Knowledge Base
Sustainable energy is full of terms that blur together: watt-peak, net metering, an inverter or grid steering. We explain them here in plain language, with no sales pitch. That way you understand what's on your quote and can choose something that fits your home and your usage.
We cover the whole chain around your home: generating with panels, storing in a home battery, charging your car and heating with a heat pump. Can't figure it out? Request a no-obligation quote and our engineers will work it through for your situation.
Popular explainers
Common terms and clear explanations from our experts.
Where do you start?
Four situations we hear a lot, with the explainers that go with them.
Your quote is on the table
Watt-peak, inverter capacity, expected yield: a quote is full of terms you only need to understand once. These explainers help you check whether the numbers fit your roof and your usage.
Net metering is ending and you feed in power
With the net-metering scheme on its way out, what your exported power earns is changing. Read how net metering works, which charges suppliers apply and whether a dynamic contract suits you.
You are considering a home battery
A battery only pays off when the numbers add up. Start with costs and payback time, read the honest story with and without a battery, and see what grid steering means for your situation.
From gas boiler to heat pump
Whether a heat pump suits your home mostly comes down to insulation and your heating system. First test whether your house is ready, then choose between hybrid and all-electric.
Guides and explainers
Buying guides, practical explainers and in-depth articles on panels, batteries, charging and heating.
Smart home energy control: increase self-use
Use more of your own power by timing your charger, home battery and household use. When self-steering pays off and how grid control differs.
Solar panel annual yield: kWh and benefits
Annual solar panel yield: count on 0.85 to 0.9 kWh per watt-peak. How to calculate it, what it saves on your bill, and the financial benefits.
Insulation for a heat pump: what do you need?
Is your home insulated well enough for a heat pump? Run the 50-degree heating test, see which insulation pays off first and choose hybrid or all-electric.
Solar self-consumption: use more of your own power
Self-consumption is the share of your solar power you use yourself. How to raise it with panels, a battery and smart use, without going off-grid.
Feed-in payment: what you get for exported power
What the feed-in payment for exported solar power is, who sets the rate, what changes now net metering ends and what to check in your contract.
Cleaning solar panels: when is it worth it?
Cleaning solar panels? Usually unnecessary: rain does the work. When it pays off (flat roofs, bird droppings), how to clean safely and the upkeep that matters.
Home battery subsidies: what exists?
No national home battery subsidy in the Netherlands. What exists: VAT refunds under conditions, local schemes, EIA for businesses and Warmtefonds loans.
Reclaiming VAT on a home battery: how it works
Reclaim the 21 percent VAT on your home battery: conditions, step-by-step process, KOR timing and a worked example. Free eligibility check included.
Which home battery suits you? How to choose
Capacity, single or three phase, placement and smart control: how to choose a home battery that fits your use. With rules of thumb from real installations.
Backup power with a home battery: how it works
A home battery only delivers backup power with a backup provision. What keeps running during an outage and how hybrid backup differs from full backup.
Where to place a home battery?
The best place for a home battery, room by room: shed, garage or attic, and why the crawl space is out. With fire service advice and our fitting practice.
The imbalance market: trading with your home battery
On the imbalance market, TenneT settles deviations between supply and demand. How a home battery rides those prices via your supplier, and what is realistic.
A home battery without solar panels: does it pay?
A home battery without solar panels charges at cheap hours and discharges at expensive ones. When that pays, what you need and when waiting is smarter.
How much power does a heat pump use?
A heat pump's power use depends on your heat demand and the SCOP. How to run the numbers yourself, and what pushes consumption up or down in practice.
How much noise does a heat pump make?
A heat pump outdoor unit may cause at most 40 dB at the neighbours. What that limit means, how the sound feels in practice and what placement does.
Charging your car on your own solar power
With a smart charger your car charges on your solar surplus. How surplus charging works, where the lower limit sits and what it saves.
A charger in your owners' association: how to get it done
A charger at your parking spot in a Dutch VvE often needs approval today. How to approach it, what the 2017 model rules allow and which law is coming.
Solar panels on or around a dormer
Solar panels on a dormer's flat roof or around it on the main roof: what the structure can bear, how the layout works and which rules apply.
How many solar panels do I need? The calculation
Work out in three steps how many solar panels you need: yearly use, watt-peak and what fits on your roof. With worked examples from real installations.
Solar panels on a flat roof: ballast, layout and yield
Solar panels on a flat roof: how ballasted frames work, what south or east-west layouts yield and why roof edges and load matter. From our installs.
Solar panel sizes and weight
How big and heavy is a solar panel? Common sizes, the weight per panel and per square metre of roof, and how many panels genuinely fit on your roof.
Underfloor heating and heat pumps: ideal match?
Why underfloor heating and a heat pump work so well together, when radiators are enough and what fitting it in an existing floor involves.
Solar panels
Our solar panels deliver up to 25% more energy than standard models, saving you significantly on your energy bill.
Home battery
Upgrade your home with our smart home battery: save on feed-in costs, use more of your own solar power and rely less on the grid.
EV charger
Our EV charger makes it easy to charge your electric car at home, so you leave every day with a full battery while contributing to lower CO2 emissions.
Heat pump
Our heat pumps are designed to minimise your energy use so you structurally pay less for your comfort.
Terms
Short definitions of common terms: kWh, watt-peak, inverter and dynamic contracts.
Solar panel inverter: which one fits your roof?
The inverter converts your solar panels' power into usable alternating current. String, micro and hybrid compared, plus sizing, placement and warranty.
What is Wp (watt-peak)? How to convert to kWh
Wp (watt-peak) is the peak output of a solar panel under standard test conditions. How to convert Wp to kWh per year and what to check in a quote.
What is a kWh (kilowatt-hour)?
A kilowatt-hour (kWh) is the energy a 1,000-watt appliance uses in one hour. How to convert watts to kWh and read your use on your annual statement.
What is a dynamic energy contract?
With a dynamic energy contract you pay the hourly price for power. When does it pay off with solar panels or a home battery, and how does it compare to fixed?
Feed-in charges: what you pay and how to limit them
Feed-in charges for solar panels explained: why suppliers charge them, the forms they take, what the ACM checks and how to limit them.
The lifespan of a home battery
How long does a home battery last? Charge cycles and calendar ageing explained, what degradation means and how to stretch the lifespan yourself.
What is a power optimizer?
A power optimizer is a small box per solar panel that limits shade loss and enables per-panel monitoring. When it makes sense and when it does not.
What do COP and SCOP mean?
COP and SCOP tell you how much heat a heat pump delivers per kWh of power. The difference between the two figures and how to read them in a quote.
More terms in brief
No page of their own, still handy to know: the key extra terms in a few sentences.
- Self-consumption
- The share of your self-generated power that you use in your own home straight away. The higher your self-consumption, the less you draw from the grid. Solar self-consumption: use more of your own power
- Feed-in
- Power your solar panels send to the grid when you generate more than you use. Your supplier settles this through net metering or a feed-in payment. Net metering explained
- kWp (kilowatt-peak)
- One thousand watt-peak. Useful for larger systems: a 4,000 Wp installation is then written as 4 kWp. What is Wp (watt-peak)? How to convert to kWh
- P1 port
- The data port on your smart meter. A home energy management system uses it to follow your usage and feed-in live. Smart home energy control: increase self-use
How we write these explainers
We write every explainer in this knowledge base ourselves, from SolarFast's installation practice. The examples come from the roofs and meter cupboards our engineers actually work on, from ballast on a flat roof to an older meter that does not register feed-in separately.
Rules and policy are checked against official sources such as the ACM, RVO and the grid operators; that is also where our articles link to. Amounts and schemes that change every year go on our blog instead, so these explainers do not go stale.
Still stuck after reading? Ask your question through the contact form, or request a no-obligation quote and our team will run the numbers for your home.