Comment on Why Balcony Solar Panels Haven’t Taken Off in the US

db2@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

• nagaram@startrek.website ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  I wanted an apartment with a balcony but they’re all $500+ more a month in rent then I’m already paying.

  source

  • funkajunk@lemm.ee ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    This isn’t for filthy renters

    source

    • match@pawb.social ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      they call them “rentoids” now

      source
    • billwashere@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Having lived in a rental for many many years the inability to make small mods is SO annoying.

      But this does beg the question, who OWNS a balcony. 99% of the home owners I know have single family houses. Granted I live in the south so owning an apartment is not the norm but I assume some people own an apartment in places like New York? But I’d assume people do?

      I tried to look it up and from what I could find only about 15-17% of housing units in the US are apartments, and of those only about 15% own. So maybe 2% even have the opportunity. And this is assuming THOSE units have balconies, which I’m assuming only a small percentage of that 2% do. I’d think this is a major factor to balcony solar not taking off.

      source

      • CmdrShepard42@lemm.ee ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        Owned apartments are just referred to as condos and presumably the condo owner owns the balcony while the “HOA/COA” owns the building.

        source
    • Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Why? Landlords usually have more capital accessible to make this kind of move.

      source

      • CmdrShepard42@lemm.ee ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        Because tenants pay for their own electricity so there’s no direct incentive for the owners to install solar in order to reduce a bill that someone else pays.

        source
  • Dojan@pawb.social ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    I’m paying $850/mo. for my 2-roomer, with a glassed in balcony. Would definitely forego my balcony if I could pay only 350 for it, but that’s a pipedream. $500 upcharge for a balcony is nuts.

    Then again, my dear friend spontaneously got her rent increased by like $1500/month a couple years back, and that sort of practice would be illegal where I live, so I could see how charging $500 more per month for a balcony would be a thing.

    source