[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":245},["ShallowReactive",2],{"page-\u002Fblog\u002Firvine-balcony-test-kit":3,"author-mike":207},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"bare":7,"body":8,"dateModified":186,"datePublished":186,"description":187,"extension":188,"howToSteps":189,"kits":189,"layout":190,"meta":191,"navigation":192,"path":193,"schemaType":194,"seo":195,"sources":196,"stem":200,"targetKeywords":201,"titleTag":205,"translationOf":189,"__hash__":206},"content\u002Fblog\u002Firvine-balcony-test-kit.md","We put a plug-in solar kit on an Irvine balcony. Here's what we're measuring","mike",false,{"type":9,"value":10},"minimark",[11,18,23,26,29,35,39,43,93,97,106,112,115,119,126,132,138,144,150,154,157,160,164,167,170,174,177,183],[12,13,14],"answer-box",{},[15,16,17],"p",{},"Every savings figure on this site comes from a model. Models are confident and frequently wrong. So there's a kit on a west-facing balcony in Irvine, logging output every day, and in a few months we'll publish what it actually did against what we predicted — including if the gap is embarrassing.",[19,20,22],"h2",{"id":21},"why-bother","Why bother",[15,24,25],{},"There's a lot of balcony solar content on the internet and almost none of it is based on anyone's actual panel. It's manufacturer specifications restated, or model output presented as fact, or German figures applied to California without adjustment.",[15,27,28],{},"We'd rather not add to that. So: one kit, one balcony, one logger, and a public prediction made before the data comes in.",[30,31],"illustration",{"brief":32,"caption":33,"ratio":34},"The full installation, plus a close shot of the energy meter display showing live watts. The meter reading is what makes this evidence rather than an anecdote.","One balcony, one kit, one logger, and a prediction written down before the data came in.","wide",[19,36,38],{"id":37},"the-setup","The setup",[40,41],"measured",{"note":42},"Make and model, rated output, exact heading, mounting method, sky view, logging method and start date go here. Publishing the specification before the results is the point — it is what stops us quietly picking a flattering configuration later.",[44,45,46,57],"table",{},[47,48,49],"thead",{},[50,51,52,55],"tr",{},[53,54],"th",{},[53,56],{},[58,59,60,69,77,85],"tbody",{},[50,61,62,66],{},[63,64,65],"td",{},"Location",[63,67,68],{},"Irvine, California — SCE territory",[50,70,71,74],{},[63,72,73],{},"Orientation",[63,75,76],{},"West-facing balcony",[50,78,79,82],{},[63,80,81],{},"Utility rate used for value",[63,83,84],{},"33.2¢\u002FkWh blended (June 2026)",[50,86,87,90],{},[63,88,89],{},"Logging",[63,91,92],{},"Daily",[19,94,96],{"id":95},"what-our-model-predicts","What our model predicts",[15,98,99,100,105],{},"Before any data, here's the shape of what ",[101,102,104],"a",{"href":103},"\u002Fmethodology","our methodology page"," says a balcony like this should do:",[15,107,108],{},[109,110,111],"code",{},"1,586 kWh\u002FkW\u002Fyr × kW × direction factor × tilt factor × shade factor = annual kWh",[15,113,114],{},"The specific numbers go up alongside the kit specification, and they're written down before the first month's readings so we can't quietly revise them later.",[19,116,118],{"id":117},"what-were-measuring","What we're measuring",[15,120,121,125],{},[122,123,124],"strong",{},"Daily production",", which is the headline.",[15,127,128,131],{},[122,129,130],{},"Production against forecast weather",", so we can separate \"the model is wrong\" from \"it was cloudy in June.\"",[15,133,134,137],{},[122,135,136],{},"Self-consumption",", which is the harder and more interesting one. Producing 4 kilowatt-hours means nothing if the flat is empty and 2 of them go to the grid for free. We're logging household draw alongside production to work out what share is actually used.",[15,139,140,143],{},[122,141,142],{},"The tilt experiment."," At some point we'll run the same panel vertical on the railing for a month and tilted for a month, in comparable conditions, to test the 0.62 factor we've been quoting. If that number is wrong, a lot of our advice about tilt brackets is wrong with it.",[15,145,146,149],{},[122,147,148],{},"Seasonal spread."," December production in California is roughly half of June's. Anyone quoting an annual figure from a summer month is overstating by a wide margin, and we want the real curve.",[19,151,153],{"id":152},"what-well-publish","What we'll publish",[15,155,156],{},"A monthly update with the numbers, and a proper comparison at twelve months.",[15,158,159],{},"Specifically, we'll publish the gap between prediction and reality, whichever direction it runs. If the model overstates by 20 percent, that's the most useful thing we could tell you, and we'll change the model and say what changed.",[19,161,163],{"id":162},"what-this-cant-tell-you","What this can't tell you",[15,165,166],{},"One balcony. One orientation. One year of weather. It'll tell you whether our model is roughly calibrated for a west-facing Irvine balcony, and it won't tell you what happens on a shaded east-facing one in Fresno.",[15,168,169],{},"That's the honest limit of first-hand testing by one person, and we'd rather say it than imply this is a study.",[19,171,173],{"id":172},"if-you-have-one","If you have one",[15,175,176],{},"If you've got a plug-in system running anywhere in California, we'd like your numbers — kit, orientation, tilt, and monthly kilowatt-hours. A dozen real installations would be worth more than our one, and we'd publish the aggregate with the model comparison.",[178,179],"newsletter-capture",{"body":180,"button":181,"heading":182},"What it actually made, against what we said it would. Plus everything else that changes.","Send me the data","Monthly numbers from the test kit",[184,185],"sources-block",{},"2026-09-01","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.","md",null,"article",{},true,"\u002Fblog\u002Firvine-balcony-test-kit","Article",{"title":5,"description":187},[197],{"title":198,"url":199,"accessed":186},"NREL PVWatts Calculator","https:\u002F\u002Fpvwatts.nrel.gov\u002F","blog\u002Firvine-balcony-test-kit",[202,203,204],"balcony solar real world results","balcony solar test","how much does balcony solar actually produce","Testing Balcony Solar on an Irvine Balcony | Real Data","yextLVeLIjvmUe_97gg_zWoA2eU6sUg-BZqaZ8tyIqQ",{"id":208,"title":209,"body":210,"description":236,"email":234,"extension":188,"location":237,"meta":238,"name":216,"navigation":192,"path":239,"photo":240,"role":241,"sameAs":189,"seo":242,"stem":243,"__hash__":244},"authors\u002Fauthors\u002Fmike.md","Mike",{"type":9,"value":211},[212,218,221,225,228],[15,213,214,217],{},[122,215,216],{},"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.",[15,219,220],{},"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.",[19,222,224],{"id":223},"editorial-independence","Editorial independence",[15,226,227],{},"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.",[15,229,230,231,235],{},"Reach him at ",[101,232,234],{"href":233},"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":236},"authors\u002Fmike","kb0uodhMlGk_YV3nMOIXdr6bpZgtB5zNoRxdGxsXMQ8",1788387858703]