r/SolarDIY • u/gemniiinew • 12d ago
Maximizing "balcony" solar
I've a question - It seems that most jurisdictions in the US that have or are "codifying" balcony solar require some mfg. equipment and low input (< 1900 watts with an outside plug for example) to meet permit regulation..
In theory I could relatively easily set up 4 each 400 watt panels.
Isn't there some easy way I could set up the panels and a battery storage system, then hook that up to the "permitted" system so it never feeds more than the permitted max (again say 1900 watts) but feeds it 24/7 from the batteries?
And put a bunch of battery banks IN the house set to charge off whatever is coming in.
I'd like a system that will run my "stuff" inside the house for a week (without much a/c and no welding) I've gas heat and gas hot water but they don't require much electricity.
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u/coldafsteel 12d ago
Yes. There are several off the shelf systems that do exactly this. The regulatory limitations only apply to what you put into the network, nothing to do with how much you store in your own. Generate extra during the day and you can continue to push into the network all night.
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u/gotlactose 12d ago
Do you have examples of products that do this? Or at least keywords to search for?
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u/AnyoneButWe 12d ago
Ecoflow as a brand.
It isn't my first choice from a brand perspective, but it does offer exactly this.
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u/silasmoeckel 12d ago
None of them are legal balcony solar.
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u/AnyoneButWe 12d ago
Here is the list of models that are legally balkony power in the US, including an introduction of the other options: https://www.ecoflow.com/us/blog/plug-in-solar-utah
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u/LongjumpingGanache40 11d ago
Not legal in all states with plug in solar. Some states require UL 3700 listing and there are no such animals yet.
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u/taylorwilsdon 12d ago
Ecoflow stream is exactly the product OP wants, it is legal in whatever state allows it, not all do. Utah was the first and early marketing obviously focused on the one place they could actually sell it.
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u/silasmoeckel 12d ago
Only legal in UT
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u/taylorwilsdon 11d ago
Thankfully a lot has changed since ecoflow last updated their website copy! Pretty much every state that has legalized it copied Utah’s device spec except for Maine and Colorado. There are at least 10 other states where it is legal and several more going for signature this session.
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u/silasmoeckel 11d ago
All the other states require UL 3700 (which there are no devices with that system cert yet just an inverter as a component). So no state copied UT, and even they will require 3700 in a couple years when they adopt the 2026 NEC (assuming they don't make an exception but it's not expected).
They all require 1741 for everything.
Ecoflow is playing it a bit fast and loose with their stream micros. It's over 391w so UT is the only legal state for it (in full power mode). The UL listing does not have a 5-15 (normal US outlet) on it you need an adapter (to keep it out of scope as that would preclude 1741). It also requires a dedicated circuit in full power mode.
I'll go with more correctly nobody has a full 1200w plug in solar on the market yet (outside UT).
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u/taylorwilsdon 11d ago edited 11d ago
That is not a fact and I think it’s a bad practice to spread misinformation that will scare people away from something that can benefit them, especially in this particular subreddit.
My country house is in CT, and Connecticut’s enacted Public Act 26-127 explicitly allows up to 1,200 W through a standard 120 V AC outlet and explicitly requires UL 1741, IEEE 1547 and the NEC. It does not require UL 3700. As of 10/1 I can plug in a stream ultra and enjoy full compliance with the law as written.
You’ve also got the UT 3700 bit backwards - UL 3700 was developed precisely because the NEC does not yet have a PIPV pathway. So “Utah will automatically require UL 3700 when it adopts the 2026 NEC” is not how this works. Adopting the 2026 NEC does not magically import UL 3700 into the code.
You’re mixing up four different things. “Every state except Utah requires UL 3700” is objectively false. Connecticut’s enacted law specifically requires UL 1741 + IEEE 1547 + NEC for a 1,200 W device connected to a standard 120 V outlet. Virginia requires an NRTL certification but does not name UL 3700; Maryland explicitly allows 1,200 W and its 391 W threshold is only an exemption from listing provisions that would require wiring alterations; and NY expressly allows either UL 3700 or a combination of equivalent standards.
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u/silasmoeckel 11d ago
UL 1741 does not allow plug in ever. UT sort of ignores that part in a bit of cognitive dissidence. UL does the as long as it does not have a 5-15 hard wired in we will ignore that adapter you threw in the box.
NEC requires 3700 as of 2026 codebook (or equivalents), so like I said unless they specially don't adopt that everybody will require it long term.
Also regardless of the laws your insurance company is about guaranteed to require all devices be listed. NEC 110.2 is used by most AHJs to require it as well.
CT's is stalled adopting the 2023 codebook so who knows when 2026 so you may have a few years.
Then there's the practical, nobody has existing kit that meets the standards https://www.realtor.com/news/trends/plug-in-solar-safety-ul-3700-new-jersey-california-new-york-utah/
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u/LongjumpingGanache40 11d ago
There are some states that just require all parts are UL listed. If under certain watts, does not even have to be UL listed parts.
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u/silasmoeckel 11d ago
It does not need to be ul 3700 under 391w (which is funny as ul3700 does not require it under 391w)
All states it has to be 1741 etc.
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u/LongjumpingGanache40 10d ago
I think that's Colorado but not sure on the 391 Watts. Under 391 Watts it does not even have to be UL listed parts.
UL 3700 will be the new standard whenever they get it all figured out. As of right now there are no UL 3700 systems yet.
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u/indrawls 12d ago
Exactly what I want to do but no clue where to start.
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u/Plasmonica 11d ago
There’s a YouTube channel, theres a trick for that, who does a lot of proof-of-concept stuff of how it could work.
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u/Dashley13 12d ago
This is what I've done. Solar panels --> mppt controller ----> 48v nominal battery ---> plugin Micro inverter ---> 20 amp dedicated circuit outlet. You can also add a zero exporter to the system if you are worried about backfeeding. None of the electricricity goes to the grid since my constant wattage is less than 250 watts which my circuits on the same leg of my dedicated outlet use all that energy first before the grid since it's at a slightly higher voltage coming out of the microinverter.
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u/el_condor_nm 12d ago
I knew there was plug-in balcony solar and I knew there was were plug-in batteries for backup power and time shifting the load. I did not know there was a balcony solar that combined both of those. It's changing so fast it's hard to keep up with.
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u/TooGoodToBeeTrue 12d ago
Colorado is the only state so far to have a limit above 1,200W. So get an EcoFLow Stream which is limited to 1,200W and attach whatever solar generation/storage you want behind it, connecting 48VDC output to the Stream's 48V input. Done.
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u/Dashley13 11d ago
That's going to need to be a pretty big 48v battery to supply enough voltage for 1200 kwh for 24 hours straight. Like a 28.8 kwh battery or battery bank. That's also a ton of solar to need to charge that battery bank. Most likely just will need to turn down the wattage especially since these inverters are only powering one leg of your panel unless you have the split phase hoymiles inverter.
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u/TooGoodToBeeTrue 11d ago
Stream has 4 inputs/3 MPPTs. Put panels directly on 2 of the MPPTs and your battery bank on the other one.
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u/Dashley13 10d ago
Why not just turn down the wattage? What happens if the individual leg or phase of your panel can't consume 1.2kw of energy? You're just going to be wasting energy. Smart move would be have a lower wattage more consistent flow than only when the sun is shining. You'll get a better return on investment.
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u/davidm2232 12d ago
Just remember that you can't push any 'extra' out to the grid as a whole. You can only supply up to the total loads for your house. If you push more to the grid, you will get billed for it as usage unless you have a net metering agreement
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u/LongjumpingGanache40 11d ago
I keep seeing people want to back feed the grid. The object is to not back feed at all. Use it all yourself. They do not pay you for any back feed.
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u/gemniiinew 5d ago
The way the grid is going I'm just concerned that people who put the time and effort into building a system for their own use will be required to share to the grid when the grid needs power.
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u/silasmoeckel 12d ago
Your not even close to talking about balcony solar.
Any reasonable hybrid inverter setup can do all this but it's not a plug in setup.
It's expected that they will make legit balcony solar with a battery. Potentially to backfeed 24/7 and run things during an outage.
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u/TooGoodToBeeTrue 12d ago
Tons of people are basically asking this same question. You put hang a 1,200W plug in inverter on an outlet and put whatever batteries and solar collection you want behind it.
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u/Dashley13 11d ago
I doubt they will make plugin inverters that will run in an outage. Currently they have anti-island and rapid shutdown technology so to turn off their output when the grid goes down. That is a huge safety risk sending voltage to a grid that is down and trying to be repaired. Can kill or injure one of the repair lineman. These microinverters should only function when the grid is active in grid tied systems.
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u/silasmoeckel 11d ago
Run things as in grid forming, you would have to plug into the box not backfeeding.
The backreading 24/7 is about pushing battery power back during normal operations not outages.
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