The short answer

No law

Florida statute

No Florida law allows plug-in solar, and no plug-in bill appears among the 2025 or 2026 bills that mention solar.

Needs approval

Your utility

FPL, Duke, TECO and FPU require an interconnection agreement for any solar that runs in parallel with the grid.

Not protected

Condo balconies

Florida's solar rights law expressly doesn't apply to patio railings in condos, co-ops or apartments.

Plug-in solar means a small kit, usually a few hundred watts to about a kilowatt, that you plug into an ordinary outlet so its power flows into your home's wiring. Some states now allow that. In Florida, nothing in state law carves it out, so it falls under the same rules as any other solar connected to your house, and those rules require paperwork, a permit and an inspection before it's switched on.

What your utility requires

At Florida's four investor-owned utilities, the Public Service Commission's net metering rule, Rule 25-6.065, governs customer-owned solar that is interconnected to and operates in parallel with the utility's lines. That is exactly what a plug-in kit does. The rule requires each utility's standard interconnection agreement to include these conditions, and FPL's Tier 1 agreement for systems of 10 kW or less spells them out:

  • Listed equipment. Tested and listed by a recognized laboratory to UL 1741 and IEEE 1547 for operating with the grid.
  • Automatic shutoff. An inverter or device that disconnects your system if the grid loses power, so it can't energize lines crews are working on.
  • A permit and inspection. Your local building official has to inspect and approve the system before it runs in parallel with the utility; FPL's agreement asks for certification that it was permitted and approved.
  • Notice first. You tell the utility at least 10 days before switching the system on, and it may send someone.

For small systems the process is lighter than many people assume. Under the same rule, a Tier 1 system of 10 kW or less pays no application fee beyond what other customers pay, needs no liability insurance, and, if it's inverter-based, needs no separate disconnect switch. City-owned utilities and co-ops set their own interconnection rules, and the ones in our utility guides require an application before you connect.

Permits and the building code

The Florida Building Code requires a permit before anyone installs or alters an electrical system the code regulates. The code's list of work that doesn't need a permit covers some gas, mechanical and plumbing items, and no electrical ones. So there is no permit shortcut for adding a power source to a home's wiring, and the utility agreements above assume a permitted, inspected installation.

Florida does let homeowners pull permits for their own homes in many cases, which is how some people install small systems themselves. Our guide to installing solar yourself in Florida covers the owner-builder rules and what county building departments ask for.

UL 3700, the new plug-in standard

On January 8, 2026, UL Solutions launched a certification program for plug-in solar based on UL 3700, its Outline of Investigation for Interactive Plug-In Photovoltaic Equipment and Systems. UL says the concern with plug-in kits is that they connect to household circuits through a plug and receptacle, which brings risks such as overloaded circuits and power flowing back into the lines. UL 3700 sets requirements aimed at those risks, including touch safety, overload protection and preventing current from flowing the wrong way.

A UL 3700 listing is a safety certification for the product. It doesn't change Florida's utility rules or the building code. UL Solutions notes that Utah was the first state to allow plug-in systems of up to 1.2 kW without utility approval; Florida has passed nothing like it.

Condos, co-ops and balconies

"Balcony solar" is usually pitched to people in apartments and condos. Florida's solar rights law, Statute 163.04, stops associations from banning solar on homes and within a condo unit's boundaries, but its last subsection says it doesn't apply to patio railings in condominiums, cooperatives or apartments. A panel clipped to a balcony railing is outside that protection, so your association's rules decide. Our guide to HOA and condo solar rules covers what 163.04 does protect.

What 800 watts would make in Florida

Plug-in kits are small, so it helps to see the numbers. We modeled an 800-watt kit in Orlando with PVWatts, the federal solar lab's production model: once tilted 20 degrees to the south, as on a stand or a gentle roof, and once hung straight up on a south-facing balcony.

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Tilted 20° south: about 1,243 kWh a yearVertical, facing south: about 686 kWh a year

Source: PVWatts v8 from the National Laboratory of the Rockies, formerly NREL, for Orlando, 0.8 kW, south-facing, 14 percent system losses. Real output depends on shade and the exact angle.

The vertical panel is the surprise. Florida's summer sun rides so high that a panel standing straight up catches little of it, so the balcony version makes most of its power from October to March and very little in the summer, when your bill is highest. At FPL's 2026 prices of roughly 12 to 14 cents a kWh, the tilted kit's output is worth about $150 to $180 a year and the vertical one's about $85 to $100.

Legal ways to go small in Florida

A small permitted system

A few panels on the roof or a ground mount, permitted and interconnected as Tier 1. No application fee at the big four utilities, and net metering credits the power you export.

A portable solar generator

Panels that charge a portable power station, which runs whatever you plug into it. It never connects to your home's wiring or the grid, so it isn't interconnected generation.

Community solar

Subscribe to a share of a utility solar farm with no equipment at home. Our community solar guide covers FPL's and Duke's programs.

A full rooftop system

If the goal is a real cut in your bill, a rooftop system sized to your usage does far more than an 800-watt kit. The calculator below gives you a number for your home.

One warning about generators of any kind: connecting one to your home's wiring without the right transfer switch can push power back into the lines. Utility rules require equipment that prevents that; Tampa Electric's, for example, require a switch that rules out backfeeding the grid.

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Common questions

Is plug-in solar legal in Florida?

Not as a plug-and-go product. Florida has no law that allows plug-in solar, and none appears among the 2025 or 2026 bills that mention solar. At FPL, Duke Energy Florida, Tampa Electric and FPU, solar connected to your home's wiring that runs alongside the grid needs an interconnection agreement, which requires listed equipment, a permit and a local inspection before it's switched on.

Does Florida have a balcony solar law?

No. As of September 2026, Florida has not passed a plug-in or balcony solar law. UL Solutions notes that Utah was the first state to allow plug-in systems of up to 1.2 kW without utility approval; Florida has no similar exemption.

Can I plug a solar panel into an outlet in Florida?

Not under the current rules. Solar that feeds your home's wiring needs your utility's interconnection approval, a permit and an inspection before it runs. UL Solutions says plug-in kits can overload household circuits and push power back into the lines, which is why utilities require equipment that shuts off automatically when the grid goes down.

What is UL 3700?

It is UL's Outline of Investigation for Interactive Plug-In Photovoltaic Equipment and Systems, the basis of a plug-in solar certification program UL Solutions launched on January 8, 2026. It sets safety requirements for plug-in products, such as touch safety, overload protection and preventing reverse current. A UL 3700 listing doesn't change Florida's utility rules or permit requirements.

Can my condo association stop me from putting solar on my balcony?

Usually, yes. Florida Statute 163.04 protects solar on homes and within a condo unit's boundaries, but it expressly does not apply to patio railings in condominiums, cooperatives or apartments, so the association's rules decide.

How much would a plug-in solar panel save in Florida?

Not much. In NREL PVWatts modeling for Orlando, an 800-watt kit tilted 20 degrees to the south makes about 1,243 kWh a year, worth roughly $150 to $180 at FPL's 2026 prices. Hung straight up on a south-facing balcony, it makes about 686 kWh, mostly in winter, worth roughly $85 to $100.

Do I need a permit for a small solar system in Florida?

Yes. The Florida Building Code requires a permit before installing or altering an electrical system it regulates, and its list of permit-exempt work includes no electrical items. Utility interconnection agreements also require the local building official to inspect and approve the system before it operates.

Can I use a portable solar generator without utility approval?

A portable power station charged by solar panels, used only to run things plugged into it, never connects to your home's wiring or the grid, so it isn't interconnected generation under the utility rules. Connecting any generator to your home's wiring is different and needs a proper transfer switch so it can't feed the grid.

This page is general information about Florida rules as of September 2026, not legal advice. Rules can change, and city-owned utilities and co-ops set their own interconnection terms. Sources: Florida Administrative Code Rule 25-6.065, interconnection and net metering · FPL Tier 1 interconnection agreement (PDF) · Florida Building Code, Building, 8th edition (2023), Section 105 permits · Florida Statutes 163.04 · Florida Senate bill search, 2025 and 2026 sessions · UL Solutions on UL 3700 and plug-in solar certification (January 2026) · PVWatts v8, National Laboratory of the Rockies (formerly NREL) · Tampa Electric tariff section 5 (PDF) · FPL residential rates, January 2026 (PDF). Reviewed September 2026.

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