What is it and what are the advantages?
In accordance with the provisions of article 9.1 of Law 24/2013, of December 26th, self-consumption shall be understood as the consumption, by one or several consumers, of electricity from production facilities close to those where consumption takes place and associated with them.
Self-consumption modalities
There are basically two types of PV installations for self-consumption, with surplus and without surplus.
Self-consumption with surpluses.
This modality is the most popular and probably the most interesting to install in your home for two main reasons:
– Firstly, because the installation is cheaper and it is not necessary to have a battery system to store the excess electricity produced by the panels.
– Secondly, because if we are connected to the grid, it makes sense to connect to it. The electricity companies, although they will not pay us for the excess energy produced in our house, they will compensate us for the energy we consume at night.
Although it is a bit boring, here is the legal definition. “It corresponds to the modalities defined in article 9.1.b) of Law 24/2013, of December 26th. In these modalities, production facilities close to and associated with consumption facilities may, in addition to supplying energy for self-consumption, inject surplus energy into the transmission and distribution networks. In these cases, there will be two types of subjects of those provided for in article 6 of Law 24/2013, of December 26th, these are the consumer and the producer”.
Self-generation without surplus.
This mode only makes sense when we do not have a connection to the general grid in our house, which obliges us to install a battery system to be able to store the excess electricity produced by our panels.
This is mainly the case for country houses that are isolated, houses in the mountains, rustic farms, etc.
It can also be used on farms where electricity is needed, for example in a stable, or to power an intensive irrigation system.
Once again we recur to the boring legal definition. “It corresponds to the modalities defined in article 9.1.a) of Law 24/2013, of December 26th. In these modalities, an anti-spill mechanism must be installed to prevent the injection of surplus energy into the transmission or distribution grid. In this case there will be only one type of subject of those provided for in article 6 of Law 24/2013, of December 26th, which will be the consumer subject.
Differences Between Photovoltaic and Solar Thermal Energy
Due to the regulations that existed in Spain until April 2019, only solar thermal energy panels were being installed in this country because, thanks to the famous sun tax, it was forbidden to produce our own electricity in our homes. As a result of the modification on the law in 2019, we can now install photovoltaic energy panels in our premises to generate our own electricity.
So when it comes to deciding which system is most appropriate for your home or business, there can be some confusion about which type of panels to choose, so we will briefly explain in a simple way the differences between each system.
Benefits of self-consumption
There are two major benefits of installing solar panels for self-consumption:
- Contribute to the environment
- Significant savings on electricity bills
Contribution to the environment
Today, solar panels are guaranteed to produce 80% of their potential output for 25 years, this implies that for at least 25 years, you´ll have the electricity for your home, office, barn or whatever, guaranteed.
This means that you don’t have to be pulling electricity from the grid, which in many cases, but not always, is produced using highly polluting methods, such as burning coal.
Significant savings on electricity bills
In this sense, you will have various sources of savings which, in the case of self-consumption with surpluses, can reach up to 80% of your monthly bill. The fixed costs charged by the company cannot be taken off, but if you have the installation properly calculated, the rest of the bill could be close to reach zero euros.
In addition, permanent increases in the kilowatt prices, which is normally around 10% per year, will cease to affect you for life, as all the energy you consume will be produced by your installation.
Summary
Right now, with the financing provided by banks for this type of installation, there are no reasons not to install a self-generating system of electricity with solar panels in our home or business, as we can ensure that the monthly payment to the bank does not exceed the savings we obtain on our electricity bill, so that during 4 or 5 years our monthly expenditure will be the same, and once our bank loan is fully paid, the savings could be up to 80 % of the current electricity bill.
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