Home battery storage
Home battery storage for California solar.
A battery stores your solar production and runs your home during peak evening rates. It's for homeowners under NEM 3.0, where a battery is the difference between solar paying back in 9 years and in 5. We install Tesla Powerwall 3, Enphase IQ, Franklin aPower 2, and SolarEdge Energy Bank, and we tell you which one fits your home. SGIP rebates apply, and we file the paperwork.
NEM 3.0 changed the rules. Batteries restore the math.
Old NEM 2.0 paid you something close to retail rate for solar you exported to the grid. That math made solar-only systems pay back in 5–7 years.
NEM 3.0 dropped the export rate to roughly $0.05/kWh, a cut of 70% or more. Without a battery, your panels send cheap mid-day power to the utility, and you buy expensive evening power back at $0.40–$0.50/kWh. You pay the difference.
Add a battery and the spread flips. Mid-day production charges the battery instead of feeding the grid. During peak evening rates, you run on stored solar instead of buying from the utility. You keep the difference.
$0.05 / kWh
What utilities pay for your exported solar (NEM 3.0)
$0.45 / kWh
What you pay them for peak evening usage
9×
Difference your battery captures for you instead
Four batteries we install.
We quote the battery that fits your home. We don't take preferred-vendor payments.
TESLA POWERWALL 3
The default. Integrated inverter. Best resale.
- 13.5 kWh usable capacity
- 11.5 kW peak output (run an AC unit + fridge + lights)
- Integrated solar inverter (no separate string inverter needed)
- 10-year warranty
- SGIP rebate eligible
Best for
Most homes. The best balance of price, performance, and support
ENPHASE IQ BATTERY 5P / 10C
Modular. Pairs with Enphase microinverters.
- 5 kWh modules (5P) or 10 kWh (10C), stackable
- 3.84 kW continuous per 5P unit
- 15-year warranty (industry-leading)
- Best monitoring app in the market
- SGIP rebate eligible
Best for
Homes already on Enphase microinverters, modular sizing
FRANKLIN APOWER 2
Bigger capacity, longer backup runtime.
- 15 kWh usable capacity per unit
- 10 kW continuous, 18 kW peak
- Whole-home backup standard (no critical-loads panel)
- 12-year warranty
- SGIP rebate eligible
Best for
Homes with frequent outages, larger loads, EV charging at night
SOLAREDGE ENERGY BANK
DC-coupled with SolarEdge inverters. Highest efficiency.
- 9.7 kWh usable, stack up to 3 (29.1 kWh total)
- DC-DC coupling with minimal round-trip energy loss
- 10-year warranty
- Pairs natively with SolarEdge HD-Wave inverter
- SGIP rebate eligible
Best for
Maximum production-to-storage efficiency, large systems
How much storage your home needs.
A typical California home uses 25–35 kWh a day. Peak hours (4–9pm) consume 30–50% of that, during the most expensive window of the billing cycle.
For full self-supply through the peak window, you need 10–15 kWh of storage. For full whole-home backup that rides through an overnight outage, you need 20–30 kWh, often a stacked setup.
Your quote sizes the battery from your meter data: month-by-month kWh, peak-hour profile, and whether your goal is savings or backup.
SGIP rebates for battery storage.
The Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP) pays California homeowners a per-kWh rebate when installing battery storage. Tier depends on income, location, and medical-baseline status. The difference between tiers is large.
- General Market ~$0.15/kWh, about $1,500 back on a 10 kWh battery
- Equity ~$0.85/kWh (income-qualified), about $8,500 back
- Equity Resiliency ~$1.00/kWh (High Fire Risk Zone + medical baseline or PSPS area), about $10,000+ back
We handle the SGIP paperwork end-to-end. You sign once. We file, track, and confirm.