Frequently Asked Questions

Nothing. We cover the upfront costs of equipment and installation and we guarantee your utility bills will be reduced by as much or more than our monthly subscription cost of $29 a month. If they aren’t, we will reimburse you for the difference on a quarterly basis.

We are a nonprofit and we’re here to start a movement. We believe in a future in which everyday people can reduce their utility bills and reduce greenhouse gas emissions at scale. Sounds like a fantasy? It’s happening in Europe right now.

Mostly because it is still much more expensive. The units cost a few hundred dollars in Europe while here they cost upwards of $1,000. Installation is also more complex to comply with our electrical codes.

Some people do, but you need significant electrical knowledge and it will probably be more expensive than our offering. We reduce costs by buying the units in bulk and we subsidize the installation, which can be almost as expensive as the units themselves. We believe that making this technology as affordable as possible for consumers is just what we need to start a plug-in solar movement in the U.S..

Nope. After 6 years you will own your panels outright and save even more.

You use it or lose it. You’ll save the most on your energy bills if you use the electricity generated by the panels while the sun is shining. We recommend using energy-intensive appliances like laundry and dishwashers as well as charging electronics during the day when the sun is shining to maximize your savings.

As a non-profit corporation, it is not our goal to make a profit. Our low monthly rates are currently subsidized by donations and philanthropic loans, but we run our organization like a business. Please note that we are not a vendor. We are currently partnering with one technology provider, but we hope that there will be others as this solution comes into the mainstream. Our larger mission is to jumpstart a solar-for-all movement by bringing down prices and removing regulatory hurdles, blazing the trail for others to provide similar offerings and drive prices down further through healthy competition.

Plug-in solar panels are typically mounted on walls, balconies, or on the ground. People also find creative solutions such as solar awnings, pergolas, or car ports.

You need an outdoor outlet on a dedicated circuit and a place for mounting the panels that gets sunlight during the day. We will confirm that there is a good installation site in our initial visit before scheduling an installation.

Contact us and we’ll get back to you to schedule a time for us to come to your residence or do a video walkthrough. If everything looks good, we will schedule another visit to help you install the panels. The first visit will take about 30 minutes and the installation will take about 2 hours.

That’s why we are here! In Europe, most people with balcony solar are renters who live in apartment buildings. We aim to replicate that boom.

You can still get a plug-in system because the panels don't have to go on your roof. We can mount them on the sides of buildings, on the ground, apartment balconies, anywhere the panels will face unobstructed sunlight. Our systems are a small fraction of the cost of rooftop systems and come with financing that costs less than the money you save on your electricity bill.

Sort of. The panels need sunlight so they won’t work if you live in a redwood forest or anywhere without direct sunlight. We will be installing our first few hundred units in the Bay Area in early 2025 but if you live outside the Bay Area, we encourage you to get on our waitlist and you’ll be first in line once we come to your area.

Our team is always available to address any issues. You can reach us via email at support@brightsaver.org or by phone at (408) 345-5768.

They are recyclable. You will own them after 6 years and they should last 20 years or more. We will provide information about how to dispose of them properly,

No. You can cancel your subscription service and return the panels to us. We charge a $150 fee to uninstall. This is what it costs us.

If you move and you cannot find a good place for your panels in your new home, you can cancel our subscription (please see above). If you want to take your panels with you, we will charge $300 for deinstallation at your old residence and re-installation at your new residence.

No, we currently do not offer a battery and our system is not designed for off-grid use.

Yes, they are tested and certified according to strict safety standards, such as UL 1703 for solar panels and UL 1741 for inverters.

Modern plug-in systems come with built-in overcurrent protection, overvoltage protection, and temperature monitoring systems to prevent overheating. We will also make sure that your panels are plugged in to a dedicated electrical circuit, which is typically the case with outdoor outlets. This eliminates the risk of overloading a circuit, which in theory can pose a fire hazard.

All inverters used in plug-in solar units are grid-tied. This means that if the system is unplugged or the grid goes down, the solar unit will shut off automatically within milliseconds. The prongs of the connection cable to your panel will never be energized when unplugged and are therefore touch-safe.

A licensed electrician from Bright Saver will support your installation and will make sure that the circuit where the panels get plugged in is safe for supporting the current they will produce.

We provide a Smart Power Meter that gets installed in your breaker panel and continuously measures the current flowing in from the grid. If your Bright Saver solar panels produce more electricity at any point than the loads in your home are consuming, the current turns negative. In that very instant, as backfeeding to the grid is about to happen, the Smart Power Meter wirelessly signals the inverter on your solar panel to throttle production. This way, we ensure that your panel will never produce more electricity than your home is using.

We will do our best to help you navigate the local regulations, but you are ultimately responsible for compliance. If you own or rent a single family home, placing panels in your yard does not require a permit in many municipalities. If you live in a condo or townhouse, you will want to check with your homeowners association or landlord for individual guidelines.

No. The plug-in systems distributed by Bright Saver come with a Smart Power Meter that gets installed in the breaker panel. It throttles the output of the solar panel as soon as it detects electricity starting to flow back to the grid. You will therefore not be exporting any energy to the grid and won't need a net metering agreement.