this post was submitted on 12 Feb 2026
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I'm on board. It doesn't have to be perfectly idiotproof to be rolled out--nothing is ever going to be perfectly idiotproof and we're already being compelled to beta test things like Tesla's poorly-designed self-driving software for its ability to handle human drivers and AI companies' chatbots. Balcony solar has been in wide use in Europe, where many homes are much, much older than ours, for more than a decade now. We can look at their ideas, products, and safety standards and import and adapt them to meet our own needs pretty easily.
Fire safety is, of course, going to be critical. The way homeowners make decisions when they upgrade is like the Wild West out here, and not every system is going to work for every home. We can only do the best we can in the arena of safety, you know? We make a good faith effort to protect everybody as much as we can, but at some point, the homeowner needs to take responsibility for knowing what their wiring/electric situation is before trying to make big changes to it without an electrician. We lose a few houses every single year from people using turkey fryers improperly despite them having all the information they need not to do that.
One thing the article doesn't mention is the computerized station that comes with a lot of these balcony solar systems to ensure proper loading, prevent pulling too much power, and to make sure you're not feeding the grid when you need the power or pulling power from the grid when you don't need it. Kind of weird that they skipped over that important piece of fire safety and risk management. There's also a device called Ting you can get that plugs into your wall and notifies you of fire hazards and electrical problems. (It's completely separate from balcony solar; I got mine through my homeowner's insurance and they can be bought online.) Another thing that passing this legislation will help is developing a solid set of safety standards. Without the legislation, there won't be enough social or political pressure to do it and could slow future adoption down by years.
Given the strain power utilities are under with the AI bubble, it seems irresponsible that they're not pushing harder for this.
The problem isn't when it's done correctly, it's when it gets half arsed by cheap Chinese suppliers. A lot of the corner cuts are not easily detectable to layman consumers.
The biggest is matching protection. The solar needs to shut down within ms of an RCD going (RCDs take 30ms). Otherwise it could continue to shock a victim, or risk a fire.
The most insidious would be to stop any with an "Off grid" mode. Grid workers already fear generators being backfed during a power cut. It turns cold lines live, with no warning. Having a switch to get your lights and TV working again would be far too tempting to too many people.
Speaking of the grid. One of the biggest issues is grid instability. Solar can do offline VERY quickly. Micro solar is even worse for this. Without major upgrades on the grid, it's akin to having a small child "helping" you move heavy furniture up some stairs. In theory you're better off. In practice you spend more resources countering the chaos than you save.
My personal view is that all new homes should have power feed in capabilities baked in at the mains entry point. It can then have proper cutoff/cutover capabilities, from fully approved parts. No chance of Chinese cheap crap killing people. It also puts the breakers back inline with the power. Home solar (balcony or rooftop), battery backup, generators all can be fed in via a known safe method.
A quick way to stop the use of cheap and unsafe products is to introduce legislation that has safety standards and a certification body like UL that they have to meet before they can be sold.
I totally agree that we have to put in some serious effort to make this a safe and workable thing. I'm not on the libertarian side of things where it's like, "Pshh! Get the products out there and let the market figure it out!" because... I mean, geez, our housing situation is bad enough without burning down any more of them. But we do need the legislation to get us some movement. We need safe, reliable products that can at least compare with a first model year car in terms of operability and not perfection. We're more than a decade behind in this area, we're losing more ground by the day, our government is doing whatever illegal shit they can think of to try to stop it entirely, and we can't afford this.
I fully agree. It's the same over here in the UK.
The key is to get a (semi global) get of regulations in play asap. If China can't sell them, then they won't make the lower quality products. Unfortunately, getting them back out of circulation will be a LOT harder. The safety rules need to go in early.