Balcony solar in Tustin
Tustin sits between Irvine and Santa Ana in every respect — housing mix, renter share, and HOA density. Same SCE rates, same sun, fewer obstacles.
By Mike YuPublished September 1, 2026
The local numbers
| Utility | Southern California Edison |
| Average rate | 33.2¢/kWh with the Climate Credit (June 2026) |
| Solar resource | ~1,586 kWh per kW per year |
| Housing stock | Split between master-planned Tustin Legacy and older Old Town |
As on the Santa Ana page, household counts and renter share are absent until we've checked them against Census QuickFacts rather than approximated them.
What it saves here
| Your balcony | 360W tilted | 800W tilted | 1,200W tilted |
|---|---|---|---|
| South | $142 | $315 | $474 |
| West | $118 | $262 | $393 |
| East | $114 | $252 | $379 |
| North | $50 | $110 | $166 |
Estimated at SCE's 33.2-cent blended rate, open sky, someone home most days. Full working.
What's different about Tustin
Tustin Legacy — the redevelopment on the former Marine air station — is a large stock of newer housing under master associations, which behaves much like Irvine: one policy decision affects a lot of units. If you're here, the HOA guide is the page that matters, not this one.
Old Town Tustin is the opposite: older, smaller, individually owned, and mostly free of association governance. More outlets in awkward places, fewer people to ask. Expect to spend more time on the outlet check and less on permission.
Everything else is the ordinary central Orange County mix, and the ordinary advice applies.
If your balcony faces south or west and you can see plenty of sky, this is a straightforward buy. Run the numbers.
Sources
Every legal, numeric and safety claim on this page traces to one of these.
- US Census Bureau QuickFacts, Tustin city, California — accessed September 1, 2026
- NREL PVWatts Calculator — accessed September 1, 2026