Disclaimer

Estimates, not promises

Calculator results are estimates, not a quote or a guarantee of savings. Real production and savings vary with shade, weather, how your panels are mounted, how much power you use as it's made, and your rate plan. Solar production estimates come from NREL's PVWatts service; when it's unavailable we use saved results for a nearby city, which are rougher.

Not legal or electrical advice

Our guides summarize published sources, linked on each page, as of the date shown. They are not legal advice. Laws, utility rules and product certifications change. Check the official law text and your utility's rules, and ask a licensed electrician about your home's wiring.

Always follow the maker's instructions and your local electrical, building and fire codes. California's plug-in solar law (SB 868) doesn't address local building or fire rules, so check with your city or county.

SB 868's protections for plug-in solar apply only until Jan 1, 2030. From that date, plug-in devices that don't meet the law's code and certification requirements can't be sold in California.

Product safety and compliance

We don't test products or certify that any product is safe or legal. “Compliant” in our tracker means only that, as of the date shown, the maker has confirmed to us that the product meets SB 868's device requirements, and we've seen the lab certification for both the system and its anti-backfeed feature. Check the certification mark yourself.

A product that misses any of the law's device requirements isn't covered by SB 868. We show that as “Not covered by SB 868”, not as illegal. A certified inverter is not the same as a certified kit. Tracker rows marked “from reviews, not yet confirmed” come from secondary sources and may be wrong.

Prices and availability

Prices and availability change often. Each tracker row shows when we last checked it and links to its source.

See also our Terms of use.