The Green Energy Cooperative (ZEZ) conducted a pilot study in Croatia as part of the H2020 NUDGE project, focusing on effective energy use from household solar PV plants. With the help of the Sunči app, which monitors energy production and consumption in real-time, 82 solar-powered households were monitored in the research.
The app usage revealed several insights on the use of PV in households. For example, households with a larger number of members, especially achieved high self-sufficiency by meeting their electricity needs through their solar PV plants. However, some households faced challenges in balancing energy production and consumption, leading to the potential risk of changing their status from "Self-supply Facility User" to "Final Customer with its own Production."
The research highlighted the importance of accurately sizing the solar PV plant according to household needs and future changes in energy consumption. Oversizing PV plants and inefficient billing methods were identified as problems affecting energy consumption.
