PlugIn Solar Guru
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Home Owners

You own the walls and the outlets, so you have the most choices: a plug-in kit where your state allows it, a battery your fridge plugs into, or a whole-home battery an electrician wires in.

Solar Panels Make the power Two paths: a small plug-in kit you install yourself where your state allows it, or a permitted rooftop or ground system through your utility. Battery Store it for later A battery stores midday sun for the evening and keeps the fridge running in an outage. The right kind depends on whether you want to plug in or wire in. Inverters Turn it into power your stuff can use Panels make DC power; your house runs on AC. The inverter converts it, and on a plug-in kit it also decides whether the kit is safe to plug in. Build Your Own Kit Pick all three that fit Answer four questions in the planner and it tells you what your state allows, which path fits your goal, and what to buy first.

Know this first

  • Ten states have signed plug-in solar laws; only some are in effect yet. Everywhere else, your utility must approve anything that feeds your house wiring.
  • A plug-in kit shuts off when the grid goes down. Backup power needs a battery.
  • A shared 15 A household circuit has about 360 W of safe headroom for a plug-in kit.

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