Bright Saver, a San Francisco-based nonprofit, aims to bring the European balcony solar trend to U.S. homes with low-cost, plug-in systems that require no interconnection and no permits in some jurisdictions.
Bright Saver, a San Francisco-based nonprofit, aims to bring the European balcony solar trend to U.S. homes with low-cost, plug-in systems that require no interconnection and no permits in some jurisdictions.
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Submission Statement
This is an innovative model. They are working with people on low incomes, renters and apartment dwellers; all people cut out of traditional rooftop solar. People will be paying $35 a month for two free-standing 7 by 4 feet panels. There’s an installation fee of $349, but you can buy them up-front for $1,849 instead of paying monthly.
If those two panels generate more than $35 worth of electricity a month, then this seems like a no brainer.
I wonder if this option exists in the UK. I have a perfect south facing balcony which gets sun all day. I assume my building management would complain that I was hanging things on my balcony. I’m not even allowed to dry washing on it.
Bright Saver is really interesting, and this articles provides the most detail I’ve seen, to date. PG&E makes this possible, with their high rates. The math for this business model doesn’t seem to work for places with reasonable rates. Maybe a customer saves about 150kWh per month. That’s not enough to cover the monthly charge, in most places. If Bright Saver plans to expand, they’ll need to make adjustments, like a lower monthly fee for a longer period of years.