Resources for Renters | San Diego Plug-In Solar

Do not install anything yet.

SB 868 starts January 1, 2027. As of early October 2026, we could not confirm that any complete plug-in solar kit is certified and on sale in California. [4] [5] [6] And today, your landlord can still say no. Read this page first, then ask in writing.

The law

SB 868 is a California law signed on September 30, 2026. It takes effect January 1, 2027. [1] [3]

What it does. It lets a household plug a small certified solar device into a wall outlet without asking the electric utility for permission, paying a utility fee, or buying extra equipment. The utility may ask you to register with a simple online form. [2]

To count, the device must meet all six of these. If it misses even one, it does not qualify. [2]

No more than 1,200 watts of output for your home.
It plugs into and unplugs from a wall outlet.
It is meant to cover your own power use.
It meets the electrical code.
It is certified as a plug-in solar system by UL or an equivalent testing lab.
It has a certified feature that keeps it from sending power into the grid during an outage.

What it leaves out. The law only speaks to utilities. The words landlord, tenant and lease do not appear in it. [2] The utility exemption ends January 1, 2030 unless lawmakers extend it. [2] You can read the law on the California Legislature’s site.

The straight answer: can my landlord say no?

Today, usually yes. SB 868 binds only utilities. It does not change your lease, and no California law says a landlord must let a tenant use plug-in solar. [2] Whether the Solar Rights Act (Civil Code § 714) limits a lease ban on solar has not been tested, so do not count on it. No court has decided how SB 868 applies to a lease.

Here is what we are doing about it. We are working toward three things: a fair standard lease addendum that owners can sign, a City of San Diego ordinance, and renters organized by landlord, so a property owner hears from a group and not from one person. The renter survey helps us see which owners have the most interested renters. We never share your name or answers with a landlord without your permission.

How to ask

Ask before you buy. A kit you cannot use is money wasted. Installing without permission can also put you in breach of your lease, and a breach can be a legal reason for a landlord to act. [14] Asking first, in writing, keeps you on safe ground. Keep a copy of everything.

Do not install anything until two things are true: a certified kit is actually available, and your landlord has said yes in writing.

What to send. A request is easier to approve when it answers the questions an owner will have. Send these six things together. [7]

A short request letter.Plain and polite. The sample below works.
A product sheet.The certification mark, the make and model, the weight, and the wind rating.
A mounting plan.Where it goes, how it is held down, and photos of the spot before.
Proof of renters insurance.A certificate showing your liability coverage.
An addendum, signed by you.Our draft addendum shows terms we think are fair to both sides.
Your utility registration.Add this once the utility has a form. We did not find one as of October 2, 2026.

Sample request letter

Subject: Request to use a plug-in solar device on my balcony

Hello [name],

I rent [unit] at [building]. California’s new plug-in solar law, SB 868, starts January 1, 2027. I would like to ask your permission to use one small, certified plug-in solar device on my balcony. I am not asking you to pay for anything or to change the building.

Here is what I am offering: only a certified device (the certificate is attached); it stays inside my balcony, with no drilling and tied down; it plugs straight into the outlet; I will carry renters liability insurance (certificate attached); I will pay for any damage it causes; and I will remove it when I move out.

Could you reply in writing by [a date at least two weeks away]? If you have a safety concern about my unit, please tell me what it is and I will do my best to address it.

Thank you,
[your name]

Money: what you cannot be charged

A big deposit. California caps a security deposit at one month’s rent in most cases, however the landlord labels the charge. [9] Most tenants already have a full deposit on file, so an extra “solar deposit” would very likely go over the cap. If a landlord asks for one, say so politely and in writing.

A monthly “solar fee.” This is less settled. In buildings covered by California’s rent cap, we think a monthly charge for using your own device could count as rent, which has limits. [10] No court has said so yet. We believe a tenant should not pay a landlord for the right to use their own device, and we are working toward that standard.

How we estimate savings

What a kit costs. See Costs and Fair Arrangements for published prices.

What a kit might save. Nobody has measured plug-in solar savings in San Diego yet. We could not confirm that any certified kit is on sale here yet, so there is nothing to measure. What we have is a model: a worked example built on the assumptions below. For an 800-watt kit, the model gives roughly $150 to $330 a year. It is an estimate, not a measurement and not a promise. [12] [46]

Every San Diego savings figure on this site comes from this one model, and the “Picture it” calculator on the home page starts from its low-case output and the middle of its price range. We label three kinds of numbers: measured results (so far only from Germany), model estimates (this one), and made-up examples that only show how the arithmetic works (on the Costs page).

The assumptions behind the estimate
Assumption	What we used
Kit size	800 watts
Power the kit makes in a year	Low case: about 780 kilowatt-hours, hanging flat on a south-facing railing. That figure is from our own run of the federal PVWatts calculator. [45] High case: about 1,240 kilowatt-hours, tilted at the best angle and facing south, which is 1,550 kilowatt-hours for each kilowatt of panels. Both are estimates, not measurements.
Share you use yourself	About 60 percent. This is our assumption. Power you do not use as it is made earns you nothing.
Value of each kilowatt-hour you do not buy	About 33 to 44 cents, our estimate. In San Diego Gas & Electric’s rate table for its standard time-of-use plan, effective August 1, 2026, daytime prices run from about 37 to 53 cents. A baseline credit of about 10.7 cents applies to use up to 130 percent of your baseline, which brings those prices to about 27 to 42 cents. Our range sits within the overall span of 27 to 53 cents. Check the rate on your own bill. [46] [12]
The arithmetic	Low: 780 × 60% × $0.33 = about $150 a year. High: 1,240 × 60% × $0.44 = about $330 a year.

Things that cut the savings: shade from the balcony above, a fixed daily base charge that a kit cannot offset (about 79 cents a day on San Diego Gas & Electric’s standard plans as of August 1, 2026), and power sent back to the grid that earns you nothing. [46] [12] The federal home solar credit ended for equipment put in service after December 31, 2025. [13] On these assumptions, a $1,000 kit takes about 3 to 7 years to pay for itself, and longer if it costs more.

Is my place a fit?

Five things decide it. You do not need every answer today, but you need them before you spend a dollar.

Sun and space.Is there an outdoor spot that is yours alone, with real sun on it? A shaded balcony will earn very little.
The outlet.Is there an outdoor or balcony outlet, and is it on your own home’s electrical panel? If it runs off a shared “house” circuit, the savings would go to the landlord’s account. Ask which panel feeds the outlet before you buy anything.
An electrician.Some kits may need a special outlet. KPBS reports that a household may need an electrician for larger setups, though it does not say at what size. [7] If a new outlet or wiring is needed, you would need your landlord’s consent, and the City generally requires an electrical permit for added wiring. [15] Treat this as a possible extra cost.
The electric bill.Who pays it decides who benefits. See the special cases below.
Your lease and your landlord.Read your lease for words like “alterations,” “generators” and “balcony.” Then ask, as described above.

San Diego by the numbers

No one counts how many San Diego rentals have a usable balcony or patio, good sun and the right outlet. So the figures below mix Census counts with our own rough estimates. The estimates are labeled.

Who rents. About 279,000 households in the City of San Diego rent, which is about 53 percent of all households. Countywide it is about 532,000. These are averages for 2020 to 2024, not today’s count. [39]
What they rent. In the City, about 59 percent of renters live in buildings with five or more units, and about 28 percent live in houses or townhomes. [40] In our estimate, a house or townhome with its own yard or patio may be an easier fit than an apartment balcony. We have no hard data on that.
How old. The typical rental home in the county was built around 1981. [41] Older buildings are less likely to have a balcony outlet, so ask early.
Moving. About one in five City renters moves in a given year. [42] That is why a kit you can take with you matters.
Our rough guess. We estimate that about one in five City renter homes (roughly 51,000) could physically host a kit today. The plausible range is wide: about 5 percent to about 40 percent, or 15,000 to 114,000 homes. The estimate multiplies four guesses: outdoor space (65 percent), enough sun (55 percent), paying your own electric bill (93 percent) and a usable outlet (55 percent). It ignores landlord refusal, kit availability and cost, so it is not a forecast of how many kits will be installed.
Who pays for power. California has required separate meters for apartments permitted since July 1, 1982, with some exceptions. [43] The Census counts about 92 percent of City renter households as paying extra for at least one utility, but it does not say which one. [44] If your power is included in your rent, see the special cases below.
How much sun. In our own runs of the federal PVWatts calculator, an 800 watt kit hanging flat on a San Diego railing makes about 780 kWh a year facing south, 660 facing west and 570 facing east. [45] These are estimates, not measurements. East-facing railings land at or below the low end of the $150 to $330 range in our savings model. West-facing ones make more of their power in the late afternoon.

Equipment: what is certified

The honest answer, as of October 3, 2026, is that the list is short or empty. We will not name a kit as “California-legal” until we have seen the certificate.

Two microinverters were reported certified in July 2026, and no complete plug-in solar kit was. [5] A microinverter is only one part. Whether a certified inverter paired with uncertified panels counts is not settled.
One manufacturer’s own wording is “compliant,” not “certified.” [17] Trade reports say Mango Power’s four-panel kit was certified to UL 3700 by Intertek. [16] Its product page, as we read it on October 4, 2026, lists other certifications but not UL 3700, and we have not seen the certificate. We treat it as unconfirmed.
Bright Saver, a U.S. nonprofit, says its kits do not yet have whole-system certification and do not ship to California. [6]
The law’s sponsor says two large makers expect to have a certified product by the end of this year. [4] KQED reported an estimate that compatible kits could arrive by spring 2027. [18] Check back, and watch for dates.

How to check any kit. Ask the seller for the certificate itself, not a marketing claim. It should show the lab, the file number, the list of models, and what it covers: the whole kit, or only the inverter. If the seller cannot give you that, wait.

Safety

Plug-in solar can be safe when the equipment is certified and used the right way. It can be dangerous when it is not.

Do

Use certified equipment only.
Plug it straight into a wall outlet that serves your home. [19]
Use one device per home.
Tie it down. Follow the maker’s instructions and add a backup tether. [8]
Keep doors, windows and escape routes clear. As one example, a German fire-service recommendation says to leave about a meter of railing free on balconies that firefighters would reach by ladder. [20] That is German guidance, not a San Diego rule. Ask your landlord or the fire department what applies to your building.
Stop using it and tell your landlord if a breaker trips again and again, or the outlet feels warm.

Do not

Do not use a power strip or an extension cord.
Do not add a battery unless it is separately certified and your landlord agrees. The documented fires so far involved add-on batteries. [21]
Do not hang panels on the outside of a railing unless your landlord agrees and the equipment is rated for it.
Do not use damaged or uncertified gear.

The record so far. German fire chiefs said in 2024 that they knew of no fire safety problems from these systems. [20] Germany has well over a million registered systems. [11] The problems that have been reported are battery fires, panels that were not held on securely, and old wiring. [21] That record does not carry over perfectly: German outlets and voltage differ from ours. For you, certification is the main safeguard.

Insurance

Renters insurance covers your belongings and your liability if something you own harms someone else. A San Diego renters policy averages about $189 a year. [22]

We do not yet know whether a standard renters policy covers a plug-in solar device, or harm it causes. We found no insurer statement on this. Ask your insurer in writing before you buy.

What a fair landlord can ask: proof that you carry an ordinary renters policy with liability coverage. We suggest $100,000 to $300,000 of liability coverage and a certificate that lists the landlord as an additional interest.

What goes too far: a $1 million policy, or making you name the landlord as an “additional insured” on your personal policy. For comparison, California’s tenant electric-car-charger law began with a $1 million requirement, and lawmakers cut it in 2019 to no more than ten times a year’s rent. [23] [24]

Moving

The kit is yours. If you buy it, plug it into an existing outlet, and hold it with clamps or weight (not wired into the building), it very likely stays your property when you move. No California court has ruled on plug-in solar, so we say “very likely.” State law gives things attached to a building to the building’s owner unless there is an agreement that lets you remove them, and it lets a tenant remove things attached for home use if removal does no harm. [25] [26]

Take it down before you hand back the keys. California law lets a tenant remove items attached to a rental during the tenancy. [26] A California Supreme Court case shows the risk of waiting: a tenant lost items after the tenancy ended. [27] It did not involve solar, but the lesson is the same: do not leave it for later. Our draft addendum adds a short grace period and says the kit is yours.

A new outlet stays with the building. If your landlord approves a new outlet or wiring for the kit, it belongs to the landlord. The kit that plugs into it is still yours.

If you leave it behind, California has a set process the landlord must follow for property a former tenant leaves, including written notice and time to claim it. [28]

Moving checklist.

Take the kit down and restore the spot. Take before and after photos.
Ask your new landlord before you set it up there. Start over with the steps above.
Check whether you need to register your new address with the utility. We did not find a registration form as of October 2, 2026.

The honest math. A kit takes years to pay for itself. If you may move within a year or two, you will not earn the price back unless you take the kit with you or sell it. [29] We are researching ideas like a resale channel and a lending library of kits for renters who move often. Nothing like that exists yet.

Special cases: who pays the electric bill

Whoever is the electric customer gets the savings by default. In some buildings that is not you.

How your building’s electric setup changes the answer
Your building	Who gets the savings by default	What to do
Your own meter, and the outlet is on your unit’s panel	You	Put in the addendum that the savings are yours and that there is no fee or rent change.
Your own meter, but the outlet is on a house circuit	The landlord, for that circuit	Find out which panel feeds the outlet before you buy. Use an outlet on your unit’s panel, or do not install.
One master meter, and electricity is included in your rent	The landlord, entirely	Ask for a fixed monthly rent credit, or for the landlord to buy the kit.
One master meter, and the bill is split by a formula	Spread across all tenants	Ask for a fixed credit for the installing tenant, or a building-wide program.
Your landlord has submeters for each unit	You, if the submeter counts the power your kit makes	Put in the addendum that you are billed on your net use.

SB 868 speaks of the utility’s “customer.” In a master-metered building, that is the landlord, and it is not clear whether a tenant can register a device or has the 1,200-watt allowance. [2] California law says a landlord who resells electricity in a master-metered building must charge each tenant the same rate the utility would charge. [30] We do not yet know how many San Diego buildings are set up this way. The owner survey asks. The rule we hold to: a tenant who buys a kit should not be paying to lower the landlord’s bill.

What is in it for you

A lower bill, maybe. The model estimate is on this page with its assumptions. Your result depends on sun, your daytime use and who pays the bill.
Something you take with you. A kit you own goes with you when you move.
A say. A written, agreed arrangement protects you better than doing it quietly.

We promise nothing about savings, rent or your landlord’s answer.

Elsewhere

Germany. Since October 2024, a German tenant can ask the landlord to allow plug-in solar, and the landlord must agree unless it cannot reasonably be expected. It is a claim to permission, not an automatic right. [31] Reports from Germany describe a pattern of landlord pushback: first a flat no based on looks, then technical demands that cost more than the kit, then insurance and professional-installation conditions, then paperwork. One cooperative’s pilot cost about 4,100 euros a balcony, when a kit sells for a few hundred. [32]

Courts drew some lines. A Hamburg court ruled in December 2025 that general worries about fire and liability are not enough, and that the landlord has to show a real danger. [33] Vonovia, Germany’s largest landlord, asked one tenant for wind-load calculations. After a tenant lawsuit backed by an environmental group, it agreed. [34] The lesson: the tenant who asks first, in writing, with a product listing, insurance and a promise to remove it, does best.

Other U.S. states. Roughly ten other states have passed plug-in solar laws. Virginia, Vermont and New Jersey address landlords directly. Colorado bars unreasonable covenants and restrictions, and we have not confirmed whether that reaches leases. [35] [36] [37] [38] We know the New Jersey rule only from press reports, so we describe it only in general terms. We found none that bans landlord fees or deposits, and each leaves “reasonable restrictions” undefined. California has no tenant rule yet.

Help

This site is not a law firm and cannot give legal advice. For help with your own lease or a problem with your landlord, contact the Legal Aid Society of San Diego or the San Diego Volunteer Lawyer Program. Please do not use our survey to describe a dispute. See Who is involved for other groups working on this.

Take part

A few minutes. Nothing is for sale. We read every answer and never share your name or answers with a landlord without your permission.

Take the renter survey

Sources

Last reviewed October 4, 2026. Statute text was read through public mirrors of the California code and should be checked against the official site before anyone quotes it. Items we could not verify are left out. News and vendor pages show what was reported or claimed, not independent testing.

General information only. This is not legal, electrical, insurance or financial advice, and it creates no attorney-client relationship. See the full disclaimer.