Install a Home Battery
Use a home battery to store electricity for whenever you need it! Batteries can provide backup power and keep your lights and refrigerator on if the power goes out, or be a source of low-cost power when electricity prices are high. Using a home battery when demand is high, like during hot summer evenings, also helps to lower energy demand and keeps the lights on for everyone. A home battery can also reduce air and climate pollution if it is powered by a home solar system. Home batteries are a great way to save money and support a more reliable and resilient energy system!
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Action Steps & Tips
Introduction
The main challenge of transitioning to a clean renewable energy future is what to do when the sun isn’t shining. The simple answer is installing a battery! A home battery stores electricity, making it available to your home as needed. Home batteries are generally considered as part of a home solar installation, but they can be beneficial even if you don’t have home solar.
Home batteries can be expensive today, but technology is improving rapidly. They will soon be a cost-effective and viable option for many homes, providing the last piece we need to leave fossil fuels behind. Learn more about home batteries below.
Home battery systems:
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Provide backup power when you need it, like during a power outage
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Can help offset the cost of electricity. Charge your battery when the rate is low and then use it when the rates are high
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Back up a home solar system to save your extra energy from your panels if your state program does not pay retail rates for extra energy.
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Usually have rebates and credits available
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Last 10-15 years, enough time for the savings to offset the investment.
1Step 1. Is a home battery right for me?
Here are some of the reasons to consider installing a home battery system:
Backup power. If power outages happen often where you live, a home battery might be a great option. Home backup batteries don’t need to be refueled, don’t create air and climate pollution and are much quieter than a generator. If you have solar panels, you can recharge the battery for free. They are more expensive to purchase an install than a generator, but the lifetime savings can offset the upfront cost. No more looking for candles or flashlights — just switch to your battery backup.
Save money. There are a few ways to save money with a home battery:
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If you have home solar with low payments for your extra electricity. If you have a home solar system that is connected to the grid, the excess electricity you produce during the day will go into the grid for others to use. If your state policy on payments for excess home solar electricity is wholesale or much less than the retail rate, it is better to store your excess electricity and use it yourself. For example, if you pay $.20/kWh for electricity from the grid in the evening (when the sun is not shining), but your utility is only paying you $.05/kWh for the energy you send to the grid during the day, you are better off saving your extra energy and using it at night. This also applies to a Time-of-use, or TOU rate system where you are paid retail rate for your extra electricity during the day, but the day rate is a low $.10/kWh and the evening rate is a high $.25/kWh.
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No solar, but big swings in electricity price during the day. If your utility has a complex rate structure with Time-of-use, or TOU, rates (where prices vary a lot during the day), a battery could save you money. For example, if you pay $.10/kWh during the day, but $.30/kWh in the evening for electricity, you could charge your battery during the day and use that cheaper electricity in the evening. This also applies to high demand charges. If there are times your demand is higher, you can offset this with the battery to lower your electricity rate.
Energy independence. If energy independence is important to you, a home battery with solar panels can actually allow you to disconnect from the grid. There are benefits to staying connected to the grid, however, with a home solar and battery system you could disconnect if needed. In fact, that’s how many remote homes get power! To be completely independent requires a larger solar and battery system than the typical grid connected system to ensure you have enough electricity on the highest demand day, like the warmest day in summer or coldest day in winter. Even if you don’t disconnect from the grid, knowing you can power your home on your own if needed can be a great feeling!
Check with your battery or solar installer to calculate your savings and whether a battery makes sense for you. Also check below or with your utility or state programs for rebates or credits available to offset the costs!
One more benefit: Balancing energy on the grid. During times of peak energy demand, your home battery can help your community by sending energy back to the grid. This improves the reliability of the grid and helps to provide backup as we rely more on renewable energy.
Using batteries to balance the grid is not just a home power option. Utilities are starting to use batteries to backup solar power as well. This will help utilities balance power needs as we transition to 100% clean renewable power. Battery and solar costs have come down so much that now a solar + battery power plant option is cheaper than both nuclear and coal electricity generation and nearly the same cost as natural gas. This is great news — it means that renewable energy can be a reliable and cost competitive electricity source at scale.
So imagine the future today—it isn’t quite like the Jetsons, but it will be a place where a home battery system will become a commonplace part of any home. (For you youngsters, the Jetsons was a cartoon with a family from the future with cars that fly...)
2Step 2. Schedule it on your plan, or purchase and install
Schedule it out on your plan. Today, a 10 kWh home battery costs about $7,000- $10,000 or more after a tax credit of 30%. Installation adds an additional $500 or more. At this price, it takes up to 15 years or more to break even through cost savings, depending on your electricity rates. However, prices are projected to drop from 25-40% by 2030. If this might be a fit for you, schedule this action out a few years on your plan!
Purchase and install! If you are installing solar, have a local incentive program or time of use rate that makes the numbers work to install a battery now, go for it! The best place to start is to talk with a home solar provider that also installs batteries to work through the cost and confirm this is a good option for you. Remember to get at least 3 quotes and check references! A home battery system is best installed by a professional. Don’t forget to ask about federal and state level credits and incentives and financing options.
Congratulations! You are now master of your own energy!