What income does the PV system generate?

The amount of annually producible power of a solar plant depends on several factors, such as the orientation and inclination of the modules and naturally also the total capacity of the system. This, in turn, depends largely on the (roof) surface available for the PV modules. The installation of 1 kWp of nominal output (kWP = kilowatt peak; defined as the capacity for an irradiation of 1,000 W/m²), today requires approximately 7 to 11 square meters of roof surface area. For southward orientation and an inclination angle of the modules between 10° and 30°, in central Europe you can anticipate an annual yield of 800 to 1,000 kWh per kWp of installed system capacity.

Example: A 5 kWP roof system at an appropriate location in the central German area produces an annual average of 910 kWh per kWP of installed capacity. Thus it achieves an average annual yield of 5 x 910 kWh = 4,550 kWh. Let’s compare: This could correspond to the approximate annual power consumption of a family of four. In 2012, according to the EEG, a grid operator is paid a feed-in compensation of 24.43 Euro cents/kWh. This means that the system produces an annual turnover of 4,550 kWh x 24.43 cents/kWh = 1,111.57 Euros.