#balconysolar — Public Fediverse posts

#PlugInSolar Panels Are Starting to Sprout in #US Backyards

Ten U.S. states have legalized systems that can be plugged into standard wall outlets. The technology typically does not require permits or electricians.

By Ivan Penn and Claire Brown
Published July 31, 2026, Updated Aug. 3, 2026

Excerpt: "Millions of Americans worried about rising energy costs might soon follow in her footsteps as states start allowing homeowners and renters to plug in solar panels on balconies, in backyards and other places. Plug-in systems are much smaller and cheaper than rooftop build-outs — some costing just a few hundred dollars a panel. Permits are not required in the states that allow their use, and people can often install them on their own.

"Utah became the first state to legalize plug-in solar systems last year. Nine others, including New Jersey, Virginia and Colorado, have joined it, and lawmakers in California, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania and several other states are considering doing so."

Read more:
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/31/business/energy-environment/plug-in-balcony-solar.html

Archived version:
https://archive.ph/0yRS2

#SolarPunkSunday #BackyardSolar #Renewables #SolarEnergy #BalconySolar #RenewablesNow

Weekly output: teens + AI chatbots, Android updates, Trump on data-center energy use, Archer + Starlink, balcony solar, customer feedback, CDA 230 + AI, Bluetooth updates

BARCELONA–It’s a treat to be able to start off a post with this dateline. This is the 13th trip that’s afforded me that opportunity and the 12th involving MWC. But this trip isn’t like the ones before it in one way; on my way across the Atlantic, my country started a war of choice because the president felt like it. The world is better without Iran’s worthless, murdering theocrat Ali Khameni, but I have little confidence in the Trump administration’s ability to do the right things for that long-suffering country.

In addition to the links you see below, Patreon readers got a bonus post from me in which I shared lessons learned from more than 10 years of booking Airbnbs.

2/24/2026: Most Teens Use AI for Homework Help. 10% Let It Do Everything, PCMag

Getting an advance copy of this new study from the Pew Research Center gave me a chance to note a new student-understudy chatbot called Einstein and quiz the CEO behind that app.

2/25/2026: Android Update Puts Gemini AI In the Driver’s Seat for Ride-Hail, Food Orders, PCMag

I have somehow become PCMag’s Android-updates guy. This report included a little testimony about Google’s call-scam-detection feature misfiring for me, an important bit of context to include in a post telling readers about Google bringing that tool to Samsung’s new Galaxy S26 series of phones.

2/25/2026: As Energy Costs Soar, Trump Pushes AI Giants to ‘Produce Their Own Electricity’, PCMag

I didn’t watch the entire State of the Union address because self-care is an important thing, but after reading about President Trump’s call for data-center operators to pay for their electricity and power infrastructure, I knew I’d have to write about that initiative.

2/27/2028: Archer Aviation Taps Starlink for Air Taxi Connectivity, PCMag

I still don’t quite get the point of adding Starlink connectivity to aircraft that won’t fly longer than 15 minutes or higher than 4,000 feet above major cities, but this was an easy post to crank out Friday morning before heading to Dulles that afternoon to start my journey to Spain.

2/28/2026: After Years of Shining in Europe, Balcony Solar Comes Out of the Dark in the US, PCMag

This story had been in the works for literally months–I took the photo you see at the top of the piece on the afternoon that I arrived in Berlin for IFA in September–but the policy picture has also changed dramatically, and for the better, over the intervening months.

2/28/2026: What’s the Best Way to Get Customer Feedback in 2026? Hint: It’s Not Email, PCMag

Two weeks after the customer-experience firm Medallia had me at its annual conference in Vegas (with my hotel covered upfront and my airfare to be reimbursed), PCMag ran my recap of what I learned there.

3/1/2026: Online Platforms Are Not Liable for What Users Post. Should That Include Gen AI?, PCMag

I spent Thursday at the Cato Institute for this enlightening conference marking the 30th anniversary of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, the 1996 act that bars you from suing an online platform for something that one of its users posted.

3/1/2026: Bluetooth Is Getting an Upgrade. Here’s What It Means for Your Devices, PCMag

I took almost all of the notes for this at CES in January, but I needed more time to confirm some details and then write the post, after which its lack of a news peg left it easy to set aside for a bit.

Weekly output: AI data centers, Stasi Museum, Sneakers, Brendan Carr on censorship, Mark Vena podcast

After a week at home, I’m back on a plane early Monday morning for Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Summit in Hawaii. That company is covering my airfare and lodging, its usual arrangement for the event it hosts at a high-end resort, and I’ll include a disclosure about that in all the copy I file about the summit.

In other business-travel news, Patreon readers got a bonus post this week from a trip that they helped underwrite: a recap of the Online News Association’s conference in New Orleans.

9/15/2025: AI’s Dirty Secret Lies in Fossil Fuels Powering the Future of Artificial Intelligence, Worth

I missed this story when it was published because (ahem…) an editor spelled my last name wrong in the byline, leading to it not showing up on my author page. But anyway: Even if you’re as late to discovering this online as I was, I encourage you to read it and remember two questions to ask about any new data-center project: Will its electricity come from burning polluting fossil fuels, and are its owners paying for new generation capacity to avoid stressing the existing power grid?

9/15/2025: Berlin’s Stasi Museum Offers Uncomfortable Lessons About Surveillance, State Coercion, PCMag

Even though my previous visit in 2018 happened with the same president in the White House, the museum’s exhibits hit in a much different way this time.

9/16/2025: Why the Robert Redford Classic ‘Sneakers’ Is a Favorite in Cybersecurity Circles, PCMag

I had borrowed a DVD of this 1992 flick from my local library in March, which turned out to be good timing for the piece that I realized I needed to write the day after Redford’s death.

9/19/2025: The FCC Chairman Was Against Censorship Before He Was for It, PCMag

As I’ve written more than once here before, I hate abuse of power, and the chance to call it out gets me awake in the morning.

9/19/2025: EP 115 SmartTechCheck Podcast — Apple’s Awe Dropping Event, new iPhones and IFA 2025 takeaways, Mark Vena

My major contribution to this episode was discussing the popularity of balcony solar power in Germany–and its absence in the U.S.

12/11/2015: Updated the post to add a post that had escaped my attention in a particularly embarrassing manner. 

#balconySolar #BrendanCarr #EastGermany #hackerMovies #JimmyKimmel #MarkVena #Qualcomm #RobertRedford #SnapdragonSummit #Sneakers #StasiMuseum #surveillance #TooManySecrets