[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":153},["ShallowReactive",2],{"page-\u002Fblog":3,"author-mike":62,"ssc-status":104,"linklist-\u002Fblog\u002Fsb-868-what-happens-next,\u002Fblog\u002Futah-went-first,\u002Fblog\u002Fgermany-has-a-million":117,"linklist-\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-is-ul-3700,\u002Fblog\u002Fno-backup-power":130,"linklist-\u002Fblog\u002Ffederal-tax-credit-is-gone,\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-question-calculators-forget":139,"linklist-\u002Fblog\u002Firvine-balcony-test-kit":148},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"bare":7,"body":8,"dateModified":50,"datePublished":50,"description":51,"extension":52,"howToSteps":53,"kits":53,"layout":54,"meta":55,"navigation":7,"path":56,"schemaType":57,"seo":58,"sources":53,"stem":59,"targetKeywords":53,"titleTag":60,"translationOf":53,"__hash__":61},"content\u002Fblog\u002Findex.md","What's changed","mike",true,{"type":9,"value":10},"minimark",[11,15,18,26,32,38,44],[12,13],"hero",{"lede":14},"We publish when something changes, not on a schedule. A news site that posts weekly regardless of news is how you end up with filler.",[16,17],"status-strip",{},[19,20,22],"page-section",{"title":21},"The law",[23,24],"link-list",{":paths":25},"[\"\u002Fblog\u002Fsb-868-what-happens-next\",\"\u002Fblog\u002Futah-went-first\",\"\u002Fblog\u002Fgermany-has-a-million\"]",[19,27,29],{"title":28},"The equipment",[23,30],{":paths":31},"[\"\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-is-ul-3700\",\"\u002Fblog\u002Fno-backup-power\"]",[19,33,35],{"title":34},"The money",[23,36],{":paths":37},"[\"\u002Fblog\u002Ffederal-tax-credit-is-gone\",\"\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-question-calculators-forget\"]",[19,39,41],{"title":40},"The measurements",[23,42],{":paths":43},"[\"\u002Fblog\u002Firvine-balcony-test-kit\"]",[45,46],"newsletter-capture",{"body":47,"button":48,"heading":49},"The Governor's decision, the first certified kit, and monthly numbers from the test balcony.","Keep me posted","One email when something actually changes","2026-09-01","Posts written when something actually happens: the bill's progress, certifications, prices, and measured output from the Irvine test balcony.","md",null,"index",{},"\u002Fblog","WebPage",{"title":5,"description":51},"blog\u002Findex","Plug-In Solar News and Analysis | SmallSolarCo","S2ePN7YO7yBRroahHQiOXkj4xWrI4IUS5BuOvZav8Y4",{"id":63,"title":64,"body":65,"description":95,"email":93,"extension":52,"location":96,"meta":97,"name":73,"navigation":7,"path":98,"photo":99,"role":100,"sameAs":53,"seo":101,"stem":102,"__hash__":103},"authors\u002Fauthors\u002Fmike.md","Mike",{"type":9,"value":66},[67,75,78,83,86],[68,69,70,74],"p",{},[71,72,73],"strong",{},"Mike Yu"," started SmallSolarCo after working out that a plug-in panel was the only kind of solar available to him — he rents in Irvine with a west-facing balcony and no roof of his own. He is not an electrician, a solar installer, or a lawyer, and the site says so wherever it matters. He has a background building web products, and built the savings model here himself, using NREL irradiance data and Southern California Edison's published rates.",[68,76,77],{},"Since September 2026 he has been running a plug-in kit on that balcony and logging what it actually produces. Every measured figure on this site comes from that kit. Everything else is labelled as an estimate.",[79,80,82],"h2",{"id":81},"editorial-independence","Editorial independence",[68,84,85],{},"We don't accept review units on terms that involve anyone approving the review first. If a manufacturer sends us a kit, we say so on the review, and we keep the right to publish a bad one.",[68,87,88,89,94],{},"Reach him at ",[90,91,93],"a",{"href":92},"mailto:hello@smallsolarco.com","hello@smallsolarco.com",".","Mike Yu started SmallSolarCo after working out that a plug-in panel was the only kind of solar available to him — he rents in Irvine with a west-facing balcony and no roof of his own. He is not an electrician, a solar installer, or a lawyer, and the site says so wherever it matters. He has a background building web products, and built the savings model here himself, using NREL irradiance data and Southern California Edison's published rates.","Irvine, California",{},"\u002Fauthors\u002Fmike","\u002Fimages\u002Fauthors\u002Fmike.jpg","Founder",{"description":95},"authors\u002Fmike","kb0uodhMlGk_YV3nMOIXdr6bpZgtB5zNoRxdGxsXMQ8",{"id":105,"asOf":50,"deadline":106,"effectiveIfSigned":107,"extension":108,"linkHref":109,"linkText":110,"long":111,"meta":112,"short":113,"stage":114,"stem":115,"__hash__":116},"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",[118,122,126],{"path":119,"title":120,"description":121},"\u002Fblog\u002Fgermany-has-a-million","Germany has a million of these. What California can and can't copy","Germany registered around 435,000 plug-in solar systems in a year. The rules that made it happen, and the three that California didn't copy.",{"path":123,"title":124,"description":125},"\u002Fblog\u002Fsb-868-what-happens-next","SB 868: what happens between now and January","The Governor has until 30 September. Then a certification scramble, then an effective date. What each stage means if you're thinking about buying a kit.",{"path":127,"title":128,"description":129},"\u002Fblog\u002Futah-went-first","Utah went first. What happened after HB 340","Utah legalised plug-in solar in March 2025 with the same 1,200W cap California is proposing. What the first US market tells us about what's coming.",[131,135],{"path":132,"title":133,"description":134},"\u002Fblog\u002Fno-backup-power","Why 'no backup power' surprises every first-time buyer","Plug-in solar shuts off the instant the grid does — by law, to protect line workers. Not reduced power. None. What to buy if you want backup.",{"path":136,"title":137,"description":138},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-is-ul-3700","What UL 3700 is, and why almost nothing is certified yet","UL 3700 is the safety standard SB 868 effectively requires. It launched in January 2026, and complete kits are still catching up. What to look for.",[140,144],{"path":141,"title":142,"description":143},"\u002Fblog\u002Ffederal-tax-credit-is-gone","The federal solar tax credit is gone. Here's what that does to the math","Section 25D ended for expenditures after 31 December 2025. Any 2026 solar pricing still subtracting 30% is wrong. What it means for plug-in kits.",{"path":145,"title":146,"description":147},"\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-question-calculators-forget","The one question every solar calculator forgets to ask","Whether someone's home during the day changes your solar savings by up to 40%. It's the biggest lever in the model and no calculator asks about it.",[149],{"path":150,"title":151,"description":152},"\u002Fblog\u002Firvine-balcony-test-kit","We put a plug-in solar kit on an Irvine balcony. Here's what we're measuring","One kit, one west-facing balcony, and a logger. What we're measuring, what we expect, and what we'll publish even if it makes our model look wrong.",1788387857375]