Home battery storage
The reason NEM 3.0 still makes solar worth it.
Under NEM 3.0, batteries are the difference between solar paying back in 9 years and solar paying back in 5. We install the four best brands in the residential market — and we'll tell you honestly which one fits your home.
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 70%+ cut. 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're paying the spread.
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 capture the spread — not them.
$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. Real comparisons. Honest recommendations.
We don't take preferred-vendor kickbacks. Whichever battery fits your home best is the one we'll quote — not whichever brand pays the highest spiff.
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 — best balance of price, performance, support
ENPHASE IQ BATTERY 5P / 10C
Modular. Pairs with Enphase microinverters.
- 5 kWh modules (5P) or 10 kWh (10C) — stack as needed
- 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 — 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 actually fits your home.
A typical California home uses 25–35 kWh a day. Peak hours (4–9pm) consume 30–50% of that — the most expensive window of every 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 battery setup.
We don't guess at this. Your custom quote sizes the battery against your actual meter data — month-by-month kWh, peak-hour profile, your goal (savings vs. backup). You get a recommendation tied to numbers, not a default spec sheet.
California will pay you to install a battery.
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 — and the difference between tiers is significant.
- General Market — ~$0.15/kWh, ≈ $1,500 back on a 10 kWh battery
- Equity — ~$0.85/kWh (income-qualified), ≈ $8,500 back
- Equity Resiliency — ~$1.00/kWh (High Fire Risk Zone + medical baseline or PSPS area), ≈ $10,000+ back
We handle the SGIP paperwork end-to-end. You sign once. We file, track, and confirm.