[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":118},["ShallowReactive",2],{"page-home":3,"ssc-status":105},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"bare":7,"body":8,"dateModified":80,"datePublished":80,"description":81,"extension":82,"howToSteps":83,"kits":83,"layout":84,"meta":85,"navigation":86,"path":87,"schemaType":88,"seo":89,"sources":90,"stem":84,"targetKeywords":97,"titleTag":102,"translationOf":103,"__hash__":104},"content\u002Findex.md","Solar, accessible for all","mike",false,{"type":9,"value":10},"minimark",[11,17,24,32,42,71,77],[12,13],"hero-banner",{":actions":14,"lede":15,"note":16},"[{\"label\":\"See what you'd save\",\"href\":\"\u002Fwizard\",\"primary\":true},{\"label\":\"Is it legal yet?\",\"href\":\"\u002Fis-it-legal\"}]","A panel about the size of a door hangs on your balcony, plugs into an ordinary outlet, and quietly cuts your electricity bill. No roof, no installer, no contract — and it comes with you when you move.","Seven questions, about a minute. It will tell you if the answer is no.",[18,19],"status-signup",{"body":20,"button":21,"finePrint":22,"heading":23},"One email, the same day, saying what happened and what it means for you. Then nothing until the next real change.","Tell me when it's decided","Roughly twice a month at most. Unsubscribe whenever. We don't sell the list.","We'll email you the day he decides.",[25,26],"illustration",{":priority":27,"alt":28,"caption":29,"ratio":30,"src":31},"true","A solar panel propped on a folding stand on a paved patio, with a cord running from it to an outdoor outlet on the wall of a house","A panel on a patio, plugged into an ordinary outdoor outlet. No roof, no installer, nothing wired in.","wide","\u002Fimages\u002Fplug-in-solar-hero.jpg",[33,34,38],"page-section",{"title":35,"href":36,"link-label":37},"How it works","\u002Fhow-it-works","The longer version",[39,40],"column-row",{":columns":41,":numbered":27},"[{\"title\":\"It goes outside\",\"body\":\"On a balcony railing, a patio, or against a sunny wall. About the size of a door, and about as heavy as a bicycle.\",\"image\":\"\u002Fimages\u002Fbalcony-solar.jpg\",\"imageAlt\":\"A solar panel clamped at an angle to an apartment balcony railing, with a cord running along the wall to an outdoor outlet\"},{\"title\":\"It plugs into an outlet\",\"body\":\"A normal outdoor socket, the same as a lamp. No electrician, no rewiring, no holes in the wall.\",\"image\":\"\u002Fimages\u002Fpatio-wall-socket.jpg\",\"imageAlt\":\"A plug in an outdoor wall socket with its weatherproof cover flipped up, cord running away across a patio\"},{\"title\":\"Your home uses it first\",\"body\":\"Whatever is switched on takes the panel's power before it takes any from the power company. Your meter just runs slower.\",\"imageBrief\":\"Line diagram: panel, converter, plug, house — with a thinner arrow to the grid labelled 'worth nothing'. Slate and amber line art, not a photo.\"}]",[33,43,47,54,58],{"title":44,"href":45,"link-label":46},"What it costs, and what it saves","\u002Fwizard","Work out your own number",[48,49],"cost-compare",{":options":50,":rows":51,"costLabel":52,"note":53},"[{\"name\":\"Rooftop solar\",\"cost\":25000,\"costLabel\":\"$25,000\",\"kind\":\"other\"},{\"name\":\"A plug-in kit\",\"cost\":640,\"costLabel\":\"$285–$1,000\",\"kind\":\"ours\"}]","[{\"label\":\"What it covers\",\"values\":[\"Most of your electricity\",\"About a sixth of it\"]},{\"label\":\"Who installs it\",\"values\":[\"A contractor, under permit, over several days\",\"You, in an afternoon\"]},{\"label\":\"What you sign\",\"values\":[\"Often a 20 to 25 year agreement, frequently financed\",\"Nothing. You buy it like an appliance\"]},{\"label\":\"If you move\",\"values\":[\"It stays with the house\",\"It comes off the railing in a few minutes\"]},{\"label\":\"If you rent\",\"values\":[\"Not available to you\",\"This is the only solar you can buy\"]}]","What you pay up front","The honest part: a roof produces five to eight times as much power, and it can cover most of a bill rather than a sixth of one. It also costs around forty times as much, needs a roof you own, and usually a loan. This is the other end of that — not a replacement for it.",[55,56],"stat-grid",{":stats":57},"[{\"value\":\"$120–160\",\"label\":\"One panel, a year\",\"note\":\"On a west-facing balcony in Irvine.\"},{\"value\":\"$376\",\"label\":\"A full setup, a year\",\"note\":\"Two or three panels, angled properly, someone home during the day.\"},{\"value\":\"3–4 years\",\"label\":\"Before it pays for itself\",\"note\":\"Then it keeps going for another two decades.\"}]",[59,60,61,62,66,67,70],"p",{},"Two things decide your number, and neither of them is which panel you buy: ",[63,64,65],"strong",{},"which way your balcony faces",", and ",[63,68,69],{},"whether anyone's home during the day",".",[33,72,74],{"title":73},"Things to be aware of",[39,75],{":columns":76},"[{\"title\":\"It won't power your home in a blackout\",\"body\":\"It switches off the moment the grid does. That's a safety rule that protects the people repairing the lines, and there's no way around it.\",\"href\":\"\u002Fblog\u002Fno-backup-power\",\"linkLabel\":\"Why\"},{\"title\":\"Spare power is given away\",\"body\":\"Anything you make but don't use goes to the grid, and you're paid nothing for it. That's why these systems are deliberately small.\",\"href\":\"\u002Fmethodology\",\"linkLabel\":\"How we count it\"},{\"title\":\"There's no tax credit any more\",\"body\":\"The 30 percent federal credit ended for anything bought after December 2025. If a price you're quoted still subtracts it, it's out of date.\",\"href\":\"\u002Fblog\u002Ffederal-tax-credit-is-gone\",\"linkLabel\":\"What changed\"}]",[78,79],"sources-block",{},"2026-09-01","Plug-in solar panels for California renters. A panel on your balcony, plugged into a normal outlet, cutting your electricity bill. What it costs, what it saves, and whether it's legal yet.","md",null,"index",{},true,"\u002F","WebPage",{"title":5,"description":81},[91,94],{"title":92,"url":93,"accessed":80},"SB 868, Plug and Play Solar Act — bill text and history","https:\u002F\u002Fleginfo.legislature.ca.gov\u002Ffaces\u002FbillTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB868",{"title":95,"url":96,"accessed":80},"SCE Rate Advisory, June 2026","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.sce.com\u002Fsave-money\u002Frates-financing\u002Fsce-rate-advisory",[98,99,100,101],"balcony solar California","plug-in solar California","solar for renters California","apartment solar panels California","Balcony Solar in California: Plug-In Panels, Explained","\u002Fes","tMuW_Fj-bAQJyv8tq_aWmULXtaYfuLKts-5X88grKoU",{"id":106,"asOf":80,"deadline":107,"effectiveIfSigned":108,"extension":109,"linkHref":110,"linkText":111,"long":112,"meta":113,"short":114,"stage":115,"stem":116,"__hash__":117},"status\u002Fstatus.yml","2026-09-30","2027-01-01","yml","\u002Fis-it-legal","Follow the bill","As of 1 September 2026, SB 868 has passed both houses of the California Legislature and was enrolled on 28 August 2026. Governor Newsom has until 30 September 2026 to sign or veto it. If he signs, it takes effect 1 January 2027.",{},"Not yet law. Passed the Legislature, waiting on the Governor.","awaiting-governor","status","y1EcgNvLaSQD00RchAw3MGw06s9kMOhBN4NDIrjgUSs",1788384621310]