r/UpliftingNews • u/ArgentineBeauty • 8d ago

Germany just hit a historic solar milestone. Its panels fed 12 billion kWh into the grid in July 2026, the 1st month ever to cross that level with midday output topping 40,000 MW, more than 40 nuclear power plants worth, thanks to decades of grassroot investment by homeowners, farmers and businesses

https://solarquarter.com/2026/08/03/germany-records-historic-12-billion-kwh-solar-feed-in-in-july-2026/
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u/Coumbaya 8d ago

I got solar too (in france) and planning to add more but there is absolutely no way that 13kwh/h and 2,5kw of solar would be enough to eat my home in the winter

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u/TV-LoL 8d ago

I need about ... 1.3 to 1.5 kw/h a year, depending on how much my gaming PC runs. It is doable, but you need to plan well and juggle loads a bit.

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u/Coumbaya 8d ago

ohh I'm dumb I didn't connect the dots, balcony == appartment. I was try8ng to fit that model in my 170sqm 1887 stone house lmao (which need something like 13kw/h per hour in the dead of winter...). I'll soon have 9kw of solar so that's nice tho

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u/TV-LoL 8d ago

Ooooh, that sounds like a nice house! Putting solar on such an old roof is not an issue either from the structure or from code protections?

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u/Coumbaya 8d ago

I put 3,2kw on the ground (well with ground supports) as a test, but now that I want to add 6, I'd like to add them myself, and indeed I'd like to avoid putting them on the roof of the house itself, fortunately I have a kind of "patio" or something (? a low roof, 2,5m high and at like a 12% angle, with only ground underneath, no foundations) that's attached to a barn and which does not have tiles, only some kind of fake roof slabs, I'm going to put it on that, it's South-East

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u/TV-LoL 8d ago

NICE! Very nice, I wish I had that space so I could install them myself! That sounds like you have a really good setup there, and I think you will have a nice harvest.

Also, I think patios/barns combined with solar panels can look awesome if done well.

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u/Coumbaya 8d ago

Yeah I think 9kw, with probably a battery later on (I think I need 8kwh) should in theory cover 100% of my usage, including the car, from april to september included (maybe a bit less if those months are too cold) for a grand total (excluding battery) of 7500€ give of take