Lower Costs, Higher Comfort, Complicated Paperwork
A few years ago, we decided as a family to invest in more modern and sustainable solutions at home. We live in a house just outside Krosno, with our two nearly adult children. Because we run a business in the timber industry, we have easy access to renewable fuel, and energy efficiency has always been important for both economic and practical reasons.
The first major step was installing a large photovoltaic system. This opened the door to a second, city-focused car — a fully electric vehicle purchased at the end of 2021. The logic was simple: if we produce our own electricity, it makes sense to use it to power the car. With daily errands, school runs and local commuting, an electric vehicle offers very low running costs, and we quickly felt the difference.
Electricity generation from our panels means that most of the time, we pay almost nothing for charging the car. Previously, we paid much more for fuel. The only frustration came from regulatory changes — in the past, energy surpluses could be carried over to the next six months, which was ideal for us. Today, excess production expires faster, which makes the system less advantageous.
At home, we also installed a new pellet furnace. Our previous heating system also used solid fuel, but this one is modern, almost fully automatic, and needs to be refilled only once a week. Working in the wood industry, pellet is easy and inexpensive for us to obtain. The benefits are immediate: far less work, more comfort, and lower heating bills.
Where the transition became truly difficult was in applying for subsidies. We received support only for the electric car. Applications for other upgrades were rejected due to income thresholds. Even inviting official advisers confirmed that we did not qualify — the advice was free, but disappointing.
The subsidy for the car turned into a long and exhausting process. The application itself was complicated, financial tables were poorly described, and even professional accountants struggled to make sense of them. Calling the fund for help meant spending long periods on hold, often only to reach staff who could not answer detailed questions. Although the grant was eventually approved, it took several months — and nearly a year passed before we received the funds. The experience was frustrating enough that we would hesitate before going through it again.
An energy storage system is something we would love to add next, but for now, it remains too expensive — and with current subsidy criteria, we would not qualify anyway.
Despite all that, we have no regrets. The solutions themselves — photovoltaic panels, the pellet furnace, the electric car — make everyday life easier, cheaper and more comfortable. If there is a message we would pass on to others, it is this: the technologies are worth it, but the bureaucracy requires patience. For families who can navigate the paperwork, the long-term benefits are real, practical and environmentally positive.