Renewable Electricity in German Multi-Family Buildings: Unlocking the Photovoltaic Potential for Small-Scale Landlord-to-Tenant Power Supply
The implementation of photovoltaic and home storage systems in multi-family houses (MFHs) in Germany lags significantly behind their development in single-family houses. The Landlord-to-Tenant (L2T) power supply model is meant to reduce this gap, yet few projects have been implemented to date. In th...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-03-01
|
| Series: | Energies |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/5/1213 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850225272098390016 |
|---|---|
| author | Mauricio Celi Cortés Jonas van Ouwerkerk Jingyu Gong Jan Figgener Christian Bußar Dirk Uwe Sauer |
| author_facet | Mauricio Celi Cortés Jonas van Ouwerkerk Jingyu Gong Jan Figgener Christian Bußar Dirk Uwe Sauer |
| author_sort | Mauricio Celi Cortés |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The implementation of photovoltaic and home storage systems in multi-family houses (MFHs) in Germany lags significantly behind their development in single-family houses. The Landlord-to-Tenant (L2T) power supply model is meant to reduce this gap, yet few projects have been implemented to date. In this model, the landlord must fulfill the tenants’ power demand through a combination of photovoltaic generation and storage and electricity from the grid, for which the landlord pays an auxiliary electricity price that greatly influences the financial viability of a project. Our contribution focuses on the impact of electricity price variations and recent policy changes on the financial viability of small-scale L2T concepts. We considered component investment costs, building sizes, photovoltaic yields, and future developments. Recent policy changes have improved the financial viability of L2T projects, increasing the maximal auxiliary electricity price for which an investment is viable by 13 ct/kWh for a four-party MFH. Minimal auxiliary electricity prices justifying the installation of home storage systems (HSSs) decreased by 9 ct/kWh from 2020 to 2023. Autarky rates are substantially different across the considered scenarios, with the autarky rate being defined as the percentage of consumption of self-generated energy relative to the total energy consumption. For a 22-party MFH the autarky rate decreases by 17% compared to a 4-party MFH. HSSs have the potential to increase autarky rates while maintaining the financial viability of L2T projects. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e989633b0f49481ebbfbf1a767d8365d |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1996-1073 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Energies |
| spelling | doaj-art-e989633b0f49481ebbfbf1a767d8365d2025-08-20T02:05:24ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732025-03-01185121310.3390/en18051213Renewable Electricity in German Multi-Family Buildings: Unlocking the Photovoltaic Potential for Small-Scale Landlord-to-Tenant Power SupplyMauricio Celi Cortés0Jonas van Ouwerkerk1Jingyu Gong2Jan Figgener3Christian Bußar4Dirk Uwe Sauer5Electrochemical Energy Conversion and Storage Systems, Institute for Power Electronics and Electrical Drives (ISEA), RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, GermanyElectrochemical Energy Conversion and Storage Systems, Institute for Power Electronics and Electrical Drives (ISEA), RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, GermanyElectrochemical Energy Conversion and Storage Systems, Institute for Power Electronics and Electrical Drives (ISEA), RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, GermanyElectrochemical Energy Conversion and Storage Systems, Institute for Power Electronics and Electrical Drives (ISEA), RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, GermanyElectrochemical Energy Conversion and Storage Systems, Institute for Power Electronics and Electrical Drives (ISEA), RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, GermanyElectrochemical Energy Conversion and Storage Systems, Institute for Power Electronics and Electrical Drives (ISEA), RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, GermanyThe implementation of photovoltaic and home storage systems in multi-family houses (MFHs) in Germany lags significantly behind their development in single-family houses. The Landlord-to-Tenant (L2T) power supply model is meant to reduce this gap, yet few projects have been implemented to date. In this model, the landlord must fulfill the tenants’ power demand through a combination of photovoltaic generation and storage and electricity from the grid, for which the landlord pays an auxiliary electricity price that greatly influences the financial viability of a project. Our contribution focuses on the impact of electricity price variations and recent policy changes on the financial viability of small-scale L2T concepts. We considered component investment costs, building sizes, photovoltaic yields, and future developments. Recent policy changes have improved the financial viability of L2T projects, increasing the maximal auxiliary electricity price for which an investment is viable by 13 ct/kWh for a four-party MFH. Minimal auxiliary electricity prices justifying the installation of home storage systems (HSSs) decreased by 9 ct/kWh from 2020 to 2023. Autarky rates are substantially different across the considered scenarios, with the autarky rate being defined as the percentage of consumption of self-generated energy relative to the total energy consumption. For a 22-party MFH the autarky rate decreases by 17% compared to a 4-party MFH. HSSs have the potential to increase autarky rates while maintaining the financial viability of L2T projects.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/5/1213prosumer modelingMieterstromLandlord-to-Tenant power supplyMILPresidential solar systemshome storage systems |
| spellingShingle | Mauricio Celi Cortés Jonas van Ouwerkerk Jingyu Gong Jan Figgener Christian Bußar Dirk Uwe Sauer Renewable Electricity in German Multi-Family Buildings: Unlocking the Photovoltaic Potential for Small-Scale Landlord-to-Tenant Power Supply Energies prosumer modeling Mieterstrom Landlord-to-Tenant power supply MILP residential solar systems home storage systems |
| title | Renewable Electricity in German Multi-Family Buildings: Unlocking the Photovoltaic Potential for Small-Scale Landlord-to-Tenant Power Supply |
| title_full | Renewable Electricity in German Multi-Family Buildings: Unlocking the Photovoltaic Potential for Small-Scale Landlord-to-Tenant Power Supply |
| title_fullStr | Renewable Electricity in German Multi-Family Buildings: Unlocking the Photovoltaic Potential for Small-Scale Landlord-to-Tenant Power Supply |
| title_full_unstemmed | Renewable Electricity in German Multi-Family Buildings: Unlocking the Photovoltaic Potential for Small-Scale Landlord-to-Tenant Power Supply |
| title_short | Renewable Electricity in German Multi-Family Buildings: Unlocking the Photovoltaic Potential for Small-Scale Landlord-to-Tenant Power Supply |
| title_sort | renewable electricity in german multi family buildings unlocking the photovoltaic potential for small scale landlord to tenant power supply |
| topic | prosumer modeling Mieterstrom Landlord-to-Tenant power supply MILP residential solar systems home storage systems |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/5/1213 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mauriciocelicortes renewableelectricityingermanmultifamilybuildingsunlockingthephotovoltaicpotentialforsmallscalelandlordtotenantpowersupply AT jonasvanouwerkerk renewableelectricityingermanmultifamilybuildingsunlockingthephotovoltaicpotentialforsmallscalelandlordtotenantpowersupply AT jingyugong renewableelectricityingermanmultifamilybuildingsunlockingthephotovoltaicpotentialforsmallscalelandlordtotenantpowersupply AT janfiggener renewableelectricityingermanmultifamilybuildingsunlockingthephotovoltaicpotentialforsmallscalelandlordtotenantpowersupply AT christianbußar renewableelectricityingermanmultifamilybuildingsunlockingthephotovoltaicpotentialforsmallscalelandlordtotenantpowersupply AT dirkuwesauer renewableelectricityingermanmultifamilybuildingsunlockingthephotovoltaicpotentialforsmallscalelandlordtotenantpowersupply |