Plug-in solar is legal to buy anywhere in the US. Plugging it into your home’s wiring is a different question. One state, Utah, has a law written for it. Everywhere else, a solar kit that feeds power into your outlets falls under the same utility rules as a rooftop system.
What plug-in solar is
A plug-in solar kit is one or two panels with a microinverter. The microinverter turns the panels’ DC power into AC power and pushes it into your home’s wiring through a regular wall outlet. Whatever you use in the house at that moment runs partly on that power, and your meter turns slower.
That last step, feeding power into wiring that is connected to the grid, is what utilities regulate.
Utah: HB 340 (2025)
Utah passed HB 340, “Solar Power Amendments”, in 2025. It took effect on May 7, 2025. The law creates a category called “portable solar generation device”. To count, a device has to:
- have a maximum power output of no more than 1,200 watts
- be designed to connect through a standard 120-volt outlet
- be meant to offset part of your electricity use
- meet the current National Electrical Code
- be certified by UL or an equivalent nationally recognized testing laboratory
It also has to include a feature that stops it from energizing your home’s wiring during a power outage. That protects line workers repairing the grid.
If a device meets those terms, it is exempt from Utah’s interconnection requirements and from the interconnection agreement. Your utility cannot require its approval before you install it, cannot charge a fee for it, and cannot make you add extra equipment beyond what is built into the device. The utility is also not liable for damage or injury the device causes.
One catch: these devices are not part of the net metering program. Power you send back to the grid earns no credit, so a Utah kit only pays off through what you use in the house while the sun is up.
Every other state
Outside Utah, there is no law that carves out plug-in solar. A system that feeds power into your home’s wiring while the grid is connected counts as interconnected generation. In practice that means an interconnection application to your utility and approval before you turn it on. Plugging a kit in without that can break your utility’s terms of service.
Several other state legislatures have taken up plug-in solar bills since Utah’s passed. Check your own state’s status before you buy, and check again before you plug in, because this is changing quickly.
What is legal everywhere
A setup that never connects to your home’s wiring is not interconnected. A portable power station charged by solar panels, running a fridge or a laptop straight from its own outlets, needs no utility approval in any state. You lose the convenience of powering the whole house circuit, but you avoid the interconnection question entirely.
The short version
- Utah: up to 1,200 W through a 120 V outlet, certified hardware with outage protection, no utility agreement, no fees, no export credit.
- Elsewhere: grid-connected plug-in kits need your utility’s interconnection approval.
- Anywhere: solar charging a standalone battery, not connected to house wiring, is fine.