For everyone who's ever been daunted by the idea of installing solar panels, there's a new

option out there. From American Public Media, this is Marketplace Tech. I'm Stephanie Hughes. A new form of residential solar system is gaining traction in the U.S., plug-in solar.

Like the name suggests, these solar panels can be plugged into an electrical outlet, just like you would your toaster.

But instead of using electricity, it sends power back to be used elsewhere in the home.

In most of the country, plug-in solar is neither legal nor illegal.

But energy policy consultant Betham Paulus, who's also a senior researcher with the Clean Energy States Alliance,

says a growing number of states are passing laws to help spell out the rules around this.

There are two main issues to deal with. One is if you have solar in your home, sometimes you

produce more than you need and you export it to the grid. Normal rooftop systems have to be

registered with the utility. They keep track of power flows in both directions. These are

smaller systems, though, so it's not really worth the hassle to go through all the paperwork.

So what the legislation does in most of these states is exempt these small systems from that

interconnection agreement and that metering arrangement. On the other hand, if you export power to the

grid, you don't get paid for it. You're giving it away for free. On the safety side, most states

are deferring, they're simply requiring that equipment be certified by a recognized testing lab,

like Underwriter Labor laboratories or UL.

So the idea is that a year or two from now that you just go to the hardware store and you buy your kit, and it's all safety certified and you come home and plug it in.

How much does it cost to get a plug-in solar system up and running, both in terms of money and then also effort.

So there are retailers here in California selling them for about $1,500.

I actually bought used solar panels and figured out how to assemble it all.

And I got it down to about half that price.

So I think what I paid for it is probably more like the mature market price. So when your local Home Depot starts selling them, they'll probably be, you know, $750 to $1,000.

...