Our 2025 Home Solar Performance: 5 Years of Real Data
If you want to know if it makes financial sense to install a home solar system in Germany, or if you’re curious about how long these systems last, we have the answers for you. Here is five years of real data from our own rooftop PV system in Germany. In 2025, our 9.45 kWp system produced 8,624 kWh, covering 54% of our household electricity needs and saving us around €2,200 in grid costs. The full breakdown is below.
This is our fifth annual solar review. You can find the previous ones for 2024 and 2023, along with the original installation posts from 2021. Quick system overview: 9.45 kWp of panels on a south-facing roof in southern Germany, installed in 2021, paired with a BYD battery and a SolarEdge inverter. Since mid-2025 we also have a Polestar 4 that we charge primarily on solar surplus using evcc.
2025: Steady Production, Higher Consumption
#Our panels produced 8,624 kWh in 2025 — down just 0.9% from 2024. Essentially flat. Total household consumption climbed to 10,714 kWh, a 6.3% jump compared to the previous year. The new EV is almost certainly responsible for a big chunk of that.
The seasonal pattern was familiar:
- Best month: June, with 1,291 kWh — narrowly edging out May (1,260 kWh). For the first time in five years, June rather than July claimed the top spot.
- Worst month: January, as expected — just 169 kWh in a month where we consumed over 1,000 kWh. Very similar to the previous years.
- Most grid-independent months: July and June, where we drew only 104 kWh and 161 kWh from the grid respectively.
What was different compared to 2024? Spring was notably stronger — February was up +55 kWh, May up +99 kWh. But July let us down badly: 1,074 kWh against July 2024’s 1,299 kWh, a drop of 225 kWh. October was similarly disappointing (352 kWh vs. 482 kWh in 2024). Whatever the weather was doing in those months, it hit the panels hard.
The flip side: December 2025 was almost double December 2024 — 166 kWh versus 85 kWh. That continues a pattern we’ve been watching for a few years now: milder winters, less snow cover on the panels, marginally better winter yields. Not much but it adds a little to our electricity savings.
Five Years in One Table
#| Year | Production | Consumption | Grid Purchased | Self-consumed | Solar Coverage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 8,065 kWh | 9,926 kWh | 4,549 kWh | 5,378 kWh | 54% |
| 2022 | 9,320 kWh | 10,322 kWh | 4,482 kWh | 5,840 kWh | 57% |
| 2023 | 8,459 kWh | 10,143 kWh | 4,827 kWh | 5,317 kWh | 52% |
| 2024 | 8,706 kWh | 10,078 kWh | 4,661 kWh | 5,418 kWh | 54% |
| 2025 | 8,624 kWh | 10,714 kWh | 4,953 kWh | 5,761 kWh | 54% |
A few things stand out. 2022 was our best year by a wide margin — an exceptional spring that has never been repeated. Since then we’ve settled into a band of 8,400–8,700 kWh, which is probably where we’ll stay barring unusual weather.
The column I pay most attention to is self-consumed solar — up from 5,378 kWh in year one to 5,761 kWh in year five, a 7% increase even though production has barely moved. The battery is doing its job. Our Eigenverbrauchsquote (to use one of our famous long German words) aka. the solar coverage ratio has been remarkably stable at 52–57% across all five years, landing at 54% in three of those years.
The Financial Reality
#German residential electricity prices averaged around €0.38/kWh in 2025 — still the highest in the EU despite a slight easing from the 2023 peak of €0.47/kWh. Our current electricity contract is slightly lower at €0.29/kWh, however every kWh we produce ourselves is worth substantially more than when we installed the system.
In 2025 we self-consumed 5,761 kWh of solar energy, representing €2,189 in avoided grid costs. We also exported 2,833 kWh back to the grid at the current feed-in tariff of ~7.9 ct/kWh, adding around €224 in income.
Total 2025 benefit: roughly €2,400.
Over five years, we’ve self-consumed approximately 27,700 kWh in total. Even at a conservative blended average of €0.30/kWh (accounting for lower prices in the early years), that’s around €8,300 in cumulative grid savings — plus another around €1,000 in feed-in revenue across the period.
The system is approaching the midpoint of its expected 20-year lifespan. At current benefit rates, we remain on track for a full payback well within that window.
How We Compare to Other German Systems
#For southern Germany, the typical annual yield benchmark is 1,000–1,200 kWh per kWp of installed capacity for ideally oriented systems. We live roughly in the middle of the country, where the forecast figures are somewhat lower. Our 9.45 kWp system produced 8,624 kWh in 2025 — a specific yield of 912 kWh/kWp. Our real-world yield reflects the actual installation geometry of our four-sided roof, with only the east, south and west sides covered by solar panels.
Our 66.8% self-consumption rate places us well within the range for battery-equipped residential systems. Fraunhofer ISE reports that self-consumption in Germany rose from 13% to 17% of total PV generation in 2024, driven by growing battery storage adoption. Systems with batteries typically reach 60–80% — we’re in the top portion of that range. Without a battery, systems self-consume 25–35% of their production — an example of why the battery pays for itself in terms of system efficiency.
What’s Next
#We had a smart meter installed at the end of 2025. The next step is obvious: switch to a dynamic electricity tariff. I’m not 100% sure yet, but with our battery and EV charging, we’re in a good place to make the most of changing prices.
Regarding the system itself, after five years the panels show no obvious signs of degradation, the battery is in good condition and the SolarEdge inverter is working fine. Sometimes the best update is that everything just works.
FAQ
#How much electricity does a home solar system produce per year?
Ours produced 8,624 kWh in 2025 — roughly what a typical German household consumes in a year. For us that’s no longer enough, since adding an EV pushed our annual consumption to over 10,700 kWh. We have 9.45 kWp installed; a typical single-family home in Germany can fit 10–12 kWp depending on roof size and orientation. The theoretical benchmark for a well-sited system is around 1,000–1,200 kWh per kWp installed.
Is a battery worth adding to a home solar system?
For us, clearly yes. Without a battery we’d self-consume maybe 25–35% of what we produce — the rest goes to the grid at the low feed-in rate. With our 10.5 kWh battery we’re at 66.8%. It shifts solar production from midday, when we don’t need it, to mornings and evenings, when we do. Five years in, that call still looks right.
How much money can a home solar system save per year in Germany?
In 2025 our system saved us around €2,400 in total: €2,189 from not buying that electricity from the grid, plus €224 in feed-in income. With grid prices at €0.38/kWh — and our own contract at €0.29/kWh — every kWh we produce ourselves is direct money saved. Five years in, the annual benefit has grown every year as prices have risen.
This post is part of my annual solar performance series. Previous years: 2024 · 2023