Zonnefabriek survey: the results
Last month we held a survey where you, in exchange for a €100 discount on a future purchase at Zonnefabriek, were presented with a number of questions about sustainability in the home. We received quite a few responses, which we would like to share with you here.If you completed the survey, don't forget to use your discount code that you received in the mail. Request advice below and receive your discount by passing the code to your advisor.
The first question of the survey was about what products you had in and around your home that were related to sustainable energy, in addition to solar panels. The most popular were electric or hybrid cars: 30% of respondents already have one. This while for the whole of the Netherlands, cars with a plug currently account for approximately 10% of the total (source: RVO): Solar panel owners are therefore, not surprisingly, more progressive in the transition to electric transport.
A smart or a 'dumb' charging station
Most people with an electric car also have a charging station at home, but it turns out that only 1 in 4 has a charger that is smart. Such a smart charger gives priority to solar power when charging the car and is therefore a valuable instrument for increasing self-consumption; it's a good idea to replace the 'dumb' charging station with such a smart one before 2027!
Nice electric car but a pity about the dumb charger..
By the way, the vast majority of people are already preparing themselves somewhat for the abolition of the net metering scheme in 2027; only 1 in 6 indicates that they are not at all concerned with it. The device that attracts the most interest is the home battery, which was mentioned most often with 57%.
Home battery for self-consumption
However, not everyone is completely convinced of the usefulness of the home battery. What holds people back is mainly the total of costs and benefits: will a home battery ultimately be worth it? On our website we have often discussed trading on the energy markets and the market for 'imbalance' with such a device, but not everyone is immediately interested in that. The group of people who are interested in trading is about the same size as the group who actually sees no benefit in it at all (~40%)
To trade or not to trade with a home battery: there are differing views
Even though people may be interested in the option to trade with the battery, that isn't the main reason to purchase such a device. The main reason (for 80% of respondents) is to store the self-generated solar power to use it later (increasing self-consumption). In second place is having emergency power in case of a grid failure, and trading only comes in as a distant third.
Dynamic energy contract
In order to be able to trade, you would have to get a 'dynamic' energy contract with your energy supplier. It turns out that 12.5% of you have already done so; that's a lot higher than the average, because only 5% of people in Holland have such a dynamic contract. In addition to the people who already have one, another 22% are thinking about getting one. A dynamic energy contract can be advantageous for people with solar panels, especially if they are able to increase their self-consumption (for example to 30% or higher).
Most people still prefer a fixed or variable contract although there's interest in dynamic tariffs
In addition to EV chargers and home batteries, the survey also covered heat pumps and energy management systems. Many of you already have a heat pump for heating (25%) or for hot tap water (12%), but a complete energy management system, such as with a Sunny Home Manager, is still rare (2%).
A Daikin air-co system's outside-unit
Of course, we were also curious about how we can best inform you about all the new products that we offer these days. We thought about podcasts, webinars, videos on YouTube, etc. But it turns out that most of you prefer to be approached by email, for example with a newsletter like this one. That's why you will also find an article in this newsletter about the experiences of our colleague Joris with his heat pump boiler!
We would like to thank everyone who completed the survey for their cooperation. And don't forget that if you are going to purchase a product from Zonnefabriek in the near future, you can use the discount code that you received when you filled it in to get a €100 discount on the purchase price. We are looking forward to hearing what you intend to buy!