TL;DR: Plug-in solar becomes legal in California on January 1, 2027, under SB 868. You can run up to 1,200 W of certified panels per home with no interconnection agreement and no utility fees. Exported power earns nothing. On SCE and PG&E time-of-use rates, our math puts a full 1,200 W kit at about $300 to $640 a year in savings, depending on how it faces and how much of its output you actually use.
Key takeaways
- Legal from January 1, 2027: up to 1,200 W AC per dwelling, certified to UL 3700 or equivalent, with free registration at most.
- No certified whole-system kit is on sale yet. Compliant kits are expected around spring 2027.
- Midday solar offsets 32 to 40 cent off-peak power, not the 59 cent evening peak. Exports earn zero.
- A 1,200 W kit saves roughly $300 to $640 a year. A single 400 W panel saves about $120 to $240.
- For a homeowner with a $250+ monthly bill, an EV or heavy evening load, a rooftop system with a battery still does the real work.
Plug-in solar is the most searched solar topic in California this fall, and almost none of the coverage does the one thing a buyer needs: the savings math. We install rooftop solar and batteries across California, so we ran the numbers the way we would for a customer. SB 868 makes plug-in solar legal in California on January 1, 2027, capped at 1,200 W per home. That is real, useful and limited. Here is how limited.
Is plug-in solar legal in California?
Yes, starting January 1, 2027. Governor Newsom approved SB 868 on September 30, 2026 (Chapter 985, Statutes of 2026), which lets Californians plug certified solar systems of up to 1,200 W into a standard outlet without a utility interconnection agreement.
Until then, a plug-in kit needs a standard interconnection application like any other solar system. After January 1, a qualifying kit skips that process. The key word is “qualifying”: an uncertified kit bought online gets none of the law’s protections.
California is not first. Utah, Maine, Maryland, Colorado and Virginia passed similar laws earlier, per Bright Saver’s state tracker. But California is now the largest market.
What does SB 868 allow (and what does it not)?
SB 868 allows a certified plug-in system of up to 1,200 W AC per dwelling, with no interconnection agreement, no utility approval, no fees and no extra equipment the utility can demand. It does not pay you for exported power, and it does not cover batteries or businesses.
SB 868 plug-in solar rules at a glance
| Rule | What it means for you | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Size cap | 1,200 W combined AC output per dwelling | SB 868 |
| Certification | Whole system certified as a plug-in PV system by UL or an equivalent lab (UL 3700), meeting the NEC and California Electrical Code | SB 868; PG&E |
| Anti-backfeed | Must automatically isolate and shut off during a grid outage | SB 868 |
| Interconnection | No interconnection agreement or utility approval until Jan 1, 2030 | SB 868 |
| Registration | Utility may require a simple online form: address, make, model, size | SB 868 |
| Fees | None allowed for compliant systems | SB 868; PG&E |
| Export credit | None. Power sent to the grid earns no bill credit | PG&E |
| Batteries | Systems that include batteries still go through interconnection | PG&E |
| 2030 rule | From Jan 1, 2030, non-compliant plug-in devices cannot be sold in California; the exemption sunsets the same day unless extended | SB 868 |
Source: SB 868 bill text and status, California Legislature via Digital Democracy; PG&E, “Plug-In Solar Is Coming to California. Here’s What PG&E Customers Should Know,” Oct 14, 2026.
Two details matter. The 1,200 W cap is per dwelling, not per kit, so two 800 W kits exceed it. And the 2030 sunset makes the exemption a pilot, not a permanent right.
When can you actually buy a compliant plug-in solar kit?
Not yet. As of November 2026, no complete plug-in kit holds the whole-system certification California requires, and Sen. Wiener’s office expects compliant kits around spring 2027, as reported by KQED.
The industry is close. Bright Saver reports a Hoymiles microinverter earned a UL 3700 subassembly certification in July 2026, but the whole system still has to be certified as one unit, and Bright Saver says its kits cannot ship to California yet.
That is the risk with balcony kits sold online today: without whole-system certification they do not qualify for the SB 868 exemption, and from 2030 they cannot be sold in California. Wait for a kit whose spec sheet says the entire system is certified to UL 3700.
How much does a plug-in solar kit cost?
Plug-in kits sold in the US run about $300 to $2,200 depending on size, per KQED’s reporting. Small 1 to 2 panel kits start near $300; a full 1,200 W kit sits toward the top of that range. No federal tax credit applies.
Plug-in solar kit prices by size (US market, 2026)
| Kit size | Typical setup | Verified price point | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 180 to 400 W | 1 panel + microinverter | $299 to $432 (Bright Saver 180 W and 360 W kits) | Not yet cleared to ship to California |
| 800 W | 2 large panels + inverter | Mid-range of $300 to $2,200 | Common European size |
| 1,200 W | 3 panels or 2 panels with a larger inverter | Upper end, up to about $2,200 | The California maximum |
Source: KQED, Oct 2026; Bright Saver kit listings, 2026. California-compliant kit prices are not yet published; expect certified kits to carry a premium at launch.
A compliant system has no labor, permit or utility fee; budget only for a railing mount or patio stand. The federal 25D homeowner credit ended for systems installed after December 31, 2025, so the sticker price is the price.
How much will a 1,200 W system save on SCE and PG&E rates?
A 1,200 W kit saves about $300 to $640 a year in our worked example: $300 to $540 on SCE TOU-D-4-9PM and $350 to $640 on PG&E E-TOU-C. The range depends on panel orientation and how much output your home uses as it is produced, because exports earn nothing. PG&E’s own estimate is a wider $50 to $800.
Step 1: Production. A south-facing panel tilted 20 to 30 degrees in coastal Southern California produces roughly 1,550 kWh per kW of panel per year, the low end of the 1,540 to 1,640 kWh/kW range modeled for Los Angeles and San Diego. Check your address in NREL’s free PVWatts calculator. Balcony kits rarely get the ideal angle. Published tilt-and-azimuth research puts a vertical east- or west-facing surface at about 55% of the optimum annual sunlight at California latitudes. Applying the same method to a vertical south-facing railing, we estimate about 60%.
So a full 1,200 W kit produces:
- Tilted, south-facing: 1.2 kW x 1,550 = 1,860 kWh/year
- Vertical railing, south-facing: 1,860 x 0.60 = 1,116 kWh/year
- Vertical railing, east or west: 1,860 x 0.55 = 1,023 kWh/year
Step 2: How much you use on the spot. Under SB 868 there is no export credit. Any kWh your home does not use the moment it is produced is given away. A home occupied during the day might use 90% of a 1.2 kW kit’s output; an apartment empty from 9 to 5, closer to 60%.
Step 3: The rate it actually offsets. Midday solar does not touch the expensive evening peak. On SCE TOU-D-4-9PM, daytime power costs 33 cents per kWh in summer off-peak and 32 cents in winter super off-peak (8am to 4pm). The 59 cent summer peak runs 4 to 9pm, after most kit output has faded. On PG&E E-TOU-C, off-peak is 39.9 cents in summer and 36.8 cents in winter (rates effective June 1, 2026). Weighting summer at about 40% of annual output, the blended value is 32.4 cents per kWh on SCE and 38.0 cents on PG&E.
Step 4: Multiply.
Annual savings from plug-in solar in California: SCE vs PG&E
| Scenario | kWh produced/yr | kWh used (no export credit) | SCE TOU-D-4-9PM savings | PG&E E-TOU-C savings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,200 W, tilted south, 90% used | 1,860 | 1,674 | $542 | $637 |
| 1,200 W, tilted south, 60% used | 1,860 | 1,116 | $362 | $424 |
| 1,200 W, vertical south railing, 90% used | 1,116 | 1,004 | $325 | $382 |
| 1,200 W, vertical east/west railing, 90% used | 1,023 | 921 | $298 | $350 |
| 400 W, tilted south, 100% used | 620 | 620 | $201 | $236 |
| 400 W, vertical south railing, 100% used | 372 | 372 | $121 | $141 |
Source: NRG Clean Power calculation, Nov 2026. Rates: SCE TOU-D-4-9PM residential rates and PG&E Schedule E-TOU-C, bundled service. Production: 1,550 kWh/kW-year for a south-facing tilted array; vertical factors 0.60 (south) and 0.55 (east/west). Exports valued at $0.
Step 5: Payback. At $1,800 for a full 1,200 W kit, payback runs about 3.3 years in the best SCE case and 6 years on an east-facing railing. At $2,200, it stretches to 4.1 to 7.4 years on SCE and 3.5 to 6.3 years on PG&E. That is a respectable return with no installation cost.
Three things can move your number:
- Low-usage households save less per kWh. Under your baseline allowance, each avoided kWh is worth the rate minus the baseline credit: about 23 cents on SCE and 30 cents on PG&E.
- CCA customers (Clean Power Alliance, Peninsula Clean Energy and others) pay slightly different generation rates.
- West-facing panels catch a little 4 to 9pm peak. We left that out to stay conservative.
You can see how your own plan’s hours line up in our guide to SCE time-of-use rate plans.
Our 400 W figures land below the roughly $250 a year KQED cited, because a midday kWh with no export credit is worth less than the average rate on your bill.
What can a plug-in solar system actually power?
A 1,200 W kit at full sun can carry a refrigerator, Wi-Fi router, laptops, a TV and some lighting at the same time, and its daily output of about 3 to 5 kWh covers what a typical fridge uses 2 to 4 times over. It cannot run central AC, an EV charger or an electric dryer, and it shuts off in a power outage.
A modern full-size refrigerator draws about 100 to 250 W while its compressor runs and uses about 450 kWh a year, or roughly 1.2 kWh a day. See our breakdown of how many watts a refrigerator uses for the startup surge and older-model numbers.
The kit feeds your home circuit, and whatever is running uses that power first. So the real question is what is running at noon. A home office or a dishwasher run at lunch raises self-consumption and savings.
What it cannot do: run during an outage (SB 868 requires it to shut off, so no help in a PSPS event), cover 4 to 9pm cooking and AC, or meaningfully charge an EV, since a Level 2 charger pulls 7 kW or more.
Do renters and HOA homeowners need permission?
Possibly, yes. SB 868 removes the utility approval step, but nothing we found in the bill overrides your lease or your HOA rules. Check both before you buy.
Renters should ask whether the lease allows railing mounts or balcony alterations; a freestanding patio stand is often an easier conversation. HOA owners should check the CC&Rs on exterior fixtures. The upside: the kit unplugs and moves with you.
Plug-in solar vs rooftop solar: which makes sense for your home?
Plug-in solar makes sense for renters and low-usage households; rooftop solar plus a battery wins for most homeowners with a monthly bill above about $150, an EV or heavy evening use. A 1,200 W kit offsets roughly 1,000 to 1,700 kWh a year. An 8 kW rooftop system produces about 12,400 kWh.
Plug-in solar vs rooftop solar in California
| Factor | 1,200 W plug-in kit | 8 kW rooftop system + battery |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | About $300 to $2,200 | About $19,200 to $26,000 for the solar alone at $2.40 to $3.25/W, before the battery |
| Annual production | 1,000 to 1,860 kWh | About 12,400 kWh |
| Annual savings (our math) | $300 to $640 | Covers most of a $250 to $350 bill when sized right |
| Evening peak (4 to 9pm) | Not covered | Battery covers it |
| Export credit | None | NEM 3.0 net billing credits, best used with a battery |
| Permits and interconnection | None; free registration | City permit and utility interconnection, handled by installer |
| Outage backup | None | Yes, with a battery |
Source: NRG Clean Power analysis; rooftop pricing from our California solar cost guide; plug-in rules from SB 868. Rooftop production at 1,550 kWh/kW-year. No federal tax credit applied to either option.
For an SCE home using 1,000 kWh a month, a plug-in kit covers 8% to 14% of annual usage, while an 8 kW rooftop system can cover essentially all of it.
Here is the line we draw with customers. If you rent, use under 500 kWh a month or cannot use a roof, a certified plug-in kit is a smart, low-risk buy once one exists.
If you own your home and your bill is $250 a month, a plug-in kit trims maybe $25 to $50 of it. The rest is evening use at 50 to 59 cents per kWh that midday panels cannot reach. Under NEM 3.0, that is exactly the problem a battery solves: store midday solar, discharge it 4 to 9pm. We explain the tradeoff in our post on solar without a battery under NEM 3.0.
If you already have rooftop solar on net billing, wait for PG&E’s promised guidance on how plug-in kits interact with it, due before January 1, 2027.
If plug-in solar is too small for your bill, our residential solar installation team can show you what a right-sized system and battery look like on your roof, with your utility’s actual rates.
FAQ
As of November 2026, Bright Saver’s legislation tracker lists Utah, Maine, Maryland, Colorado, Virginia, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, New Jersey and California as having signed plug-in solar laws. Most cap systems at 1,200 W; Colorado allows 1,920 W. California’s law takes effect January 1, 2027.
Panels feed a microinverter that converts DC to AC, and the system plugs into a standard outlet. Running appliances use that power first, so you buy less from the grid. A certified kit shuts off automatically in an outage.
The 1,200 W cap limits savings, exports earn nothing, output peaks when rates are lowest, and there is no outage backup. No fully certified kit is on sale in California yet, and the exemption sunsets January 1, 2030, unless extended.
In full sun, yes: a modern fridge draws about 100 to 250 W running. A 400 W panel makes roughly 1 to 1.7 kWh a day in California, close to a typical fridge’s 1.2 kWh, but nothing at night.
Probably, but it is free and needs no approval. SB 868 lets utilities require a simple online form (address, make, model, size). PG&E customers can email plugin_solar@pge.com until January 1, 2027, when PG&E plans an online form, per its customer guidance.
Not under the simple plug-in rules. PG&E’s guidance says systems that include batteries must go through standard interconnection. If evening power is what you want to cover, a permitted battery system is the right tool, and our solar battery options guide explains when one pays off.
Is plug-in solar enough for your bill?
If you rent, plug-in solar is worth watching for spring 2027. If you own and your bill runs $150 or more, see what a rooftop system would save on your actual rate plan. Get a quote in 2 minutes, or book a virtual consultation with our team. No door knocking, no pressure. Solar, The Smart Way.