Anyone who generates solar power using a PV system has two options: feed the electricity into the grid and sell it to a utility, or use it directly for their own consumption.

  • Full grid feed-in: You can choose to feed all the electricity you generate into the grid. Thanks to feed-in tariffs, you’ll receive income for the energy you produce over a 15-year period. In addition, investment incentives are often available.
  • Partial self-consumption: You can use some of the electricity generated directly to power your appliances, a heat pump, or
    to charge an electric vehicle. The electricity not consumed is then fed into the grid at a set rate (often slightly lower than the full feed-in tariff). With a battery, electricity not consumed immediately can be stored for later use, such as at night. This helps increase the share of self-consumption.

In summary: self-consumption becomes more attractive the wider the gap between the cost of purchasing electricity and the cost of solar power generation. Since this gap currently favors self-consumption, a PV system remains profitable even with attractive feed-in tariffs.

There is nothing to prevent you from combining self-consumption with feeding electricity back into the grid. However, it is advisable to optimize self-consumption.