Instead of a solar panel of $ 50,000 on your roof, what would you say about $ 2,000 small enough to hold on your terrace? “ We thought absolutely, let’s do it right away ”

“We absolutely thought, let’s do this right away,” Dwyer, who lives in Oakland, California, said.

These small -scale solar systems could become attractive for more owners now than President Donald Trump’s budgetary package and policy will remove solar tax credits on the residential roof and could transfer interest to cheaper alternatives. Even before the GOP bill was adopted, manufacturers of smaller systems known as plug-in or balcony found an increased demand and other positive signs such as a new regulation of rationalization of the UTAH law so that owners can buy and install them. The systems on the size of a door have not been as widely adopted in the United States as in Europe due to the lack of awareness, the rules of patchwork utilities and limited availability.

The reloadable solar system of $ 2,000 installed on the deck of the backyard of Dwyer in March consists of two panels of 400 Watts, a inverter, an intelligent counter and a circuit breaker. This saves him around $ 35 per month on his electricity bill because he consumes less energy from the network, but he said that the reduction in his carbon footprint was his main motivation.

“We love the environmental advantages of solar energy and we wanted to get involved with solar energy in a certain way,” said Dwyer.

If Dwyer had opted for solar on the roof, he would have paid $ 20,000 for the system and $ 30,000 to improve his roof to support the panels.

The installation of a plug-in solar system requires homework. What electricity companies allow customers to do energy generating equipment varies is why potential buyers should first check the policies of their utility. Construction permits may be necessary depending on the municipality. Some systems can be self-installed, while others may need an electrician. For example, some kits have meters that must be wired in the circuit breaker of a house.

Deletion of obstacles for rechargeable solar

Dwyer bought its system in Bright Saver, a non-profit company in California which pleads for plug-in solar. In addition to the type that Dwyer bought, the company also offers a smaller model costing $ 399 which recently sold in six days.

“Interest and demand have been overwhelming,” said Cora Stryker, founder of Bright Saver. “It is clear that we hit a nerve – many Americans want solar energy but have not had an achieveable and affordable option for them so far.”

Kevin Chou, another founder of Bright Saver, said that the broader adoption of systems in the United States has been hampered by public services policies that create uncertainty as to whether they are authorized and the lack of state and local policies to indicate that the rules apply.

Certain public services contacted by the Associated Press say that plug-in solar systems require the same interconnection applications as the roof panels which refer electricity to the wider network. But Steven Hegedus, professor of electrical engineering at the University of Delaware, said that he did not understand why a public service should demand an interconnection agreement for the solar plug-in because, unlike the roof systems, they are designed to prevent energy from flowing towards the network.

However, in case of doubt, a customer must follow the policy of his utility.

At the start of Solar’s growth, public services opposition is likely that customers buy less energy, said Robert Cudd, research analyst at California Center for Sustainable Communities at the University of California in Los Angeles.

“Public services really prefer that everyone is a foreseeable and generous consumer of the electricity they sell,” said Cudd.

This year, UTAH has promulgated a new law supporting plug-in solar by exempting certain small-scale systems from interconnection agreements and establishing security requirements, such as certification by a national test organization such as subscribers. It seems that it is the only state that adopted legislation supporting plug-in solar energy, according to the National Conference of States Legislatures.

The representative of the republican state Raymond Ward, who sponsored the legislation, said that small systems allow people to better manage where their energy comes from and what they pay.

“Europe has these things. You can go buy them and they work and people want them. There is no reason why we should not have them here in the United States,” Ward said.

Bright Saver says they put pressure on other states for similar legislation.

Alexis Abramson, dean of the climate school of the University of Columbia, also applauded Utah’s decision.

“We actually need more localities, more states that put allocations for this type of equipment,” she said.

Plug-in availability and solar savings potential

There are still questions about the amount of customers that can save. Severin Borenstein, professor at the University of California, Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, said that the cost of certain portable solar systems in the United States would make customers appear on their public service bills during their owner. He estimates that the price of a $ 2,000 system in the United States is trying to pay about $ 0.20 per kilowatt hour over a period of 25 years, saving money from people if they have high public service costs. In comparison, Borenstein said that the cost of systems sold in Europe, usually about $ 600, is equivalent to paying around $ 0.05 or $ 0.06 per kilowat-hour over 25 years.

Craig Keenan, a Baltimore resident, said that money savings were only why he had installed one of the smallest Bright Saver models on his balcony in July.

“I am interested in renewable energies because the quantity of carbon emissions that we produce as a species is very, very unbearable for our world,” he said.

He said he expects the system to save him around $ 40 a year on public service bills, so it would take around 10 years to recover the cost of the kit.

Keenan, a mechanical engineer, said that the installation took him 10 to 15 minutes.

“I think anyone can install this,” he said. “It’s not complicated. This does not require a technical diploma. ”

The other companies selling plug-in solar kits include Texas-based Craftstrom. It has sold around 2,000 systems in the United States since 2021, mainly in California, Texas and Florida. The basic kits of the company contain a solar panel which can hold in a courtyard or other sunny space, as well as equipment to maintain and regulate the flow of energy, including an inverter and an intelligent counter.

Kenneth Hutchings, Craftstrom revenue director, said their sales in the United States had increased this year before the adoption of the GOP tax bill, and that he expects the demand for plug-in solar to increase more as solar credits on the federal roof expire.

The company advises customers to inform their electricity company before installation, but it “never had a step back,” said Michael Scherer, one of the founders of Craftstrom.

Ecoflow, based in China, plans to start selling plug-in solar systems in UTAH and extend to other states if support legislation is adopted, said Ryan Oliver, company spokesperson.

“This is an example of the place where technology is in a way ahead of regulators,” said Oliver, adding: “As is going on a national product, we expect it to become more common because people understand it better.”

___

The associate video journalist Mingson Lau in Baltimore contributed to this report.

___

The climate and environmental coverage of the Associated Press receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find the AP standards to work with philanthropies, a list of supporters and coverage areas financed at AP.ORG.