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Balcony, terrace, garden: where should you install your plug & play kit?

The great advantage of plug & play is that it can go almost anywhere. The downside: “almost anywhere” does not mean “just anywhere” — between a good and a poor location, production can vary from one to twofold. Here is how to choose yours in three rules, followed by the specifics of each situation: balcony, terrace, garden and flat roof.

The 3 rules that determine everything

Rule 1 — Sunlight between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. This is the time slot when most of the production is generated. Observe your candidate location on a sunny day: if it is in full sun during this period, it is suitable — even if it is shaded in the morning or late afternoon. The opposite is unforgiving: a wall or tree blocking the midday sun cuts production where it matters most.

Rule

Balcon, terrasse, jardin : où installer votre kit plug & play ?

Le grand avantage du plug & play, c'est qu'il va presque partout. Le revers : « presque partout » ne veut pas dire « n'importe où » — entre un bon et un mauvais emplacement, la production peut varier du simple au double. Voici comment choisir le vôtre en trois règles, puis les spécificités de chaque situation : balcon, terrasse, jardin, toit plat.

Les 3 règles qui décident de tout

Règle 1 — Le soleil entre 11 h et 16 h. C'est le créneau où se joue l'essentiel de la production. Observez votre emplacement candidat un jour de beau temps : s'il est en plein soleil sur cette plage, il est bon — même si le matin ou la fin de journée sont à l'ombre. L'inverse ne pardonne pas : un mur ou un arbre qui masque le soleil de midi ampute la production là où elle compte.

Règle

How many solar panels do you need to power your home?

6, 12, 20 panels? The answer is found neither on your roof nor in a catalogue: it is on your electricity bill. Here is the calculation in three steps — consumption, region, orientation — with benchmarks by household profile, and the reason why “more panels” has no longer been the right answer since 2026.

The 3-step calculation (one bill and 5 minutes)

Step 1 — Your annual consumption. It appears in kWh on your bill or in your customer account. This is the starting point for everything: a home using 4 500 kWh/year and a home using 12 000 kWh/year do not have the same usable roof area, even if they are next door and identical.

Step 2 — The regional factor. One kWp of panels (i.e. 2 panels of 500 Wp) produces each year, depending on sunlight:

Combien de panneaux solaires pour alimenter votre maison ?

6, 12, 20 panneaux ? La réponse ne se trouve ni sur votre toit, ni dans un catalogue : elle est sur votre facture d'électricité. Voici le calcul en trois étapes — consommation, région, orientation — avec les repères par profil de foyer, et la raison pour laquelle « plus de panneaux » n'est plus la bonne réponse depuis 2026.

Le calcul en 3 étapes (une facture et 5 minutes)

Étape 1 — Votre consommation annuelle. Elle figure en kWh sur votre facture ou dans votre espace client. C'est le point de départ de tout : une maison à 4 500 kWh/an et une maison à 12 000 kWh/an n'ont pas le même toit utile, même si elles sont voisines et identiques.

Étape 2 — Le facteur région. Un kWc de panneaux (soit 2 panneaux de 500 Wc) produit chaque année, selon l'ensoleillement

Which solar battery capacity should you choose? The answer by profile

5, 10 or 15 kWh? The question may sound technical, but it isn't: the right battery capacity depends on one thing alone — what your home consumes between your evening return and sunrise. Here is the method to find out in five minutes using a bill, along with typical profiles and the two costly mistakes to avoid.

The principle in one sentence

The battery is a reservoir: it fills with the day's surplus and empties to cover your evening and nighttime consumption. The right size is therefore the size of your night, not the size of your roof or your budget. If it is too small, it is full at 2 p.m. and the rest of your solar energy is sent to the grid for 1 cent per kWh. If it is too large, you have paid for storage capacity that is never filled. In both cases,

Quelle capacité de batterie solaire choisir ? La réponse par profil

5, 10 ou 15 kWh ? La question paraît technique, elle ne l'est pas : la bonne capacité de batterie dépend d'une seule chose — ce que votre maison consomme entre le retour du soir et le lever du soleil. Voici la méthode pour la connaître en cinq minutes avec une facture, les profils types, et les deux erreurs qui coûtent cher.

Le principe en une phrase

La batterie est un réservoir : elle se remplit avec le surplus de la journée, et se vide sur votre consommation du soir et de la nuit. La bonne taille est donc celle de votre nuit, pas celle de votre toit ni de votre budget. Trop petite, elle est pleine à 14 h et le reste de votre soleil part au réseau pour 1 centime le kWh. Trop grande, vous avez payé des kWh de stockage qui ne se remplissent jamais. Dans

Plug & play solar kit: Is it legal? Declaration, insurance and co-ownership

Yes, a solar kit that plugs into a socket is completely legal in France. There is one formality — just one — free of charge and online: the CACSI declaration with Enedis, completed in ten minutes. Here is the step-by-step procedure, with answers for every situation: tenants, co-ownership, town halls and insurance.

The short answer

How to read (and compare) a solar quote: the 7 lines to check

Two quotes for “the same” installation can show a €4,000 difference—and the cheapest is not always the best deal, nor is the most expensive necessarily a sign of quality. The difference lies in the lines of the document. Here are the 7 points to check on every quote, in order, and the warning signs that should make you walk away.

The golden rule before you start

Line 1 — The exact equipment: brands, models and power ratings

Your panels are installed: the first-year guide

The installation is complete, the app is displaying your first kilowatt-hours, and a new series of questions is coming up: do you need to change your EDF tariff? What do these figures mean? Is winter production normal? Do the panels need cleaning? Here is everything that awaits you during the first year — and the very short list of what you actually need to do.

Week 1: get familiar with the app

Your monitoring app displays a lot of figures, but only three deserve your attention. Production: what your panels generate. Consumption: what your home uses. And above all, the self-consumption rate: the share of your production that you consume yourself — this is what generates your savings, since each kWh consumed in your home is worth nearly 18 times as much as

Solar panel profitability in 2026: the new equation after the 5 June reform

On 5 June 2026, a decree redefined the economics of residential solar energy in France: surplus injected into the grid is now purchased at 1.1 c€/kWh, and the self-consumption bonus has been discontinued. Does this mean that solar energy is no longer profitable? No — but the calculation has changed. Here are the figures.

What changed on 5 June 2026

Until spring 2026, a residential installation was based on three revenue streams: self-consumed electricity, surplus sold to EDF OA (still at 4 c€/kWh at the beginning of 2026 for small installations), and the self-consumption bonus paid upon investment.

The amending decree of 1 June 2026, applicable to applications submitted from 5 June onwards, simplified — and tightened — this framework for installations up to 100 kWp: