Put an end to high energy bills in Czechia with solar PV and a heat pump

We won't see cheap energy in 2024 either. Quite the opposite. Taking 2022 prices into account, household electricity costs could rise by as much as a third next year. How can high energy prices be brought under control? Installing a solar PV system with battery storage can help, ideally combined with an air-to-water heat pump.

With the combination of solar PV and a heat pump mentioned above, it is possible to save up to 80% on costs in the ideal case (if you currently heat your home with an electric boiler). In addition to selling surplus energy, from next year it will also be possible to share the electricity generated within an energy community, for example with parents who live in their own property. The internal synergy between solar PV and a heat pump is another argument in favour of the combined solution. Electricity from PV panels can cover not only the consumption of electrical appliances, but also power a heat pump, which uses the electricity supplied to heat water. Not just the water that comes out of the tap, but above all the water in the heating system. Installing solar PV and a heat pump is therefore an investment with a very quick payback.

High efficiency is key

The “magic” lies in the efficiency of heat pumps. For example, Schlieger's models achieve an excellent COP of up to 4.4 (Coefficient of Performance – the ratio between the energy produced and the energy consumed). In practice, this means that for every 1 kWh of electricity consumed by the heat pump (which you get from your solar PV system), it can produce 4.4 kWh of heat. Thanks to this, solar PV combined with a heat pump is clearly the fastest way to save on energy costs.

Various subsidy schemes are also available for this solution, such as New Green Savings (NZÚ) and the Fix Your House After Grandma programme. From January 2024, successful NZÚ applicants will also be able to access preferential loans from building savings banks. The subsidy is financed by the Modernisation Fund, using European Union funds, and a total of CZK 55 billion has been made available under NZÚ.

A.I. will shorten the investment payback period by 30%

Another advantage of Schlieger's complete solution is that its solar PV products, including the heat pump, are A.I. Ready, meaning they are prepared to work with artificial intelligence (A.I.)-based control. Schlieger is investing tens of millions of crowns in developing its own A.I. software and will offer its customers artificial intelligence in 2024 in the form of the Schlieger A.I. Box. It will be able to communicate with A.I. Ready products that customers purchase today. Among other things, it will be able to map household behaviour patterns and monitor the weather forecast. By analysing input data, it will be able to optimise household energy consumption, charge battery storage systems when spot prices are favourable, or sell electricity when feed-in prices are high. If the price is not favourable for selling, it will instead use the energy in the home, for example to heat water using the heat pump. It will also be able to advise users whether it is currently cost-effective to switch on high-consumption appliances such as a washing machine or dishwasher, or whether they should wait until energy prices are more favourable. According to Schlieger's calculations, A.I. software can shorten the payback period on solar PV investments alone by up to 30%!