Plug-in solar, explained

Solar panels you plug into a wall socket

One or two panels and a small inverter that plug into an ordinary socket. Your home uses that power first, and your bill drops.

From box to solar power in an afternoon

Answer five quick questions, then move the slider. No email, no sign-up.

1. Where is the kit going?

Country or US state

2. How many people live in your home?

1 2 3–4 5+

Typical for this household in Ohio: 9,000 kWh a year.

Or your yearly use, if you know it

kWh

3. Is someone home during the day?

Mostly home office, retired Partly some days Rarely out all day

4. How will it be mounted?

A balcony railing is near-vertical; a flat roof or garden can be tilted.

5. Your power price (optional)

$ / kWh

From your bill. Leave blank to use the Ohio average of $0.19 per kWh.

How much power?

Suggested for your home 1,150 W (2 panels)

Kits cost more here, so payback is slower. This size pays for itself fastest, in about 5 years. Based on a typical 9,000 kWh a year.

Suggested

Used at homeSent to the grid

1,150 W · from $899

Cheapest kit we found with at least 1,150 W: US Solar Supplier 1180 W Plug-In Solar Kit, 2 panels, 1,180 W. Mount and delivery are extra.

Add a battery No complete kit with a battery is on sale here yet.

Saves about $171 a year and pays for itself in 5–6 years.

Nothing you enter is stored. Results are estimates, shown as a range.

Every kilowatt-hour you use from your own panels is one you do not buy. In Ohio that is about $171 a year for a typical kit.

It hangs on a balcony and comes with you when you move. No roof and no building work.

No scaffolding and no weeks of waiting for an installer. Most kits go up with a spanner and a screwdriver.

It will not power your home in a blackout. The inverter switches off when the grid is down.
It only saves money on power you use while the sun shines. Out all day? The saving is smaller.
It is not allowed everywhere, and wattage limits differ. The calculator checks your location.