How To

Balcony Solar: A Solar Power Hack for Everyone

Posted on by Danielle Rhodes

Solar power is available to most people, residences and budgets — right now!

You might already be familiar with traditional rooftop solar arrays which are permanent and expensive. In reality, harnessing solar power can be as easy as making three connections. 

While it’s not something commonly seen in the United States (yet), an alternative concept called “Balcony Solar” or “Balkonkraftwerk” has taken off in Germany with over a million installations since 2020. You might be surprised to learn that the three required products for an off-grid “Balcony Solar” install are widely available, self-installed and very affordable:

  • Solar panel, placed outside in a mostly sunny place
  • Portable power station, placed inside in a convenient location
  • Flat Cable, run through a window or door to connect the panel to the generator

The best part? No waiting! Plug your device into your power system to start using solar power immediately. With these three items, you can generate your own electricity.

Where to get solar panels?

Solar panels are widely available. Online marketplaces like Amazon, Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace are a good place to start. 

Panels operate best when facing the sun, but don’t be afraid of an imperfect alignment. You’ll want to find a panel that fits your space and your install options. Buy new panels for the best quality and warranty. You can also purchase excess, salvaged or refurbished panels at a discount locally to reduce costs. Some sellers will buy panels in bulk and resell them individually, and some used panels may be salvaged from larger solar farms after an insurance claim. Remember to take standard consumer precautions regarding seller reviews and warranty information.

Many links in this article may be Amazon Affiliate links that financially support the Museum of Solar Energy mission, a 501(c)3 organization that promotes solar history and education. Thank you for your support!

Flexible / Frameless

If you are a renter or your installation is temporary, you might want to consider a flexible and lightweight style which can be easily mounted to a balcony railing using zip ties and removed easily. Frameless panels have a shorter lifespan, but are easy to use. These examples are a good option for renter-friendly temporary solar installation:

Standard Aluminum Frame

If you want good value, you might want to consider a traditional aluminum framed solar panel mounted on the ground or on a deck. We’ve even seen some creative installs with panels laying on the ground or built into a patio table. These panels will be the most widely available, most affordable and the most reliable — but are heavy and should be securely mounted. For example:

Bifacial

If you are looking for a transparent look or your space gets sun on both front and back, you could consider bifacial panels. These can harness power from both faces and are great for railing applications or places that would get reflection from snow. These have a similar durability and lifespan to standard one-sided solar panels. For example:

If you’re opting for a permanent or semi-permanent install, may also want some mounting hardware like heavy duty mounting brackets or hangers.

Remember to always check with your lease or HOA regulations to ensure your residence is compatible with a visible “Balcony Solar” system and any mounting methods.

What portable power station is best?

Since you can maximize power at a very low cost, we prefer a power station that has the most solar capacity.

Compatibility with your solar panel is most important, and manufacturers make it hard to distinguish. On a solar panel, you’ll want to ensure the solar panel “Voltage Open Circuit” (VOC) is ~10% less than the power station “Maximum Voltage Input” (MVI). While you can string panels together, this is an advanced method and we recommend one panel per solar input. Small power stations will support 20-30 Volts, medium power stations will be in the 30-80 Volts, and large power stations will be 80+ Volts.

After you consider compatibility, consider your household needs. You’ll also want to make sure that the power station has a big enough inverter to power your load. For context, 1500 watts matches a regular outlet. If you want to charge one laptop, that would require ~200 watts. A standard portable power station is ideal for non-critical devices like phones, computers, and dehumidifiers.

With premium features like pass-through charging, you can consider running devices that require more reliability like a refrigerator. Other premium features worth considering include multiple solar inputs (more panels), multiple output ports (more users), remote monitoring (more stats), and quieter products (more comfort).

EcoFlow Delta 2 or EcoFlow Delta 3 are currently our favorite all around Portable Power Station options, but there are lots of possibilities.

Remember, you are creating a miniature power plant — and a small watt meter is a great tool for figuring out how much power you need. Often there will be several specifications such as peak load, sustain load, and so on that are helpful in understanding the capacity of your power station.

Many links in this article may be Amazon Affiliate links that financially support the Museum of Solar Energy mission, a 501(c)3 organization that promotes solar history and education. Thank you for your support!

How to connect my panels to my power station?

For easiest install, you can purchase a super flat solar cable that can be gently routed through an existing door or window. You can also install a permanent cable by making a hole, but this is more advanced and intrusive.

As a safety consideration, you’ll want to make sure to buy the appropriate gauge of cable for your system. In general, it’s safer to get a thicker cable and we recommend least 12 Gauge (AWG). As a warning, wire gauges are not intuitive and they get smaller as the number gets bigger so 18 AWG is small and is not recommended.

Usually power stations will use a different style of attachment cable to your power station like an Anderson power Plug or XT60. Adapters use the standard solar panel connects (MC4) attached to both sides.

How do I use my system?

Just plug in! It’s really that easy.

“Balcony Solar” is a totally independent power system, so to use it you’ll need to plug your devices directly into the portable power station and it basically operates like a giant battery. Remember, every watt of electricity you generate from here is free fuel for your favorite device!

If you want to brag about your new “Balcony Solar” install, it’s true that any device connected to the power station is “off-grid”. If you have a monitoring system, you can track your power generation, and leverage peak charging times with extra sun exposure. Most importantly, enjoy the empowering feeling of making your own power!

Enjoy the empowering feeling of making your own power!

Here are some creative examples of solar installations we encountered at the Umwelt Arena.

What’s next for balcony solar?

“Balcony Solar” or “Balkonkraftwerk” is fairly new in Europe, but is growing rapidly. In Germany, a monumental electrical code change now allows up to 800 watts of solar power to be easily grid-tied using a normal household outlet in combination with certain equipment, requiring a permit but no electrician. This change has exploded adoption and is reshaping the industry.

In the United States, off-grid “Balcony Solar” systems are allowed but grid-tied “Balcony Solar” is not allowed by the US electrical code because back-fed outlets are prohibited. We have hope that this policy may change to align with the European model.

We firmly believe that all of the items above will be an important part of the future of grid-tied balcony solar when policy catches up. If you are an action oriented person, this is an important area for policy improvement to keep up with renewables in the rest of the world.

We believe that science is power — literally, and we want everyone to understand and appreciate photovoltaics. We periodically write articles that we feel are important to understanding past and present solar research, and welcome contributors. As an Amazon Associate, we earn money from qualifying purchases. Affiliate links in this article support the Museum of Solar Energy mission, a 501(c)3 organization that promotes solar history and education. Thank you for your support!