Credit: SunPort

If you want to use solar power, but can’t install solar panels, the new SunPort gadget aims to make going solar easy and affordable.

Although residential solar is getting cheaper and cheaper all the time, it’s not for everyone, yet choosing renewable energy doesn’t always have to require a huge financial commitment, or even a rooftop. Instead of generating solar energy onsite with a solar array, a new solar delivery model, called SunPort, uses a small gadget that plugs into a standard wall socket and allows users to choose solar power on demand.

The SunPort device and its accompanying app uses Internet of Things (IoT) technology to track how much grid electricity you’re using through it, and then automatically purchases solar microcredits (called SunJoules) through the nonprofit ReChoice. These solar microcredits are formed by breaking up larger Solar Renewable Certificates (S-RECs) into increments small enough to be used for an individual’s electricity usage. This system allows SunPort users to upgrade their use of grid electricity to the consumption of clean renewable solar energy instead, […]