Abstract
In recent years, balcony plug-and-play photovoltaic (PV) systems have experienced significant growth in Europe, driven by rising electricity prices, environmental awareness, and ease of installation. These modular systems can be directly connected to a household socket without professional installation, making them ideal for apartment residents lacking rooftop access. Their investment cost per kilowatt is nearly half that of conventional rooftop PV, lowering the entry barrier for urban households seeking to reduce energy bills and carbon emissions. This study analyzes the performance of balcony plug-and-play PV systems for Istanbul, Türkiye. Using BEopt building energy simulation software, typical low-, medium-, and high-electricity consumption apartments were modeled to estimate annual electricity demand under Istanbul’s climatic conditions. PV performance was evaluated for different façade orientations (south, east–west, and north) and module tilt angles (70°, 80°, and 90°). Results show that south-facing, 70° tilted systems consistently achieved the highest energy yields and economic performance. For low-consumption households, the 500 W system achieved the shortest payback period of 6.7 years, whereas 1 kW systems performed best for medium- and high-consumption households, with payback periods of 6.3 and 5.7 years, respectively. East–west orientations also performed well, while north-facing systems were least economically viable. These findings suggest that balcony plug-and-play PV systems could offer a practical and cost-effective solution to Türkiye’s low residential PV penetration, enabling widespread adoption in multi-story apartments without complex installation or property issues.
Keywords
Residential Plug-and-play photovoltaics BEopt Building energy simulation Distributed generation
Ethical Statement
Ethics committee approval was not required for this study because of there was no study on animals or humans.
References
- Christensen, C. & Horowitz, S. (2011). BEoptTM (Building Energy Optimization Tool). National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). https://doi.org/10.11578/dc.20190708.1
- Das Solarpaket I im Überblick. (2024). https://www.bundeswirtschaftsministerium.de/Redaktion/DE/Downloads/S-T/solarpaket-im-ueberblick.html
- Duman, A. C. & Güler, Ö. (2020). Economic analysis of grid-connected residential rooftop PV systems in Turkey. Renewable Energy, 148, 697–711. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2019.10.157
- Eurostat. (2025). Electricity price statistics. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/
- Galvin, R. (2024). Free plug-in photovoltaics for rental apartments in Germany: a win-win-win financial opportunity for landlords, tenants and society.
- Gerber, D. L., Ginsberg-Klemmt, A., Stoler, L., Shackelford, J. & Meier, A. (2025). Barriers to Balcony Solar and Plug-In Distributed Energy Resources in the United States. Energies, 18(8), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.3390/en18082132
- Gögelein, D., Von Schwerin, M. & Herbort, V. (2024). PV System Installation Assessment Based on Power Measurement for Balcony Power Plant Applications. IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics, 14(4), 571–582. https://doi.org/10.1109/JPHOTOV.2024.3384914
- Kraschewski, T., Heumann, M. & Breitner, M. H. (2025). Adoption and spatial distribution disparities of residential plug-in and rooftop photovoltaic systems in Germany. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 209(October 2024), 115092. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2024.115092
- Maxxisun. (2025). Balcony PV costs. https://maxxisun.de/produkt/konfigurator-balkonkraftwerk-ohne-speicher/
- Molnár, L. & Szép, T. (2025). Technology acceptance of balcony solar systems in Hungary – exploring influencing factors in a late-adopter country. Management of Environmental Quality, 36(2), 329–350. https://doi.org/10.1108/MEQ-06-2024-0242
- Polański, J., Nemś, M., Michalski, M. & Vassiliades, C. (2025). Balcony Photovoltaics in Large-Panel Prefabricated Buildings as a Contribution to the Urban Energy Transition. Energies, 18(21), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.3390/en18215789
- PV magazine Energy Storage. (2025). Germany reaches 1 million balcony power systems registered. https://www.ess-news.com/
- Seme, S., Strojansek, L., . Simonic, E. & Sredensek, K. (2024). Balcony solar photovoltaic plug-and-play systems. Renewable Energies, Environment and Power Quality Journal, 2(June), 276–282. https://doi.org/10.24084/reepqj24.422
- Stefanović, A., Rakonjac, I., Radu, D., Hadzima-Nyarko, M. & Cazacu, C. E. (2025). Technical, Economic, and Environmental Assessment of the High-Rise Building Facades as Locations for Photovoltaic Systems. Sustainability, 17(19), 8844. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17198844
- Sun, M., Cao, X., Liu, X., Cao, T. & Zhu, Q. (2024). The Russia-Ukraine conflict, soaring international energy prices, and implications for global economic policies. Heliyon, 10(16), e34712. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e34712
- Taberner Subirats, S. (2025). Techno-economic and safety assessment of “ plug -and- play ” photovoltaic systems for [KU Leuven]. https://riunet.upv.es/server/api/core/bitstreams/46e47b00-e01b-463b-bee3-d355e1574f0b/content
Abstract
In recent years, balcony plug-and-play photovoltaic (PV) systems have experienced significant growth in Europe, driven by rising electricity prices, environmental awareness, and ease of installation. These modular systems can be directly connected to a household socket without professional installation, making them ideal for apartment residents lacking rooftop access. Their investment cost per kilowatt is nearly half that of conventional rooftop PV, lowering the entry barrier for urban households seeking to reduce energy bills and carbon emissions. This study analyzes the performance of balcony plug-and-play PV systems for Istanbul, Türkiye. Using BEopt building energy simulation software, typical low-, medium-, and high-electricity consumption apartments were modeled to estimate annual electricity demand under Istanbul’s climatic conditions. PV performance was evaluated for different façade orientations (south, east–west, and north) and module tilt angles (70°, 80°, and 90°). Results show that south-facing, 70° tilted systems consistently achieved the highest energy yields and economic performance. For low-consumption households, the 500 W system achieved the shortest payback period of 6.7 years, whereas 1 kW systems performed best for medium- and high-consumption households, with payback periods of 6.3 and 5.7 years, respectively. East–west orientations also performed well, while north-facing systems were least economically viable. These findings suggest that balcony plug-and-play PV systems could offer a practical and cost-effective solution to Türkiye’s low residential PV penetration, enabling widespread adoption in multi-story apartments without complex installation or property issues.
Keywords
Residential Plug-and-play photovoltaics BEopt Building energy simulation Distributed generation
Ethical Statement
Ethics committee approval was not required for this study because of there was no study on animals or humans.
References
- Christensen, C. & Horowitz, S. (2011). BEoptTM (Building Energy Optimization Tool). National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). https://doi.org/10.11578/dc.20190708.1
- Das Solarpaket I im Überblick. (2024). https://www.bundeswirtschaftsministerium.de/Redaktion/DE/Downloads/S-T/solarpaket-im-ueberblick.html
- Duman, A. C. & Güler, Ö. (2020). Economic analysis of grid-connected residential rooftop PV systems in Turkey. Renewable Energy, 148, 697–711. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2019.10.157
- Eurostat. (2025). Electricity price statistics. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/
- Galvin, R. (2024). Free plug-in photovoltaics for rental apartments in Germany: a win-win-win financial opportunity for landlords, tenants and society.
- Gerber, D. L., Ginsberg-Klemmt, A., Stoler, L., Shackelford, J. & Meier, A. (2025). Barriers to Balcony Solar and Plug-In Distributed Energy Resources in the United States. Energies, 18(8), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.3390/en18082132
- Gögelein, D., Von Schwerin, M. & Herbort, V. (2024). PV System Installation Assessment Based on Power Measurement for Balcony Power Plant Applications. IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics, 14(4), 571–582. https://doi.org/10.1109/JPHOTOV.2024.3384914
- Kraschewski, T., Heumann, M. & Breitner, M. H. (2025). Adoption and spatial distribution disparities of residential plug-in and rooftop photovoltaic systems in Germany. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 209(October 2024), 115092. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2024.115092
- Maxxisun. (2025). Balcony PV costs. https://maxxisun.de/produkt/konfigurator-balkonkraftwerk-ohne-speicher/
- Molnár, L. & Szép, T. (2025). Technology acceptance of balcony solar systems in Hungary – exploring influencing factors in a late-adopter country. Management of Environmental Quality, 36(2), 329–350. https://doi.org/10.1108/MEQ-06-2024-0242
- Polański, J., Nemś, M., Michalski, M. & Vassiliades, C. (2025). Balcony Photovoltaics in Large-Panel Prefabricated Buildings as a Contribution to the Urban Energy Transition. Energies, 18(21), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.3390/en18215789
- PV magazine Energy Storage. (2025). Germany reaches 1 million balcony power systems registered. https://www.ess-news.com/
- Seme, S., Strojansek, L., . Simonic, E. & Sredensek, K. (2024). Balcony solar photovoltaic plug-and-play systems. Renewable Energies, Environment and Power Quality Journal, 2(June), 276–282. https://doi.org/10.24084/reepqj24.422
- Stefanović, A., Rakonjac, I., Radu, D., Hadzima-Nyarko, M. & Cazacu, C. E. (2025). Technical, Economic, and Environmental Assessment of the High-Rise Building Facades as Locations for Photovoltaic Systems. Sustainability, 17(19), 8844. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17198844
- Sun, M., Cao, X., Liu, X., Cao, T. & Zhu, Q. (2024). The Russia-Ukraine conflict, soaring international energy prices, and implications for global economic policies. Heliyon, 10(16), e34712. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e34712
- Taberner Subirats, S. (2025). Techno-economic and safety assessment of “ plug -and- play ” photovoltaic systems for [KU Leuven]. https://riunet.upv.es/server/api/core/bitstreams/46e47b00-e01b-463b-bee3-d355e1574f0b/content
Details
| Primary Language | English |
|---|---|
| Subjects | Photovoltaic Power Systems, Energy, Solar Energy Systems |
| Journal Section | Research Article |
| Authors | |
| Submission Date | October 30, 2025 |
| Acceptance Date | January 22, 2026 |
| Publication Date | March 15, 2026 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.34248/bsengineering.1813085 |
| IZ | https://izlik.org/JA54BX46MT |
| Published in Issue | Year 2026 Volume: 9 Issue: 2 |