Solar Panels for Garden Fences — Plug & Play Solar Gone Wild

I recently wrote about tiltable, portable solar panels that are ideal for agrivoltaic installations. Scaling down from the farm to the garden level, another company is now offering plug & play solar panels that you can hang on garden fences. German startup Green Akku has created this clever little solar PV option. (There are a lot of home gardens in Germany, and a lot of interest in solar.)

As you can see in the picture above, you basically just hang and clip the solar panels on the fence. And then you enjoy all the electricity they create. The cost of these solar power systems — which include solar modules, inverters, and special brackets — is just €416.81 ($448.83). That seems ridiculously low to me, but it is what it is.

Reportedly, there is no need for a permit when using these solar panels. (That may vary by jurisdiction.) And the kit comes with everything needed to connect the panels to the fence.

This is what the company has to say about its garden fence solar PV: “Thanks to the vertical attachment of the modules to the property or garden fence, particularly high yields are achieved when the sun is low. This means that the fence system performs much better than a roof system, especially when a lot of energy is needed, i.e. in the morning and evening hours. The complete sets consist of PV modules, micro-inverters, mounting material and come with everything you need for the installation. Even the tool. They can be flexibly attached to existing fences and thus optimally adapt to your needs.”

Before these garden fence solar PV systems, Green Akku was in the business of selling solar PV panels for balconies. “With a balcony power plant, you can produce environmentally friendly electricity on your own balcony and thus not only reduce your electricity bill, but also make a contribution to climate protection,” the company writes about this topic. “A complete package consists of just a few components and can be installed easily and with little effort. The solar modules are placed on the balcony, terrace or roof and connected to the inverter via a cable. This converts the direct current generated into usable alternating current, which is fed directly into the power grid or can be temporarily stored in a battery.”

Images courtesy of Green Akku.