[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":303},["ShallowReactive",2],{"page-\u002Fcities\u002Fsanta-ana":3,"author-mike":253,"ssc-status":290},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"bare":7,"body":8,"dateModified":229,"datePublished":229,"description":230,"extension":231,"howToSteps":232,"kits":232,"layout":233,"meta":234,"navigation":235,"path":236,"schemaType":237,"seo":238,"sources":239,"stem":246,"targetKeywords":247,"titleTag":251,"translationOf":209,"__hash__":252},"content\u002Fcities\u002Fsanta-ana.md","Balcony solar in Santa Ana","mike",false,{"type":9,"value":10},"minimark",[11,18,22,25,30,88,91,95,98,159,171,175,182,188,194,200,204,211,226],[12,13,14],"answer-box",{},[15,16,17],"p",{},"Santa Ana is majority-renter, densely housed, on Southern California Edison, and gets the same good Orange County sun as everywhere else nearby — about 1,586 kilowatt-hours per kilowatt a year. It's also a lower-income city than the county average, which changes what we'd recommend: the case here is for a cheap starter kit and a CARE rate check, not a battery system.",[19,20],"stat-grid",{":stats":21},"[{\"value\":\"1,586\",\"label\":\"kWh per kW per year\",\"note\":\"The same solar resource as Irvine, eleven miles away.\"},{\"value\":\"$262\",\"label\":\"800W tilted, west-facing\",\"note\":\"A year, on SCE, with someone home most days.\"},{\"value\":\"$285\",\"label\":\"What we'd actually recommend here\",\"note\":\"A starter kit, not an $850 system. Find out what your balcony does first.\"},{\"value\":\"CARE\",\"label\":\"Check this before solar\",\"note\":\"The SCE income discount is worth more than a small panel, and costs nothing.\"}]",[23,24],"status-strip",{},[26,27,29],"h2",{"id":28},"the-local-numbers","The local numbers",[31,32,33,44],"table",{},[34,35,36],"thead",{},[37,38,39,42],"tr",{},[40,41],"th",{},[40,43],{},[45,46,47,56,64,72,80],"tbody",{},[37,48,49,53],{},[50,51,52],"td",{},"Utility",[50,54,55],{},"Southern California Edison",[37,57,58,61],{},[50,59,60],{},"Average rate",[50,62,63],{},"33.2¢\u002FkWh with the Climate Credit (June 2026)",[37,65,66,69],{},[50,67,68],{},"Solar resource",[50,70,71],{},"~1,586 kWh per kW per year",[37,73,74,77],{},[50,75,76],{},"Tenure",[50,78,79],{},"Majority renter",[37,81,82,85],{},[50,83,84],{},"Housing stock",[50,86,87],{},"Older and smaller than Irvine's; far fewer associations",[15,89,90],{},"We haven't put household counts or an exact renter share on this page yet. The Census figures are easy to find and easy to get subtly wrong, and a city page that quotes a number we haven't checked is exactly the kind of page we're trying not to publish. They'll go in once verified against QuickFacts.",[26,92,94],{"id":93},"what-it-saves-here","What it saves here",[15,96,97],{},"The production figures are effectively identical to Irvine's — this is the same solar resource, eleven miles away. What differs is the housing and the money.",[31,99,100,113],{},[34,101,102],{},[37,103,104,107,110],{},[40,105,106],{},"Your balcony",[40,108,109],{},"360W tilted",[40,111,112],{},"800W tilted",[45,114,115,126,137,148],{},[37,116,117,120,123],{},[50,118,119],{},"South",[50,121,122],{},"$142",[50,124,125],{},"$315",[37,127,128,131,134],{},[50,129,130],{},"West",[50,132,133],{},"$118",[50,135,136],{},"$262",[37,138,139,142,145],{},[50,140,141],{},"East",[50,143,144],{},"$114",[50,146,147],{},"$252",[37,149,150,153,156],{},[50,151,152],{},"North",[50,154,155],{},"$50",[50,157,158],{},"$110",[15,160,161],{},[162,163,164,165,170],"em",{},"Estimated at SCE's 33.2-cent blended rate with someone home most days. ",[166,167,169],"a",{"href":168},"\u002Fmethodology","Full working",".",[26,172,174],{"id":173},"whats-different-about-santa-ana","What's different about Santa Ana",[15,176,177,181],{},[178,179,180],"strong",{},"More older, smaller apartment stock."," Which means: more units without an outdoor outlet on the balcony, more balconies that face into a courtyard rather than out, and more buildings where the landlord is an individual rather than a management company. That last one is often good news — an individual owner can just say yes.",[15,183,184,187],{},[178,185,186],{},"Fewer HOAs than Irvine."," More of the rental stock is straightforwardly landlord-owned rather than condo units under an association, which removes a whole layer of approval.",[15,189,190,193],{},[178,191,192],{},"Check CARE first."," California Alternate Rates for Energy is a substantial discount on SCE bills for income-qualifying households. If you're eligible and not enrolled, that's worth more than a small solar panel and it costs nothing. Enrol first, then look at solar — and note that a lower rate lengthens solar payback, which is a good problem.",[15,195,196,199],{},[178,197,198],{},"Start small."," Given the housing stock and the incomes, the honest recommendation here is a $285 starter kit rather than an $850 system. Find out what your particular balcony does before spending more.",[26,201,203],{"id":202},"in-spanish","In Spanish",[15,205,206,207,210],{},"This page exists in Spanish at ",[166,208,209],{"href":209},"\u002Fes\u002Fciudades\u002Fsanta-ana",", as do our main guides. If something's unclear in either language, tell us.",[15,212,213,217,218,217,222],{},[166,214,216],{"href":215},"\u002Fwizard","Work out your number →"," · ",[166,219,221],{"href":220},"\u002Fcities\u002Firvine","Irvine",[166,223,225],{"href":224},"\u002Fcities\u002Ftustin","Tustin",[227,228],"sources-block",{},"2026-09-01","Santa Ana is majority-renter with lower median incomes than the county, which makes a $285 starter kit a better fit here than a $2,000 battery system.","md",null,"data",{},true,"\u002Fcities\u002Fsanta-ana","Article",{"title":5,"description":230},[240,243],{"title":241,"url":242,"accessed":229},"US Census Bureau QuickFacts, Santa Ana city, California","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.census.gov\u002Fquickfacts\u002Fsantaanacitycalifornia",{"title":244,"url":245,"accessed":229},"NREL PVWatts Calculator","https:\u002F\u002Fpvwatts.nrel.gov\u002F","cities\u002Fsanta-ana",[248,249,250],"balcony solar Santa Ana","solar for renters Santa Ana","paneles solares balcón Santa Ana","Balcony Solar in Santa Ana, CA | For Renters","NJ7eZfo0sit56cdy5MbjYsB5sjf10EeltfJ7ZFMRhDk",{"id":254,"title":255,"body":256,"description":281,"email":280,"extension":231,"location":282,"meta":283,"name":262,"navigation":235,"path":284,"photo":285,"role":286,"sameAs":232,"seo":287,"stem":288,"__hash__":289},"authors\u002Fauthors\u002Fmike.md","Mike",{"type":9,"value":257},[258,264,267,271,274],[15,259,260,263],{},[178,261,262],{},"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.",[15,265,266],{},"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.",[26,268,270],{"id":269},"editorial-independence","Editorial independence",[15,272,273],{},"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.",[15,275,276,277,170],{},"Reach him at ",[166,278,280],{"href":279},"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":281},"authors\u002Fmike","kb0uodhMlGk_YV3nMOIXdr6bpZgtB5zNoRxdGxsXMQ8",{"id":291,"asOf":229,"deadline":292,"effectiveIfSigned":293,"extension":294,"linkHref":295,"linkText":296,"long":297,"meta":298,"short":299,"stage":300,"stem":301,"__hash__":302},"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",1788387859133]