A few weeks ago, the attorney set up what may be the first plug-and-play solar panel in the Bronx. The 220-watt installation, which is secured to the balcony railing with zip ties, has been a boon for the renter and mother of two.

“I have an enormous childcare bill every month. My electricity bills never go anything but up,” Phillips said. ​“Everywhere you turn, things are only getting more expensive.”

Plug-in solar nonprofit Bright Saver, which provided the roughly $400 panel to Phillips at no cost, estimated that it will produce about 15 percent to 20 percent of the electricity her family uses and save her about $100 per year. Every time Phillips gazes at the device, she said, she’s amazed that ​“this is just a thing that I plugged in, and I’m generating my own power.”