[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":353},["ShallowReactive",2],{"page-\u002Ftools\u002Fis-it-worth-it":3,"author-mike":315},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"bare":7,"body":8,"dateModified":292,"datePublished":292,"description":293,"extension":294,"howToSteps":295,"kits":295,"layout":296,"meta":297,"navigation":298,"path":299,"schemaType":300,"seo":301,"sources":302,"stem":309,"targetKeywords":310,"titleTag":313,"translationOf":295,"__hash__":314},"content\u002Ftools\u002Fis-it-worth-it.md","Is it worth it for someone like me?","mike",false,{"type":9,"value":10},"minimark",[11,24,273,284,289],[12,13,14],"answer-box",{},[15,16,17,18,23],"p",{},"Fourteen situations, a verdict for each. Four of them are \"no.\" If yours is close but not exact, ",[19,20,22],"a",{"href":21},"\u002Fwizard","the calculator"," will do better.",[25,26,27,46],"table",{},[28,29,30],"thead",{},[31,32,33,37,40,43],"tr",{},[34,35,36],"th",{},"Your situation",[34,38,39],{},"Verdict",[34,41,42],{},"Estimated saving",[34,44,45],{},"Why",[47,48,49,67,83,99,115,130,146,161,181,197,212,227,242,257],"tbody",{},[31,50,51,55,61,64],{},[52,53,54],"td",{},"Renter, south-facing balcony, works from home",[52,56,57],{},[58,59,60],"strong",{},"Yes, clearly",[52,62,63],{},"$280–$400\u002Fyr",[52,65,66],{},"Best combination available: good sun and you're there to use it",[31,68,69,72,77,80],{},[52,70,71],{},"Renter, west-facing balcony, works from home",[52,73,74],{},[58,75,76],{},"Yes",[52,78,79],{},"$230–$330\u002Fyr",[52,81,82],{},"Afternoon production lands on the expensive hours",[31,84,85,88,93,96],{},[52,86,87],{},"Renter, west-facing balcony, out 9–6",[52,89,90],{},[58,91,92],{},"Marginal",[52,94,95],{},"$130–$180\u002Fyr",[52,97,98],{},"You're giving away half of it. Shift a load to midday and it improves",[31,100,101,104,109,112],{},[52,102,103],{},"Renter, north-facing balcony",[52,105,106],{},[58,107,108],{},"No",[52,110,111],{},"under $80\u002Fyr",[52,113,114],{},"A third of the sun for the same price",[31,116,117,120,124,127],{},[52,118,119],{},"Renter, heavily shaded by the building opposite",[52,121,122],{},[58,123,108],{},[52,125,126],{},"under $90\u002Fyr",[52,128,129],{},"Panels are unforgiving about shade",[31,131,132,135,140,143],{},[52,133,134],{},"Condo owner with HOA, south or west, good sun",[52,136,137],{},[58,138,139],{},"Yes, if they'll allow it",[52,141,142],{},"$250–$400\u002Fyr",[52,144,145],{},"The economics are fine; the approval is the work",[31,147,148,151,155,158],{},[52,149,150],{},"Homeowner, no rooftop solar, sunny patio",[52,152,153],{},[58,154,76],{},[52,156,157],{},"$300–$450\u002Fyr",[52,159,160],{},"Fewest obstacles, and you can tilt properly on a patio",[31,162,163,166,171,174],{},[52,164,165],{},"Homeowner who already has rooftop solar",[52,167,168],{},[58,169,170],{},"Usually no",[52,172,173],{},"varies",[52,175,176,177],{},"You'd likely be exporting it at a poor rate. ",[19,178,180],{"href":179},"\u002Fguides\u002Falready-have-rooftop-solar","Read this first",[31,182,183,186,191,194],{},[52,184,185],{},"Small café or restaurant, any decent aspect",[52,187,188],{},[58,189,190],{},"Yes, best case",[52,192,193],{},"$450–$590\u002Fyr",[52,195,196],{},"You use nearly everything you make",[31,198,199,202,206,209],{},[52,200,201],{},"Small office, nine to five",[52,203,204],{},[58,205,76],{},[52,207,208],{},"$400–$550\u002Fyr",[52,210,211],{},"Load profile matches production almost exactly",[31,213,214,217,221,224],{},[52,215,216],{},"Bar or evening venue",[52,218,219],{},[58,220,108],{},[52,222,223],{},"low",[52,225,226],{},"Closed when the panel produces",[31,228,229,232,237,239],{},[52,230,231],{},"Anyone with a bill under $80 a month",[52,233,234],{},[58,235,236],{},"Probably not",[52,238,223],{},[52,240,241],{},"Not much to trim, and a smaller share of production gets used",[31,243,244,247,252,254],{},[52,245,246],{},"Anyone on CARE or a low fixed-rate plan",[52,248,249],{},[58,250,251],{},"Check carefully",[52,253,173],{},[52,255,256],{},"The cheaper your electricity, the longer the payback",[31,258,259,262,267,270],{},[52,260,261],{},"Someone moving within a year",[52,263,264],{},[58,265,266],{},"Yes, if the next place is sunny",[52,268,269],{},"portable",[52,271,272],{},"It comes with you. Check the next balcony's aspect before you buy",[15,274,275],{},[276,277,278,279,283],"em",{},"Estimated. All figures assume Southern California Edison rates and a 900–1,200 watt system. ",[19,280,282],{"href":281},"\u002Fmethodology","Full working",".",[15,285,286],{},[19,287,288],{"href":21},"Get a figure for your actual place →",[290,291],"sources-block",{},"2026-09-01","Fourteen common situations and a straight verdict for each — north-facing renters, home workers, café owners, people who already have rooftop solar.","md",null,"data",{},true,"\u002Ftools\u002Fis-it-worth-it","Article",{"title":5,"description":293},[303,306],{"title":304,"url":305,"accessed":292},"NREL PVWatts Calculator","https:\u002F\u002Fpvwatts.nrel.gov\u002F",{"title":307,"url":308,"accessed":292},"SCE Rate Advisory, June 2026","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.sce.com\u002Fsave-money\u002Frates-financing\u002Fsce-rate-advisory","tools\u002Fis-it-worth-it",[311,312],"is balcony solar worth it","is plug in solar worth it California","Is Balcony Solar Worth It? By Situation","SP9KgBFM8kMBsURVGrHRI04Qb4BhyT9_g23zRnyRip0",{"id":316,"title":317,"body":318,"description":344,"email":343,"extension":294,"location":345,"meta":346,"name":324,"navigation":298,"path":347,"photo":348,"role":349,"sameAs":295,"seo":350,"stem":351,"__hash__":352},"authors\u002Fauthors\u002Fmike.md","Mike",{"type":9,"value":319},[320,326,329,334,337],[15,321,322,325],{},[58,323,324],{},"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.",[15,327,328],{},"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.",[330,331,333],"h2",{"id":332},"editorial-independence","Editorial independence",[15,335,336],{},"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.",[15,338,339,340,283],{},"Reach him at ",[19,341,343],{"href":342},"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":344},"authors\u002Fmike","kb0uodhMlGk_YV3nMOIXdr6bpZgtB5zNoRxdGxsXMQ8",1788387858972]