
Gerhard Cunze and Ole Becker have a vision of their energy-efficient dream house, with solar panels on the roof producing electricity that is stored in a large battery, while at the same time a heat pump produces warm water from the air or the ground to heat the rooms. All very eco-friendly and carbon neutral.
Cunze, 45, is the managing director of ADLER Solar, and Becker is in charge of strategic management at the Bremen-based company. Both of them have a burning passion for alternative energy. “That sort of set-up could already make you 80 per cent self-sufficient today,” says Cunze confidently. It would mean having to buy only a fraction of the energy you require from electricity producers.
The two of them have been working on making the switch to renewable energy sources a reality for a long time. And while this may still take a few years at national level across Germany, these days everyone can simply generate their own energy transition. “Electricity costs are rising, while at the same time the cost of solar modules and battery storage is falling. This combination is an argument in favour of producing your own,” says Becker. That applies to private households as well as businesses.
