Our Vision
The Future
Shifting energy production toward clean energy sources can mitigate its impact by utilizing energy conversion systems with low or no environmental consequences 4,5. Among these, solar energy holds the greatest share and continues to decrease in cost, making it an increasingly viable alternative 6. In fact, the cost of energy from clean energy sources in Europe is now four to six times lower than that of fossil fuels 7. The declining prices of PV hardware and increased societal awareness make solar energy accessible not only to large-scale infrastructure but also to single households and off-grid applications. The ability to have stand-alone 8 solar energy systems has led to a growing number of households relying on this form of energy 9.
The Problem
However, one of the major drawbacks of renewable energy sources like solar power is their dependency on weather conditions 10. This weather dependency directly affects the self-consumption of energy produced by photovoltaic (PV) systems. Currently, only 30% to 37% of the generated energy is used directly 11, while the remaining portion is either sold at a significantly lower price than the buying price or, in some cases, even fed into the grid without any compensation 12. Although battery systems can help to increase self-consumption, they do not yet provide cost advantages due to the high acquisition costs 11. The most effective way to optimize savings with a PV system is by strategically planning energy-demanding tasks.
The Solution
With Solev, you can track the best time to run energy-demanding tasks and optimize your energy consumption while reducing reliance on expensive grid electricity. Our mission is to help homeowners with PV systems increase their self-consumption rate and save money. By setting up a digital twin of your solar plant, you can easily simulate power and energy output, estimate your potential savings, and make informed decisions before purchasing a PV system.
Additionally, Solev provides insights into the optimal tilt angle of your PV plant based on your location and system orientation. You’ll receive forecasts about the energy potential for the upcoming days, along with a detailed overview of past energy production. With these tools, any solar enthusiast can plan their PV plant like a pro and maximize efficiency.
References
[1] European Commission. Causes of Climate Change [Internet]. European Commission. 2024. Available from: https://climate.ec.europa.eu/climate-change/causes-climate-change_en
[2] IPCC. AR5 Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis — IPCC [Internet]. Ipcc.ch. IPCC; 2013. Available from: https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/wg1/
[3] Karl TR, Trenberth KE. Modern global climate change. science. 2003 Dec 5;302(5651):1719-23.
[4] Owusu PA, Asumadu-Sarkodie S. A review of renewable energy sources, sustainability issues and climate change mitigation. Cogent Engineering. 2016 Dec 31;3(1):1167990.
[5] Olabi AG, Abdelkareem MA. Renewable energy and climate change. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 2022 Apr 1;158:112111.
[6] IRENA. Renewable power generation costs in 2021 [Internet]. /publications/2022/Jul/Renewable-Power-Generation-Costs-in-2021. 2022. Available from: https://www.irena.org/publications/2022/Jul/Renewable-Power-Generation-Costs-in-2021
[7] Campos-Guzmán V, García-Cáscales MS, Espinosa N, Urbina A. Life Cycle Analysis with Multi-Criteria Decision Making: A review of approaches for the sustainability evaluation of renewable energy technologies. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 2019 Apr 1;104:343-66.
[8] Akikur RK, Saidur R, Ping HW, Ullah KR. Comparative study of stand-alone and hybrid solar energy systems suitable for off-grid rural electrification: A review. Renewable and sustainable energy reviews. 2013 Nov 1;27:738-52.
[9] International Energy Agency . Approximately 100 million households rely on rooftop solar PV by 2030 – Analysis [Internet]. IEA. 2022. Available from: https://www.iea.org/reports/approximately-100-million-households-rely-on-rooftop-solar-pv-by-2030
[10] Campos-Guzmán V, García-Cáscales MS, Espinosa N, Urbina A. Life Cycle Analysis with Multi-Criteria Decision Making: A review of approaches for the sustainability evaluation of renewable energy technologies. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 2019 Apr 1;104:343-66.
[11] Quoilin S, Kavvadias K, Mercier A, Pappone I, Zucker A. Quantifying self-consumption linked to solar home battery systems: Statistical analysis and economic assessment. Applied Energy. 2016 Nov 15;182:58-67.
[12] Tercan SM, Demirci A, Gokalp E, Cali U. Maximizing self-consumption rates and power quality towards two-stage evaluation for solar energy and shared energy storage empowered microgrids. Journal of Energy Storage. 2022 Jul 1;51:104561.