Commonly known as balcony solar in Europe, plug-in solar systems are small, modular panels that anyone can install in minutes. They generate up to about 1,200 watts — enough to offset a chunk of a typical home’s daytime energy use — and can even be paired with batteries for backup power. In Germany, where simple regulations cleared the way, roughly 4 million households now use these systems. Prices there have fallen to around $0.60 per watt, and some setups pay for themselves in under three years.

https://cleantechnica.com/2025/11/12/the-peoples-solar-how-plug-in-solar-could-bring-affordable-energy-to-60-million-americans/

 

15 minutes ago, Alan Zweibel said:

Commonly known as balcony solar in Europe, plug-in solar systems are small, modular panels that anyone can install in minutes. They generate up to about 1,200 watts — enough to offset a chunk of a typical home’s daytime energy use — and can even be paired with batteries for backup power. In Germany, where simple regulations cleared the way, roughly 4 million households now use these systems. Prices there have fallen to around $0.60 per watt, and some setups pay for themselves in under three years.

https://cleantechnica.com/2025/11/12/the-peoples-solar-how-plug-in-solar-could-bring-affordable-energy-to-60-million-americans/

 

On a private basis they can support the electrical requirements but nationally not a chance in hell, unless you cover the entire country with solar panels.

Just now, Photoguy21 said:

On a private basis they can support the electrical requirements but nationally not a chance in hell, unless you cover the entire country with solar panels.

I'm not sure what you're claiming? Are you saying that these units can't provide enough power for all of Thailand or PV units in general?

1 minute ago, Alan Zweibel said:

I'm not sure what you're claiming? Are you saying that these units can't provide enough power for all of Thailand or PV units in general?

Definitely not. Solar power on a national level is just not feasible. On a private level it can help the electrical a household requires. 

Just now, Photoguy21 said:

Definitely not. Solar power on a national level is just not feasible. On a private level it can help the electrical a household requires. 

You got some actual facts to back that up?

Just now, Alan Zweibel said:

You got some actual facts to back that up?

Yes I have loads of fact. Mostly based on the industry I work in that uses solar power extensively. Do you have anything to say a country could run solely on solar power? I dont think you do unless it is from a mind disconnected from reality and I dont believe that would apply to you.

40 minutes ago, Alan Zweibel said:

Commonly known as balcony solar in Europe, plug-in solar systems are small, modular panels that anyone can install in minutes. They generate up to about 1,200 watts — enough to offset a chunk of a typical home’s daytime energy use — and can even be paired with batteries for backup power. In Germany, where simple regulations cleared the way, roughly 4 million households now use these systems. Prices there have fallen to around $0.60 per watt, and some setups pay for themselves in under three years.

https://cleantechnica.com/2025/11/12/the-peoples-solar-how-plug-in-solar-could-bring-affordable-energy-to-60-million-americans/

 

I'm a big fan of solar and have, but the small system you are discussing won't offset much at all.  1.2kWh of electric, at peak exposure, and for how long.   If on a balcony, maybe 3 hours of peak exposure, or if facing south, 6 hrs max, and only during certain months of the year, due to earth's axis.

 

If unobstructed on a roof, better, maybe 6 hrs peak year round, but if not home, not offsetting much, without battery for storage, then gets costly.

 

Consider those needing to offset their electric, probably aren't home during the day, working or at school.   Need 3kWh or 5kWh system w/ batteries to really offset enough to pay for itself.   Unless of course, home all day, or you could feed into grid and get a good return for that, though unlikely.  At least here in TH.

 

Our system will give ROI within the next year (4 yrs total), but only because we have BEVs and are home during the day.  Can probably be installed now, for about 250k THB, (10kWh inverter w/ 10kWh battery), and enough for 2 people to be off grid, year round in TH, if placed on roof @ ~5° pitch.

 

IF our system only cost 250k then it would have paid for itself about a year ago, 2 yrs use.

 

I do agree with the concept, and every roof, if applicable (location) should be covered with solar panels.   We have enough excess during the day to run a whole other house, next door if there was one, on most days.  Will produce 30-50kWh on good days.

 

Other days, barely enough to top up the batteries, from use of the previous night, maybe 6-8kWh.

5 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

I'm a big fan of solar and have, but the small system you are discussing won't offset much at all.  1.2kWh of electric, at peak exposure, and for how long.   If on a balcony, maybe 3 hours of peak exposure, or if facing south, 6 hrs max, and only during certain months of the year, due to earth's axis.

 

If unobstructed on a roof, better, maybe 6 hrs peak year round, but if not home, not offsetting much, without battery for storage, then gets costly.

 

Consider those needing to offset their electric, probably aren't home during the day, working or at school.   Need 3kWh or 5kWh system w/ batteries to really offset enough to pay for itself.   Unless of course, home all day, or you could feed into grid and get a good return for that, though unlikely.  At least here in TH.

 

Our system will give ROI within the next year (4 yrs total), but only because we have BEVs and are home during the day.  Can probably be installed now, for about 250k THB, (10kWh inverter w/ 10kWh battery), and enough for 2 people to be off grid, year round in TH, if placed on roof @ ~5° pitch.

 

IF our system only cost 250k then it would have paid for itself about a year ago, 2 yrs use.

 

I do agree with the concept, and every roof, if applicable (location) should be covered with solar panels.   We have enough excess during the day to run a whole other house, next door if there was one, on most days.  Will produce 30-50kWh on good days.

 

Other days, barely enough to top up the batteries, from use of the previous night, maybe 6-8kWh.

As the article noted, it was about saving people money.

18 minutes ago, Photoguy21 said:

Yes I have loads of fact. Mostly based on the industry I work in that uses solar power extensively. Do you have anything to say a country could run solely on solar power? I dont think you do unless it is from a mind disconnected from reality and I dont believe that would apply to you.

For one thing, you're sayiing something different now. First you claimed you would have to cover the whole country in solar panels and now you're asking if I think a whole country could run on solar power. Make up your mind.

11 minutes ago, Alan Zweibel said:

As the article noted, it was about saving people money.

Only if they are home to use, or compensated to feed the grid.   Or it will be a long time for ROI.

 

On the other topic, single family homes, detached or townhouses could easily be off grid, but condos & businesses would struggle, and near impossible if multi story structures.  Unless panels covering every wall & roof surface, and then still a stretch.

 

Didn't bother reading the article, since titled 'America', and USA is not solar friendly, as overpriced and over regulated.  60 million would be about 1/5 th the population, and that's a stretch, as many live in poor weather part of the year.

 

Hurricanes, tornadoes, hail & snow, with NW very wet & overcast.

To add, reference to USA, I wouldn't even have solar in USA, as if jumping through all the hoops, it would be at least 3X as expensive as our system here in TH.  

 

It would also take 3 to 5X as long for ROI, as I wouldn't own a BEV in the USA either, as crap & overpriced, and not really having a nationwide charging network unless owning a Tesla, which I also wouldn't own.

 

Without the BEV, ROI of solar would take too many years and I've never lived in any house in the USA, more than 3 years.   Maybe in retirement, in BumFuk rural USA, but ... NO THANKS.

1 hour ago, Alan Zweibel said:

As the article noted, it was about saving people money.

Net zero has made UK electricity 3x as expensive as using coal and oil.

This is what happens when socialists try to save money.

2 hours ago, Alan Zweibel said:

Commonly known as balcony solar in Europe, plug-in solar systems are small, modular panels that anyone can install in minutes. They generate up to about 1,200 watts — enough to offset a chunk of a typical home’s daytime energy use — and can even be paired with batteries for backup power. In Germany, where simple regulations cleared the way, roughly 4 million households now use these systems. Prices there have fallen to around $0.60 per watt, and some setups pay for themselves in under three years.

https://cleantechnica.com/2025/11/12/the-peoples-solar-how-plug-in-solar-could-bring-affordable-energy-to-60-million-americans/

 

I think you mean $0.6 per kWh which is 17bht.

4x the price of electricity generated by coal in Thailand.

 

Also small modular panels don't generate much, my massive panels generate 2-3kwhr each, but you wouldn't fit one on most balconies.

 

So the question one must ask, why is German electricity so expensive?

And the only answer I can think is corrupt socialist ideology.

23 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I think you mean $0.6 per kWh which is 17bht.

4x the price of electricity generated by coal in Thailand.

 

Also small modular panels don't generate much, my massive panels generate 2-3kwhr each, but you wouldn't fit one on most balconies.

 

So the question one must ask, why is German electricity so expensive?

And the only answer I can think is corrupt socialist ideology.

You misunderstand. It's the cost of the panel per kwh of generating power. Not the cost per kwh of electricity.

12 minutes ago, Alan Zweibel said:

You misunderstand. It's the cost of the panel per kwh of generating power. Not the cost per kwh of electricity.

Ok, so $0.6 per watt for solar panels in Germany.

 

But I've just purchased a 600w panel in Thailand for 1,800bht Inc delivery.

Which works out at 3bht per watt or $0.1 per watt.

 

So why are solar panels 6x the price in Germany?

4 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Ok, so $0.6 per watt for solar panels in Germany.

 

But I've just purchased a 600w panel in Thailand for 1,800bht Inc delivery.

Which works out at 3bht per watt or $0.1 per watt.

 

So why are solar panels 6x the price in Germany?

It's not just a panel, is it?

49 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Net zero has made UK electricity 3x as expensive as using coal and oil.

This is what happens when socialists try to save money.

I firmly believe that one day, instead of making things up, you will start looking things up.

Just now, Alan Zweibel said:

It's not just a panel, is it?

It's hard trying to talk about solar power generation with someone who clearly knows nothing about solar power generation beyond net zero puff pieces.

3 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

It's hard trying to talk about solar power generation with someone who clearly knows nothing about solar power generation beyond net zero puff pieces.

So, can you share with me what you think of the the latest advances in tandem perovskite solar cells? I eagerly await my education.

5 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

It's hard trying to talk about solar power generation with someone who clearly knows nothing about solar power generation beyond net zero puff pieces.

This is coming from someone who didn't understand the difference between a solar panel and a solar panel plug-in system.

Just now, Alan Zweibel said:

So, can you share with me what you think of the the latest advances in tandem perovskite solar cells? I eagerly await my education.

No, I'm happy with 600w N-type, bifacial, split mono panels.

I prefer current reality to future fantasy.

1 minute ago, Alan Zweibel said:

This is coming from someone who didn't understand the difference between a solar panel and a solar panel plug-in system.

Tell us about the solar generation system you have installed?

7 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

It's hard trying to talk about solar power generation with someone who clearly knows nothing about solar power generation beyond net zero puff pieces.

And you also didn't understand that the kwh measurement referred to was for the cost per kilowatt of the panel, not for the electricity. And yet you accuse me of ignorance. Projecting much?

2 minutes ago, Alan Zweibel said:

And you also didn't understand that the kwh measurement referred to was for the cost per kilowatt of the panel, not for the electricity. And yet you accuse me of ignorance. Projecting much?

I replied to what you typed, not what you thought you typed.

And you seem confused about watts and kilowatts.

Just now, BritManToo said:

Tell us about the solar generation system you have installed?

If I buy a car does that make me any kind of authority on automotive engineering? Or the economics involved in manufacturing automobiles? P

2 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I replied to what you typed, not what you thought you typed.

And you seem confused about watts and kilowatts.

I stand corrected about watts vs kilowatts. Unlike you, I can acknowledge an error. 

1 minute ago, Alan Zweibel said:

If I buy a car does that make me any kind of authority on automotive engineering? Or the economics involved in manufacturing automobiles? P

I don't consider you an authority on anything.

3 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I don't consider you an authority on anything.

I don't claim to be. But, unlike you, when it comes this sort of subject, I know who my betters are. And you most decidedly aren't one of them.

20 hours ago, Alan Zweibel said:

For one thing, you're sayiing something different now. First you claimed you would have to cover the whole country in solar panels and now you're asking if I think a whole country could run on solar power. Make up your mind.

No I didn't. I said if they was going to cover the entire country which would be needed to rid the country of oil and gas there would be no where to grow food. Be nice if you had understood what I said.

8 hours ago, Photoguy21 said:

No I didn't. I said if they was going to cover the entire country which would be needed to rid the country of oil and gas there would be no where to grow food. Be nice if you had understood what I said.

Your point isn't valid but who cares since you're massively wrong about how much land would be required for solar power to power all of Thailand

4 years ago it was reckoned that it would take about 22,000 square miles of solar panels to power the USA. That's about 57,000 kilometers. The total land area of thailand is about 513,000 square kilometers. I reckon that if that  about 1/9 of Thailand's area could power the USA of 4 years ago, it probably could do the same for the Thailand of today.

https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/energy/2015/05/21/fact-checking-elon-musks-blue-square-how-much-solar-to-power-the-us/

https://elements.visualcapitalist.com/how-much-land-power-us-solar/

 

 And not that it's exactly relevant to your assertion but in the USA about 29.7 milllion acres or about 120191 square kilometers of land is used to grow corn for ethanol. So at least  as far as total area goes, it shouldn't be a problem to power America strictly with solar.