Balcony Solar: $1.74/watt direct plug-in solar

otterley

So that's what an old-school infomercial translated to the Web looks like: "We pass the savings onto you! [Just pay $29/year membership fee!]" (Seriously, though. 180W? That's not a ton of "help" for a typical refrigerator that draws anywhere between 300 and 800W.) (Also, seriously, though. Most apartment owners and condo HOAs won't allow their residents to put these on their balconies.)

mooreds

Anyone here done this? Either with Brightsaver or another balcony solar system? What was your experience if so?

thot_experiment

Just for comparison buying solar panels off craigslist is about $0.20/watt.

a_ba

That seems crazy expensive. In Germany small-self install kits are quite popular. Hitting up amazon.de shows kits for around € 0.3/watt

markvdb

By EU standards, that is expensive and low power for balcony power. It this US regulatory capture, China import rates, something else, all of the above?

newtonianrules

Does any know how these kind of setups work for shared GFCI circuits? Like if I have a couple bathrooms on the same circuit as an outdoor GFCI plug I’d like to use with 1200 watts of panels, is that doable?

davidw

How does this work legally? I thought balcony solar was only legal in Utah in the US?

walrus01

The marketing copy on this website looks very suspicious, from the point of view of somebody who actually knows solar systems.

malfist

This is an ad. Just a straight up ad posted to HN and upvoted.

Aurornis

I don’t understand why this specific product is being upvoted. It’s not a good deal, it’s a very low power system, and it tries to get you to pay a subscription fee. This is an ad for a poor deal and I think some are upvoting before they click. I hope nobody buys it before doing some comparison shopping.

hettygreen

If this plugs into the house wiring through a single standard 120V plug, only half of the plugs in the house would ever draw energy from the solar panel. Household wiring actually has 2 separate 120V supply lines, out of phase with each other (This is how you can get 240V outlets (ovens, driers)). The 120V lines connect to only one of these two lines, and which one it connects to is determined by what slot the breaker is plugged into at the breaker box.

OutOfHere

There is no need to subscribe to any solar power provision. You can buy and install the equipment yourself. If you need an electrician, make that a one-time expense.