Another problem in the US is the lack of a compatible safety device called a soil error circle, or a GFCI. It is usually built into outlets installed near water resources, such as a sink, washing machine or bath. It is designed to reduce the risk of electric shock by cutting off power when a hairdryer falls into a sink, for example. Still, there are no certified GFCI outlets in the US designed for use with devices that consume power, such as a blender, and those who generate it, such as a balcony solar setup. Germany’s equivalent of a GFCI, called a remaining current device, can detect two -way power flow, says Andreas Schmitz, a mechanical engineer and Youtuber in Germany who makes videos about balcony solar.

Some people expressed concern about the scam risk of touching the metal points of a plug after disconnecting a balcony solar device. German regulators have made responsible for this by requiring the micro -converter – which turns streams of the panel into electricity fed into the home – immediately in a break or if it is suddenly disconnected. Most of them already have this function, but any American standard is likely to have to formalize the requirement.

The lack of An under -writer laboratory (UL) standard is perhaps the biggest obstacle to the acceptance of balcony solar power. The company certifies the safety of thousands of household electrical products; According to Iowa State University, “every bulb, lamp or outlet bought in the US has usually listed an ul -symbol and says UL.” This ensures customers that the product follows nationally recognized guidelines and can be used without the risk of a fire or shock.

Some companies have sold solar appliances in the US without an UL-list, but the company’s approval is usually a prerequisite for selling products in the broader market. Consumers may be careful to use something that does not have approval. Utah’s new balcony solar policy, for example, specifies that the law applies only to UL-listed products.

Achim Ginsberg Clemmt, Vice President of Engineering at the plug-in solar start-up Gismopower, has been working on such a standard for more than a one and a half year. In 2023, the Department of Energy awarded his company an award to work with UL to develop a standard.

Gismopower sells a mobile carport with a roof solar panels and an integrated charger with electric vehicles. Unlike the roof solar power, the system does not need to be mounted in its place, but can be rolled and plugged on a driveway, which generates electricity for the car, home and the net. “We basically take roof solar power to the next level” by making it stretcher and accessible to tenants, Ginsberg Klemmt said. The product is used on pilot sites nationwide, although a lack of standardized solar rules forced the company to negotiate interconnection agreements with local utilities-a time-consuming and sometimes expensive process.

Gismopower’s product avoids one of the biggest technical challenges with balcony solar power by connecting a dedicated 240 volt outlet, the kind that is usually used for dryers. Such an outlet serves a single device and uses a dedicated circle, which has tackled the risk of overload. But it runs head into the same obstacle if they do not have a compatible ul standard. Ginsberg Klemmt works with researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, other entrepreneurs and engineers at Underwriters Laboratories to develop such a standard, but it was not easy. “We found so many roadblocks,” he told Grist.