FOUNDER OF DEGERENERGIE BECOMES INDEPENDENT OF THE GRID

Artur Deger generates all the solar energy he needs for his house, office and two electric cars, keeping his electricity costs stable on the current level for the next 25 years

Horb am Neckar, Germany, 03. May 2012. Artur Deger, founder and CEO of DEGERenergie, has made the dream of many energy customers come true for himself: He ensured himself stable electricity costs on the current level for the next 25 years. This is possible thanks to a solar module surface of 22 square meters, a DEGERenergie MLD tracking system and a small battery installation in the basement. Total costs of the facility: approx. 25,000 Euros. The sun takes care of everything else.

The energy of the future is green and it is generated right where it is consumed. Artur Deger is convinced of this and has now set an example: In his private home, he installed a solar power plant generating almost all the energy needed for his house, office and two electric cars. When the sun is shining or diffuse light hits the modules, they directly feed the house’s power sockets. At night and on days without sunshine, the system draws energy from regular commercially available batteries that were charged with self-generated solar energy before.

“An essential precondition for our system to operate so smoothly is our MLD tracking,” the head of DEGERenergie explains. “This has two reasons. First, our tracking systems increase yields by about 45 percent compared to fixed solar modules. This is why I can generate a sufficient amount of energy with a relatively small scale system. The second reason is that our systems generate electricity evenly over the entire day – in contrast to fixed systems that peak around noon, but yield less in the morning and in the afternoon.

This in return has a dual effect: In the morning and in the evening, when the family comes together and normal households have consumption peaks, fixed systems usually provide less electricity than is consumed. And: The batteries Artur Deger uses as an energy buffer can be recharged much more gentle with balanced feeding volumes than with uneven ones. “That means I need less or smaller batteries – which additionally have a longer service life.” A fact that by the way is also quite beneficial for the electric cars Artur Deger charges using his system.

Self-sufficient energy supply keeps electricity rates stable for 25 years

Thanks to his combination of solar modules, DEGERenergie tracking systems and a battery installation as an energy buffer, the DEGERenergie founder and CEO each year generates around 6,000 kilowatt hours on a collector surface of not more than 22 m². This way, he covers the energy demand of his office, private household and two electric vehicles and becomes largely independent of the public grid. Thanks to the energy storage solution, power failures or periods without sunshine are not an issue.

“Our system has been up and running since last fall. Merely in the two winter months of December and January did our self-supply only suffice for about 90 percent of our energy demand. During this time, we obtained the remaining ten percent from the public grid,” Artur Deger explains. Of course, he could also install a larger facility – “We could be permanently self-sustaining in winter then. However, we would generate an even higher surplus in the other ten months – which would be uneconomical in the end.”

Speaking of economics: The total gross costs of the facility were about 25,000 Euros, VAT included. In other words: Artur Deger has made the dream of many energy customers come true for himself: He ensured himself stable electricity costs on the current level for the next 25 years. This calculation includes all costs: The system itself, financing, maintenance and service.

And so it has been proven: With photovoltaic tracking technology, energy generation for self-supply and respectively independence from public energy suppliers and their prices is already possible today and at an absolutely attractive price.

These days, Artur Deger is working on finding the perfect solution for the utilization of his surplus solar energy. “We will use this energy for our heating and hot water system.” He plans to have everything finished by the beginning of the next heating season.

DEGERenergie is the global market leader for solar tracking systems. Worldwide, more than 47,000 DEGERenergie systems are installed in 46 countries. The company is represented in Spain, Greece and North America with its own subsidiaries and cooperates with local distribution and service partners in many countries worldwide. The patented DEGERenergie Maximum Light Detection (MLD) technology makes it possible to improve the energy yield of solar power plants by an average of 45 percent compared to fixed systems.

DEGERenergie is the leading manufacturer with the world’s largest product range of single and dual-axis solar tracking systems. The company’s market position is based on the unique patented Maximum Light Detection (MLD) technology developed by Artur Deger, which makes it possible to maximize the yield of solar power plants with an “intelligent” control. With the DEGERconecter, the solar modules are always aligned according to the brightest position in the sky with the highest energy yield. This way, the overall energy yield of solar power plants with MLD tracking is on average 45 percent higher than that of fixed systems and this difference is even more pronounced for peaks. With more than 47,000 systems installed in 46 countries, DEGERenergie is the global technological market leader. The company offers its customers all product related solutions – from the development and planning, production and sales to maintenance and service.

In its headquarters in Horb (Germany), its subsidiaries and supplier companies, DEGERenergie is currently employing a staff of nearly 400. The company was established in 1999 and in 2001 won the Inventor Award of the German state of Baden-Württemberg for the MLD control module DEGERconecter. In 2005, DEGERenergie opened its first subsidiary in Spain, followed by subsidiaries in the USA and Greece in 2009. Since summer 2011, production is also up and running in Australia. The company’s production sites are located in Germany, Australia, Canada and the USA. CEO is Artur Deger.

You can’t always rely on the weather. But you can rely on an intelligent control system from DEGERenergie.

Customer contact:
DEGERenergie GmbH
Industriestraße 70
72160 Horb, Germany
Phone: +49 (0) 7451-539 14-0
Fax:    +49 (0) 7451-539 14-10
E-mail: sales(at)DEGERenergie.com

Press contact:
Herbert Grab
digit media
Schulberg 5
72124 Pliezhausen, Germany

Phone: +49 (0) 7127-5707-10
E-mail:  herbert.grab(at)digitmedia-online.de