No, Germany's 800-Watt Limit for Balcony Solar Was Not Lifted in 2026

The decisive sentence sits in section 8(5a) of the EEG 2023. It names two figures, and that is the root of almost every mix-up:

The Bundesnetzagentur draws the same distinction even more plainly in its FAQ on balcony solar systems (as of 21.02.2025): the installed capacity "may not exceed 2,000 watts (2 kW)", while the inverter capacity "is limited to a total of 800 VA".

Both figures apply at the same time. This is not an either/or and not a choice. And the unit on the smaller figure is volt-amperes, not watts - for a grid-tied inverter the two come out practically the same, but the statute says VA, and it does not say 2000.

1. From 600 to 800 watts - that genuinely happened

Until May 2024 the limit was 600 watts. Solarpaket I, in force since 16.05.2024, raised it to 800 VA. That increase is real, and it still appears on virtually every product listing today: "Instead of the previous 600, you may now feed up to 800 watts into your home circuit without approval."

"The limit was raised" turns very easily into "the limit was removed" on retelling. Same sentence, different verb - and a very large difference.

2. The 2000 watts are real - but they apply to the modules

Headlines like "Balcony solar with 2000 watts: what is allowed in 2026?" are factually correct. They simply concern the other figure from the same provision: module capacity, not feed-in capacity.

Read without the statute next to it, such a headline hands you exactly the wrong half. On our reading this is the main mechanism behind the entire claim.

3. The grid-operator notification really was abolished

Here something genuinely was struck out - just nothing involving watts. Since 16.05.2024, according to the Bundesnetzagentur, "the obligation to notify the grid operator" no longer applies to plug-in solar devices within the stated capacity limits.

What remains is registration in the Bundesnetzagentur's Marktstammdatenregister. That was heavily simplified - since the changeover of 28.03.2024 only five details about the device are required alongside personal information, down from roughly 20. It has not been abolished.

A real abolition, applied to the wrong object: that is the second source of the misunderstanding.

4. Standards did change in 2025 and 2026

Also true, and it explains why "something changed in 2026" sounds so plausible:

• DIN VDE V 0126-95 (VDE V 0126-95):2025-12, published in December 2025, defines the plug-in solar device as a product in its own standard for the first time. The Schuko plug is now covered normatively. We go into that in our piece on the Schuko question and the new VDE standard.

• VDE-AR-N 4105 was revised and governs the grid connection of plug-in solar devices and the permitted apparent power of their inverters.

• The Solarspitzengesetz, in force since 25.02.2025, exempted plug-in solar devices up to 2 kW from the new controllability requirements and the 60-percent rule.

Three real legal and normative changes in 14 months. Not one of them contains a new inverter limit. The DKE, the standards body of DIN and VDE, states in its FAQ on the new product standard, unchanged: "The maximum permitted feed-in power of the inverter is 800 VA."

The figure is not arbitrary. It is the threshold from the European network code, Regulation (EU) 2016/631 (RfG). From a maximum capacity of 0.8 kW upwards, a generating unit counts there as "significant" and falls under the full grid connection requirements as Type A. Below that, it does not.

That is precisely why Germany can place its simplified regime for plug-in solar devices at this point. Raising the ceiling above 800 would not be a matter of striking a national number - it would move the device into a different European regulatory class. That is the reason this particular limit does not quietly disappear via an ordinance.

The module side is more generous than many assume. Two tiers, both from DIN VDE V 0126-95:2025-12:

The inverter figure does not move in either row. This is exactly how the common complete sets are built: more module capacity than 800 W, so the system stays at the clipping threshold for longer in poor weather, with an inverter limited to 800 W in front of it.

A set such as the Solarway 920W Balkonkraftwerk Komplettset mit 800 W Envertech Wechselrichter with 920 W of module capacity stays below the 960 Wp threshold, making it the conservative option for a Schuko connection. Push the module side further and you land at sets like the Solarway 1000Wp Balkonkraftwerk Komplettset mit EcoFlow Stream 800 W Wechselrichter - 1000 Wp of modules, 800 W inverter.

This is where most readers stumble, and it is the best evidence that the limit still exists: micro-inverters rated well above 800 W are sold openly, and selling them is entirely legal. What is regulated is not what you buy, but what you actually feed in.

Manufacturers know this and build for it. On the Envertech EVT2000SE Mikro-Wechselrichter 2000 W, Ausgangsleistung per App auf 800 W begrenzbar the product description says so in as many words: the output can be "reduced to 800 W or another range as required" and raised again via the app. A device whose selling point is that it can be capped at 800 W would be hard to explain in a market with no 800-watt limit.

So anyone reading a 2000 W datasheet and concluding that the ceiling is gone is confusing what the hardware can do with the operating point that is permitted.

No. Balcony storage shifts when the electricity reaches the house circuit, not how much goes at once. The 800 VA apply to what is delivered into the circuit, regardless of whether the energy is coming from the module or out of the battery at that moment.

You can see it in the product data itself: the Growatt NOAH 2000 Balkonkraftwerk-Speicher 2048 Wh mit 800 W Ausgangsleistung accepts up to 1800 W of solar input across two PV inputs according to the manufacturer - and delivers up to 800 W. Same logic on the Anker SOLIX Solarbank E1600 Balkonkraftwerk-Speicher, 1,6 kWh, fuer 600/800-W-Wechselrichter, which per Anker works with 600/800 W micro-inverters. Every figure in this paragraph is a manufacturer specification, not an independent measurement.

Whether the battery pays for itself is an entirely separate question - we worked that one through in our payback calculation for balcony solar storage.

As of August 2026: up to 2000 Wp of modules, a maximum of 800 VA of inverter capacity, registration in the Marktstammdatenregister, no notification to the grid operator. If you find a source claiming otherwise, test it with a single question - does it cite the provision? Section 8(5a) of the EEG 2023 is publicly available and takes 30 seconds to check.

There is currently no solid evidence of a concrete bill that would raise the 800 VA. So there is no forecast here about when that might change.