[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":302},["ShallowReactive",2],{"page-\u002Fcities\u002Ftustin":3,"author-mike":252,"ssc-status":289},{"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":250,"translationOf":232,"__hash__":251},"content\u002Fcities\u002Ftustin.md","Balcony solar in Tustin","mike",false,{"type":9,"value":10},"minimark",[11,18,22,25,30,80,83,87,163,175,179,191,202,208,215,226],[12,13,14],"answer-box",{},[15,16,17],"p",{},"Tustin is on Southern California Edison, gets the same roughly 1,586 kilowatt-hours per kilowatt a year as the rest of central Orange County, and has a housing mix between Irvine's newer HOA-governed apartments and Santa Ana's older stock. A tilted 800-watt kit on a west-facing balcony saves about $262 a year.",[19,20],"stat-grid",{":stats":21},"[{\"value\":\"1,586\",\"label\":\"kWh per kW per year\",\"note\":\"The same central Orange County resource.\"},{\"value\":\"$262\",\"label\":\"800W tilted, west-facing\",\"note\":\"A year, on SCE, with someone home most days.\"},{\"value\":\"$474\",\"label\":\"1,200W, south, tilted\",\"note\":\"A year, if you have the aspect and the budget.\"},{\"value\":\"Two Tustins\",\"label\":\"Legacy and Old Town\",\"note\":\"Master associations on one side, individually owned older stock on the other.\"}]",[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],"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],{},"Housing stock",[50,78,79],{},"Split between master-planned Tustin Legacy and older Old Town",[15,81,82],{},"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.",[26,84,86],{"id":85},"what-it-saves-here","What it saves here",[31,88,89,105],{},[34,90,91],{},[37,92,93,96,99,102],{},[40,94,95],{},"Your balcony",[40,97,98],{},"360W tilted",[40,100,101],{},"800W tilted",[40,103,104],{},"1,200W tilted",[45,106,107,121,135,149],{},[37,108,109,112,115,118],{},[50,110,111],{},"South",[50,113,114],{},"$142",[50,116,117],{},"$315",[50,119,120],{},"$474",[37,122,123,126,129,132],{},[50,124,125],{},"West",[50,127,128],{},"$118",[50,130,131],{},"$262",[50,133,134],{},"$393",[37,136,137,140,143,146],{},[50,138,139],{},"East",[50,141,142],{},"$114",[50,144,145],{},"$252",[50,147,148],{},"$379",[37,150,151,154,157,160],{},[50,152,153],{},"North",[50,155,156],{},"$50",[50,158,159],{},"$110",[50,161,162],{},"$166",[15,164,165],{},[166,167,168,169,174],"em",{},"Estimated at SCE's 33.2-cent blended rate, open sky, someone home most days. ",[170,171,173],"a",{"href":172},"\u002Fmethodology","Full working",".",[26,176,178],{"id":177},"whats-different-about-tustin","What's different about Tustin",[15,180,181,185,186,190],{},[182,183,184],"strong",{},"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 ",[170,187,189],{"href":188},"\u002Fguides\u002Fcan-your-landlord-or-hoa-say-no","HOA guide"," is the page that matters, not this one.",[15,192,193,196,197,201],{},[182,194,195],{},"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 ",[170,198,200],{"href":199},"\u002Ftools\u002Foutlet-check","outlet check"," and less on permission.",[15,203,204,207],{},[182,205,206],{},"Everything else"," is the ordinary central Orange County mix, and the ordinary advice applies.",[15,209,210,211,174],{},"If your balcony faces south or west and you can see plenty of sky, this is a straightforward buy. ",[170,212,214],{"href":213},"\u002Fwizard","Run the numbers",[15,216,217,221,222],{},[170,218,220],{"href":219},"\u002Fcities\u002Firvine","Irvine"," · ",[170,223,225],{"href":224},"\u002Fcities\u002Fsanta-ana","Santa Ana",[227,228],"sources-block",{},"2026-09-01","Tustin sits between Irvine and Santa Ana in every respect — housing mix, renter share, and HOA density. Same SCE rates, same sun, fewer obstacles.","md",null,"data",{},true,"\u002Fcities\u002Ftustin","Article",{"title":5,"description":230},[240,243],{"title":241,"url":242,"accessed":229},"US Census Bureau QuickFacts, Tustin city, California","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.census.gov\u002Fquickfacts\u002Ftustincitycalifornia",{"title":244,"url":245,"accessed":229},"NREL PVWatts Calculator","https:\u002F\u002Fpvwatts.nrel.gov\u002F","cities\u002Ftustin",[248,249],"balcony solar Tustin","plug in solar Tustin","Balcony Solar in Tustin, CA | Rates and Savings","Yp8ZivV75bSWy8N3_l_s8OmNq1PNEAryvRiBjrfK1F8",{"id":253,"title":254,"body":255,"description":280,"email":279,"extension":231,"location":281,"meta":282,"name":261,"navigation":235,"path":283,"photo":284,"role":285,"sameAs":232,"seo":286,"stem":287,"__hash__":288},"authors\u002Fauthors\u002Fmike.md","Mike",{"type":9,"value":256},[257,263,266,270,273],[15,258,259,262],{},[182,260,261],{},"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.",[15,264,265],{},"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.",[26,267,269],{"id":268},"editorial-independence","Editorial independence",[15,271,272],{},"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.",[15,274,275,276,174],{},"Reach him at ",[170,277,279],{"href":278},"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":280},"authors\u002Fmike","kb0uodhMlGk_YV3nMOIXdr6bpZgtB5zNoRxdGxsXMQ8",{"id":290,"asOf":229,"deadline":291,"effectiveIfSigned":292,"extension":293,"linkHref":294,"linkText":295,"long":296,"meta":297,"short":298,"stage":299,"stem":300,"__hash__":301},"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",1788387859143]