The Belgian Double Play: Capitalize on the Capacity Tariff and the Retrofit Wave

The Belgian energy market is in full swing, offering you as an installer two unique opportunities. While the capacity tariff forces end-customers to manage their consumption peaks, the growing need for battery storage is creating a massive retrofit wave for existing PV installations. With Growatt’s solutions and support from ESTG, you can evolve from an ‘installer’ into a strategic energy advisor, capitalizing on both opportunities immediately.

The Capacity Tariff: The Challenge for the Belgian Consumer

The capacity tariff is calculated based on the average monthly peak: the highest amount of power a household draws from the grid within a fifteen-minute interval. Especially for households with heat pumps or electric vehicles, these peaks can rise quickly, leading to a significantly higher electricity bill.

Many customers believe that solar panels are the only solution, but without active management, peaks in the morning and evening remain stubbornly high. This is where the power of a smart home battery comes in. As an installer, you have the tools to flatten these peaks and help your customers keep their bills under control.

The Retrofit Wave: A Goldmine for the Installer

Belgium is currently in the middle of a 'retrofit wave.' Tens of thousands of existing PV installations are not yet equipped with storage. Now that subsidies are disappearing and the capacity tariff is increasing the pressure, these customers are en masse looking for ways to upgrade their existing systems.

Growatt responds smartly to this with flexible AC-coupled retrofit solutions. This means you don’t have to replace the customer's entire inverter. With Growatt’s retrofit systems, you simply add a battery module to the existing installation, regardless of the brand of the current inverter. This lowers the threshold for the customer and makes the installation efficient for you.

Growatt: The 'Peak Shaver' for Your Projects

As an installer, you want to work with reliable Tier 1 equipment. Growatt has proven itself as an absolute frontrunner in the Belgian market, partly due to their modular design (such as the ARK and APX series).

Why Growatt is the ideal choice:

• Automatic Peak Management: Via the software, the battery can be set to discharge as soon as consumption exceeds a certain limit. Power is drawn from the battery instead of the grid, keeping the fifteen-minute peak low.

• Scalability: Start with a modest capacity and easily expand later when the customer acquires an electric vehicle.

• Plug-and-play Integration: Thanks to automatic module recognition, configuration is a breeze.