DIY plug-in solar gains momentum in the US — SkimNews
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- DIY plug-in solar kits transform rooftop solar from a ~$15,000 capital improvement requiring permits and contractors into a ~$300 consumer appliance that plugs into a standard wall outlet without an electrician, with optional batteries starting at $500 for 1kWh.
- More than a dozen US states have passed laws or introduced bills to legalize plug-in solar since Utah pioneered reclassifying it as a small household appliance last year; it's now legal in Virginia, Maine, Colorado, Maryland, New Jersey, Connecticut, Vermont, and New Hampshire.
- New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill signed the Garden State Balcony Solar Act into law, legalizing setups up to 1,200W on 120V outlets, with the law taking effect March 1, 2027; California and New York have pending bills awaiting governor signatures.
- US plug-in solar systems typically support up to 1,200W, compared to Europe's 800W cap, and in Germany alone an estimated 1.5M households have purchased such systems since Russia's invasion of Ukraine drove up energy costs.
- EcoFlow, Bluetti, and Anker are competing in the nascent US market; EcoFlow recently launched its Stream 2 series and Bluetti released its Balco series, both built on modular architectures that let owners scale up from basic generation to whole-home energy systems.
- Trump's tariffs on solar panels and batteries and the elimination of solar tax credits have raised costs for US consumers compared to their European counterparts, even as panel and battery prices hit record lows globally.
Why it matters: Renters and budget consumers gain a $300 entry point to solar versus the ~$15,000 rooftop array price, while EcoFlow and Bluetti are already launching modular US-targeted product lines. California — with the country's highest residential electricity rates — could trigger a growth surge if it signs pending legislation into law, though Trump's tariffs and eliminated tax credits raise the cost ceiling versus Europe.
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