. One possible reason for this decline may be the falling feed-in tariffs for newly installed photovoltaic systems under the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG).

Since the ratio of house and land owners increases with the number of people in the household, the proportion of households with income from the sale of solar power also rises with increasing household size. Whereas in 2018 only just under 1% of one-person households had income of this kind, the figure for two-person households was already 3.5% and for four-person households 6.3%.

Even with rising net household income, the proportion of households that have income from the sale of solar electricity increases: While 1.8% of households with a monthly net income of EUR 2 600 to less than EUR 3 600 had this type of income, the share of households with a net income of EUR 5 000 to less than EUR 7 500 was 7.3%.

Every tenth new home uses mainly solar thermal energy as a heat source

If the sunlight is not converted into electricity but into heat, this is called solar thermal energy. In residential buildings, this can be used for heating or for hot water preparation. In 2019, the proportion of newly completed residential buildings that convert solar energy into heat and use it primarily for heating and hot water was 9.7%.

An analysis of the residential buildings completed last year by type of energy shows that solar thermal energy is currently of minor importance (0.6%) as the primary energy source for heating homes. Only 600 of 108,071 of the completed residential buildings use this renewable energy for heating. In contrast, solar energy is more important for heating water: in 9.2% of new residential buildings, solar thermal energy is used as the primary type of energy for heating water and is therefore in third place in terms of primary use (only environmental heating and gas are used more frequently).

Solar thermal energy as the most important secondary energy source for hot water preparation

If more than one energy source is used in a building, solar thermal energy is usually used as a further (secondary) energy source. With a share of 24.7%, it was the most important type of energy in secondary supply systems of residential new buildings in 2019. Compared to the previous year, the share was slightly lower (24.7% in 2019 compared to 25.7% in 2018).

The use of solar thermal energy as a secondary energy source in new residential buildings has weakened somewhat in recent years. Five years ago, solar thermal energy was used as a secondary energy source for hot water in almost 30% of residential new buildings.