Plug-in solar in Germany: is it worth it for you?

Payback, savings and what is allowed in Germany. With your own power price, no email and no sign-up.

What applies in Germany

Allowed

Up to 800 W inverter output
Up to 2,000 W of panels
In force since May 16, 2024
Plug type: Schuko

Registration steps

Register the device in the Marktstammdatenregister (MaStR) under 'Steckerfertige Solaranlage' within one month of commissioning; you need module power, inverter power, address, commissioning date and meter number. ↗
No separate application to the grid operator is needed; the MaStR forwards your registration. The grid operator will replace an old non-bidirectional meter at no charge, and a backward-running meter is tolerated until then. ↗
Tenants and flat owners: ask the landlord or owners' association (WEG) for consent first; since 17 Oct 2024 they may only refuse if the installation is unreasonable (unzumutbar) for them. ↗

The legal inverter limit is 800 volt-amperes (AC) and the module limit 2,000 Wp; both must be met. Larger systems count as ordinary PV plants and need the full grid-connection procedure.
Product standard DIN VDE V 0126-95 (in force since 1 Dec 2025) allows a normal Schuko plug up to 960 Wp of module power; above that a special feed-in plug (e.g. Wieland) or fixed wiring is required. Some local subsidy schemes still demand a Wieland plug.
Exported surplus is normally not paid: MaStR-only registration puts the device in the 'unentgeltliche Abnahme' (free delivery) category. Size the kit for self-consumption.
Registration in the MaStR is mandatory; failing to register is an administrative offence (fine possible under § 95 EnWG). Tell your home-contents / liability insurer about the device.

Rules checked November 5, 2026. Sources

Find the right size for your home

1. Where is the kit going?

Postcode

Only the first digits are used, never stored.

2. How many people live in your home?

1 2 3–4 5+

Typical for this household in Germany: 2,400 kWh a year.

Or your yearly use, if you know it

kWh

3. Is someone home during the day?

Mostly home office, retired Partly some days Rarely out all day

4. How will it be mounted?

A balcony railing is near-vertical; a flat roof or garden can be tilted.

5. Your power price (optional)

€ / kWh

From your bill. Leave blank to use the Germany average of €0.37 per kWh.

How much power?

Suggested for your home 2,000 W (4 panels)

Bigger kits cost little extra, so every step up to the largest kit sold here earns its extra cost back within 5 years. You would use about 50% of the power yourself; the rest goes to the grid. Based on a typical 2,400 kWh a year.

Suggested

Used at homeSent to the grid

2,000 W · from €400

Cheapest kit we found with at least 2,000 W: Solakon onPower 2000 W, 4 panels, 2,000 W. Mount and delivery are extra.

Add a battery Kits with a battery start at €649 here. Stores midday power for the evening.

Saves about €243 a year and pays for itself in 1.4–1.9 years.

Nothing you enter is stored. Results are estimates, shown as a range.

Typical payback by mounting spot

Standard kit (2 panels), about €280 at the average Germany power price of €0.37 per kWh, with someone home part of the day.

Mounting spot	Generated per year	Saved per year	Payback
Balcony railing, facing south	671 kWh	€172	1.5–1.8 years
Balcony railing, facing east	473 kWh	€136	1.9–2.3 years
Balcony railing, facing west	463 kWh	€134	1.9–2.3 years
Tilted, facing south	936 kWh	€208	1.2–1.5 years
Tilted, facing east	756 kWh	€185	1.4–1.7 years
Tilted, facing west	747 kWh	€184	1.4–1.7 years
Flat (roof or garden)	784 kWh	€189	1.3–1.7 years

Kits allowed in Germany

Filtered by the local limit, not by commission. We earn a fee on affiliate links; your price does not change.

Anker SOLIX Solarbank 3 E2700 Pro

1,000 W / 800 W · 2.69 kWh battery · 10 y

€1,599

View offer

Anker SOLIX Solarbank 3 E2700 Pro

2,000 W / 800 W · 2.69 kWh battery · 10 y

€1,799

View offer

Anker SOLIX Solarbank 2 E1600 Plus

880 W / 800 W · 1.6 kWh battery · 10 y

€1,099

View offer

EcoFlow STREAM Microinverter

900 W / 800 W · 10 y

€399

View offer

EcoFlow STREAM Ultra

2,000 W / 800 W · 1.92 kWh battery · 10 y

€899

View offer

EcoFlow STREAM Ultra X

2,000 W / 800 W · 3.84 kWh battery · 10 y

€1,259

View offer

Common questions

Tenants and flat owners

Since 17 Oct 2024 plug-in solar is a 'privileged' alteration: under § 554 BGB a tenant can demand the landlord's permission, and under § 20 WEG a flat owner can demand the owners' association's approval; refusal is only possible if the installation is unreasonable for them. Consent is still required before installing.

Grid operator

No. Since Solarpaket I (16 May 2024) a plug-in system up to 800 VA / 2,000 Wp only needs MaStR registration; the Bundesnetzagentur notifies the grid operator. A battery storage unit still has to be reported to the grid operator (simplified VDE-AR-N 4105 form up to 800 W).

Still being confirmed

We could not yet confirm the following from an official source. Treat them as provisional.

registration[0]: The one-month MaStR registration deadline (§ 5 MaStRV) was only confirmed on a secondary page (elektronik-zeit.de); bundesnetzagentur.de and gesetze-im-internet.de could not be opened in this session.
inverterCapW: The law (§ 8 Abs. 5a EEG, via MaStR newsletter) states 800 volt-amperes, not watts; 800 W is the usual simplification. The EEG text itself on gesetze-im-internet.de could not be opened.
tenantRights: § 554 BGB text and 17.10.2024 effective date were read on buzer.de (a mirror of the official text), not on gesetze-im-internet.de; § 20 WEG wording was not read directly, only summarised by Verbraucherzentrale.
notes[3]: The § 95 EnWG fine for failing to register comes from a secondary source (elektronik-zeit.de); no enforcement case was verified.