Why Balcony Solar Panels Haven’t Taken Off in the US

In countries like Germany, balcony-mounted solar panels are all the rage. But from breaker-masking to voltage mismatches, America’s grid isn’t ready for it—yet.

This story originally appeared on Grist and is part of the Climate Desk collaboration.

Raymond Ward wants to see solar panels draped over every balcony in the United States and doesn’t understand why that isn’t happening.

The technology couldn’t be easier to use—simply hang one or two panels over a railing and plug them into an outlet. The devices provide up to 800 watts, enough to charge a laptop or power a small fridge. They’re popular in Germany, where everyone from renters to climate activists to gadget enthusiasts hail them as a cheap and easy way to generate electricity. Germans had registered more than 780,000 of the devices with ...