Another major player in Germany’s market, EcoFlow has reengineered its products to sell in the U.S., starting with Utah. The company added software that ensures the equipment stays within the confines of a given state’s legislation, said Ryan Oliver, head of communications for North America. For instance, Utah has a cap on the total wattage a plug-in system can send to the house, which EcoFlow’s software can enforce. EcoFlow also sells integrated batteries to let customers eke out more solar generation without violating the cap.
Purpose-built plug-in solar purveyors
One of the most enthusiastic evangelists for plug-in solar policy has now become a vendor for unusually low-priced systems.
Earlier this year, Bright Saver started selling plug-in panels on its website: one 180-watt panel for $499 or two for $699. Then last week, the nonprofit slashed its prices to sell the same systems “at cost,” discounting the 180-watt kit to $285.30 and the 360-watt one to $414.17, provided that customers pay a $29 membership fee.
Bright Saver chose this limited wattage for a particular reason: “The technical experts have already decided that 360 watts is the safe level to plug into any outlet,” Stryker said.
She’s referring to a proposed amendment to the National Electric Code concerning the level of solar production that can safely plug into any outlet; Bright Saver chose what system to sell given that analysis.
Bright Saver is not a manufacturer but assembles systems from parts it deems safe — panels and microinverters that have the necessary safety certifications individually. In a June interview with Canary Media, Stryker noted that Bright Saver was losing money on each unit that it sold, given the small volume and the overhead involved. The nonprofit is willing to stomach those losses in the near term, she said, because its mission is to get solar into the hands of more people, so they can lower their energy bills and carbon emissions. The offering quickly sold out. New inventory is expected in late August.
Legacy manufacturers wait and see
Numerous companies have proved themselves capable of making and selling solar panels for residential rooftops. Others make consumer-oriented off-grid solar panels and batteries for camping, van life, and prepper living. Both sets of businesses could leverage their brands and expertise to corner the plug-in market, but they have yet to commit to that.
Qcells manufactures 8 gigawatts of solar modules in north Georgia, and sells more residential panels than any other company in the U.S. Those qualifications could set the company up for success with a specialized line of made-in-America plug-in panels, but so far, Qcells has not entered the plug-in market.
“The excitement over balcony solar shows people see solar as key to cutting skyrocketing energy bills,” Patrick Sterns, Qcells director of grid services policy, said in an email. “It’s true, renewable energy can deliver lower, stable bills to all kinds of ratepayers, and programs like virtual net energy metering and community solar prove that. The problem is these programs face regulatory bottlenecks around the country at a time when accelerating access is key to delivering these benefits at scale.”
Established players have more to lose if they get caught on the wrong side of the regulatory gray areas. There’s also a scale mismatch: A company that sells gigawatts of panels in a year won’t be as taken by the potential to sell plug-in panels a few hundred watts at a time.
Rooftop-panel manufacturers typically sell to other companies that do the work of customer outreach and installation. The off-grid vendors may have a more natural inclination toward selling plug-in.
“I expect some quick movement from the portable-solar-generator players. Most of them have European products for balconies,” said Luke Bahl, who launched the website Simple Plug-In Solar to collect and share information about the phenomenon. “It’s their bread and butter to sell direct to consumer, with easy setup.”
The camping and off-grid solar businesses can’t immediately sell plug-in solar, because their products don’t have the eponymous plug. They are designed to feed electricity into a battery unit, which the customer connects to electronics to receive the charge. Plugging directly into a wall socket demands specific microinverter controls that the off-grid systems aren’t built for.
EcoFlow sells off-grid products alongside its new U.S. plug-in solar line. Jackery, one of the preeminent suppliers of personal solar-battery backup systems, has “successfully launched” balcony solar products in Europe, a spokesperson said. But the company does not offer a plug-in solar option in the U.S., and does not have an official timeline for bringing that technology to American consumers.
Plug-in solar’s niche is to reduce electricity use and hence utility bills. Off-grid solar is, by definition, designed for customers who aren’t connected to any utility. But it wouldn’t take much to add the right plug and controls to a product line that already gives people direct control over their energy.
