For years, solar power at home was mostly limited to people who owned their rooftops and could afford the steep upfront costs.

But that's changing. A new generation of small, affordable systems, often called plug-in solar, are making clean energy more accessible.

The technology is already widespread in Germany and the movement is gaining

momentum in the United States. Our report is from Laura Clivens of PBS member station KQED in San Francisco.

Agnes Chan is a retired teacher in Berkeley, California. She wanted to install solar panels

on her home, but was limited by her fixed income budget.

I've looked for a long time and even consulted my roofer, but there's no way that I can afford that.

So she found a cheaper workaround and is one of the newest adopters of plug-in solar. She hopes to rein in bills that run into the hundreds,

even with a thermostat set to 60.

It's a great house that I have lived in for over 35 years,

but there's no way to insulate it.

So I'm shivering in my own house.

Instead of tens of thousands of dollars for rooftop solar, Chan's setup costs $400 and took less than an hour to install.

This is the app which will show me how much the panel is generating.

And rather than taking a decade or so to pay it back, it will likely take her two to three years.

We are systematically removing the barriers.

Cora Stryker co-leads the nonprofit that provided Chan with her panels.

They bring plug-in solar to renters, people in multifamily housing, and other Americans

shut out of rooftop systems.

These things are modular.

They're tiny.

You can put them just about anywhere. You can add on as time goes on. So it's less big upfront investment all at once.

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