Balcony (Plug-In) Solar

Balcony or plug-in solar panels provide low-cost, easy-to-install, renter-friendly access to clean energy.

Table Of Contents
  1. Why This Matters
  2. Policy Solution
  3. Model Policy Features
  4. Potential Limitations & Pitfalls
  5. Complementary Policies
  6. Examples
  7. Resources
COMMUNITY BENEFITAffordability, Decarbonization
KEYWORDSClean energy, Decarbonization, Distributed energy, Electricity, Renters
REGIONState
AFFORDABILITY STRATEGYResidential Decarbonization
OVERSIGHTUtility Commission
POLICY MECHANISMLegislation, Regulation

Why This Matters

Essentially all renters are excluded from owning or leasing rooftop solar. Many homeowners are also excluded because of the unsuitability of their roofs. Low- and moderate-income homeowners often cannot afford the high upfront costs of rooftop solar, which are a few kilowatts (or more) and cannot be installed in a do-it-yourself (DIY) mode. As a result, a very large number of households, who are disproportionately lower income, are excluded from the economic benefits of reducing and stabilizing electricity bills via rooftop solar. At the same time, the lack of access to solar by tens of millions of households deprives society of a large opportunity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions rapidly and economically.

Policy Solution

Balcony solar (also called “portable solar device” or “backyard solar”), as it has come to be known, is a simple system of one or a few solar panels with inverters that can be plugged into a wall outlet to supply a portion of the electricity consumed by the household via the outlet. Hundreds of thousands of balcony solar panels have been installed in Germany on a DIY basis, with simple installation hardware. DIY installation and simple hardware significantly reduces the cost, even though balcony solar systems are generally much smaller scale than rooftop systems. Enabling legislation and (possibly) regulations are required to ensure that installations are safe. The grid does not see the system at all; it registers as energy efficiency would—a reduction in consumption. However, rules specific to the United States, where there are two voltages (120 volts and 240 volts) in different circuits (compared to just one, 230 volts, in Germany) are necessary to ensure safety and full use of the installed capacity.

Model Policy Features

  • Balcony (plug-in) solar is allowed without requiring a utility interconnection agreement or any utility fees.
  • Balcony solar would be open to renters without requiring landlord permission, and landlords would not be able to prohibit installation. If a wall penetration is required for the wire to pass from the balcony or yard (in case there is no outside outlet), renters should be allowed an exception from landlord permission.
  • DIY installation (without an electrician) would be allowed, within carefully defined safety parameters, such as:
    • Appropriate hardware specifications;
    • Ground fault interrupter outlets would be required; they must be compatible with plugging in generating devices;
    • Limiting the size of the system (e.g., 800 or 1200 W);
    • Ensuring that there will be no power fed into the grid during outages.
  • While a small amount of electricity export to the grid is permitted, this export would not be covered by net metering (meaning it would be uncompensated); any such export could be reduced through the addition of a small battery.
  • Coupling balcony solar with battery storage increases the potential for third party aggregation for providing grid services and greater compensation for balcony solar owners (e.g. via demand response or load management).

Potential Limitations & Pitfalls

  • Maximum capacity is necessarily limited by the capacity set of breakers associated with the outlet into which the balcony solar is plugged in. This is typically a 120-volt outlet. Since there are typically two sets of 120-volt circuit breakers, a balcony panel would not supply electricity to loads on one of the 120-volt breaker sets. This limits capacity and increases uncompensated export of electricity to the grid if the panel is oversized.
  • Orientation of the solar panel will not be ideal or close to it in the vast majority of cases because the orientation of the balcony solar panel would be vertical or close to it, entailing a loss of up to one-third of the maximum possible generation relative to an optimal orientation.
  • Even DIY upfront costs may be prohibitive for some low- and moderate-income households, requiring rebates and incentives or even outright grants to make it possible. 
  • One solar industry source noted that “Until comprehensive ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) standards compatible with generating devices are established alongside UL [Underwriters Laboratories] certification processes—which assures consumers about product safety—the road towards successful integration [of balcony solar] remains fraught with complications.”1 Homes not having GCFI outlets would need to have one installed by a certified electrician, entailing additional cost.
  • Investor-owned utilities may oppose large-scale implementation, for instance by insisting that installation must be by certified electricians, which would make balcony solar more expensive.

Complementary Policies

Complementary policies that would support balcony solar include:

  • Bill Assistance or low-income rates to bring down electricity costs not offset by solar.
  • Residential solar + storage programs to help finance upfront costs.
  • Demand response programs to provide further compensation to households with a battery-connected system who use it to manage their loads.
  • Electrification readiness to support outlet upgrades if needed. 

Examples

1. Utah Portable Solar Bill

HB 340: Solar Power Amendments (2025)

Details:

  • Utah passed HB 340, allowing “portable solar generation devices” in its 2025 legislative session, without a dissenting vote. It allows a maximum balcony solar power output of 1.2 kilowatts on a DIY basis provided the system:
    • “meets the standards of the most recent version of the National Electrical Code;” and
    • “is certified by Underwriters Laboratories or an equivalent nationally recognized testing laboratory.”

LIMITATIONS:

  • Installation progress is slow in Utah despite the law due to equipment certification issues.
  • There are cost increases if batteries are included or if installation of GCFI outlets is required.
  • Getting permission for a wall penetration for wiring from landlords will be an obstacle as will getting legislation for an exception to landlord permission for balcony solar.
  • Getting Underwriters Laboratory to issue standards for balcony solar as a package in addition to the normal individual component certification is essential to standardization and cost reduction.

Resources

Written: November 2025

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