If you’ve been searching for the best renewable power companies for renters, here’s the honest answer for Boston: there isn’t one — because the solar companies that come up all install rooftop systems, and as a renter you don’t own the roof. The best renewable power option for a Boston renter isn’t a company you hire at all. It’s portable solar equipment you buy once: a battery power station plus foldable panels that need no installer, no landlord sign-off, and no wiring, and that keep the fridge, Wi-Fi, and lights on when a nor’easter takes down Eversource or National Grid. The October 2011 nor’easter and the record snowfall of 2015 both left neighborhoods from Dorchester to Cambridge dark, and a triple-decker or Beacon Hill apartment gives you nowhere to run a gas generator safely. If you’re curious how ownership works more broadly, you can still read up on Massachusetts solar incentives and costs — but for a rental, portable solar is where to start.

Why portable is the renter’s version of solar

Portable solar isn’t a rooftop array shrunk down; it’s a battery power station you charge from the wall or from foldable panels, use indoors, and take with you when your lease ends. There’s nothing bolted to the building and no landlord conversation, which is the whole point in a city where most people move apartments every year or two. In a Boston winter, it turns “the power’s out and I can’t do anything about it” into “the fridge and the Wi-Fi are still on.”

What it can and can’t do in an apartment

A portable station covers the essentials cleanly: a fridge draws about 150W, ten LED bulbs roughly 50W together, a router near 10W, and phone charging about 20W — the core of an apartment kept running quietly and with zero exhaust. What it won’t do is run central AC or electric baseboard heat, and a small balcony limits how much panel you can set out, so recharging is slower than a rooftop system. For a renter, that trade is almost always the right one: real backup, nothing touched on the building.

Where to start

For most Boston renters, the practical pick is the HomePower 3000: about 3,072Wh and 3,600W, enough to hold the fridge, Wi-Fi, and lights for one to two days. Its bundle includes foldable solar panels you can set out on a balcony or in a sunny window to recharge mid-outage — no rooftop, no wiring, no permission needed.

▶ Shop the HomePower 3000 — panels included use code DEAL5

If that size doesn’t fit your place — a studio that needs less, or a larger apartment that needs more — browse Jackery’s portable power stations and match one to the loads you actually need to keep on.

▶ Browse Jackery power stations

Because it runs near 30 decibels and produces no fumes, it’s safe on a kitchen counter or in a closet — an advantage over a gas generator you can’t legally run in an apartment. And when you move to the next place, it comes with you.

Keep reading: Massachusetts solar incentives & costs · Portable solar for New York City renters · Keep power on in a Connecticut outage