Financial Update on Budget Solar and Home Battery Setup

Steps

1. 1

   Step 1: Explaining the household energy situation and past bills

   I live in an older corner house with my wife and two children, and we still use a lot of gas because the house is not well insulated. For 2025, our total energy bill was 2572 euros, which consisted of 1200 euros for electricity and 1700 euros for gas. The year before that had very similar costs, and we only fed back 253 euros and 412 euros to the grid respectively.

2. 2

   Step 2: Outlining the plan to reduce energy costs

   Because the Dutch net-metering scheme (salderen) is ending, I needed a way to store solar power for my own use. I built a Victron home battery system to store all generated solar energy. I also added two air conditioning units to cool in the summer and act as heat exchangers to heat the house in spring and autumn.

   • More solar panels

   • Victron home battery system

   • Two air conditioning units

3. 3

   Step 3: Reviewing existing solar and battery installations

   I have previously installed 12 solar panels on the droomvlucht veranda against the back of the house, 6 panels on a small veranda in the back garden, 12 panels on the front of the house, and 6 more planned for the shed. I also built a complete home battery system with 48 kWh of storage capacity. All of these builds can be watched in earlier videos on my channel.

   • 12 solar panels on the droomvlucht veranda

   • 6 solar panels on the small veranda in the garden

   • 12 solar panels on the front of the house

   • 6 solar panels for the shed

   • Victron home battery system with 48 kWh capacity

4. 4

   Step 4: Tracking energy with Home Assistant and a P1 meter

   In May 2025, I started using Home Assistant and bought a simple P1 meter to plug into my energy meter so I could read our actual consumption. In the early summer months of 2025, we still consumed more energy than we fed back despite having rear solar panels. In August 2025, we added the large veranda setup.

   What I used

   Item	Amount	Notes
   P1 meter	1	Plugged into the energy meter to read actual consumption

5. 5

   Step 5: Commissioning the battery and adding more panels

   In March 2026, the home battery was put into use. In April 2026, I added six small solar panels behind the veranda, which start generating early in the day because they lie flatter and are not in the house's shadow. In June 2026, we added two air conditioning units to reduce gas usage.

   On July 9, 2026, we added 12 solar panels to the front of the house, which boosted morning production starting at 8 AM.

6. 6

   Step 6: Analyzing 2026 self-consumption and solar production

   Since March 2026, all of our generated solar energy has been stored in the home battery, causing our self-consumption to rise sharply. Although we have summer overcapacity, my goal is to gather as much energy as possible during short winter days. Solar generation yielded about 1139 euros in value this year based on hourly market prices, but the real financial yield is much higher because the home battery lets me store power and sell it later at higher prices.

7. 7

   Step 7: Calculating the payback of the droomvlucht veranda setup

   I bought 18 second-hand solar panels from a business property for 100 euros, of which 12 are on this roof, and an inverter for 40 euros. Including some aluminum tubes I took from work, my total out-of-pocket cost was 140 euros. Over the past year in 2026, this setup has yielded 271.29 euros according to HomeWizard rates, meaning it has already paid for itself and generated about 130 euros in profit.

   What I used

   Item	Amount	Notes
   Second-hand solar panels	12	Part of a lot of 18 bought from a business property for 100 euros total
   Inverter	1	Bought for 40 euros
   Aluminum tubes	some	Gotten from work

8. 8

   Step 8: Calculating the payback of the mini solar setup

   The mini solar setup of six panels for the back veranda cost 165 euros in total for the panels, an inverter, and PV cable to connect it in the back garden. It was put into use in mid-April and has already returned 86 euros, putting us over two-thirds of the way toward paying it off completely.

   What I used

   Item	Amount	Notes
   Solar panels	6	Mini solar setup for the back veranda
   Inverter	1	Part of the mini solar setup
   PV cable	1	Used to connect the panels at the back of the garden

9. 9

   Step 9: Calculating the payback of the front house solar setup

   On July 9, I added 12 second-hand solar panels to the front of the house. Buying second-hand panels, a second-hand inverter, and rails and roof hooks via Marktplaats brought the total cost to 300 euros. In just one and a half months since early July, it has generated 528 kWh worth 95 euros, putting it at one-third paid off.

   What I used

   Item	Amount	Notes
   Solar panels	12	Second-hand panels for the front of the house
   Inverter	1	Second-hand inverter
   Rails and roof hooks	some	Bought via Marktplaats

10. 10

    Step 10: Comparing new panels with second-hand solar setups

    While brand-new high-efficiency panels require a large investment and take six to seven years to pay back, second-hand panels are widely available on Marktplaats for low investments. Because our cheap second-hand setups on the verandas paid for themselves within a year, they provide high returns much faster. The extra profit from these solar panels also helps pay off the home battery setup in a true win-win situation.

11. 11

    Step 11: Reviewing current energy consumption and bills

    Looking at the live overview from budget energy, our gas consumption for the year is still comparable to last year at 934 euros so far. However, our electricity consumption has dropped significantly to 249, aided by switching to the home battery in April. We will now try to heat electrically rather than with gas to keep our final yearly bills low.

12. 12

    Step 12: Call to action and closing remarks

    If you found this video interesting and want more updates on our power usage, bills, and yields, please let me know in the comments. Drop any questions you have and hit the like and subscribe buttons to help the channel out.

13. 13

    Step 13: Takeaways

    • Buying second-hand solar panels and inverters drastically shortens the payback period to under a year.

    • A Victron home battery system allows storing solar energy for self-consumption and trading at higher hourly rates.

    • Using Home Assistant with a P1 meter provides clear tracking of grid usage and solar yields.

    • Adding air conditioning units helps reduce reliance on gas heating during spring and autumn.

    • Extra solar generation helps fund and pay off the home battery setup.