Panels + Battery Solar — The Solar Brief

LIST PRICE

$25,000–45,000

NET (AFTER ITC)

$17,500–31,500

PAYBACK (CASH)

9–13 years

BATTERY SIZE

10–20 kWh typical

Panels-plus-battery is now the default configuration for new residential solar in most of our covered states. Three things drove the shift: California's NEM 3.0 making export economics worse; AZ and NV utilities moving aggressively to time-of-use rates; and the post-2021 Texas grid event creating real backup-power demand. Battery costs have also dropped meaningfully — a 13.5 kWh battery installed runs $10K–14K, down from $15K–18K five years ago.

What battery actually does for you

Self-consumption. Excess midday solar production charges the battery instead of exporting to the grid at low rates. Evening consumption pulls from the battery instead of buying from the grid at retail or peak rates. The economics improve dramatically when you can avoid the export-low-buy-high gap.
Time-of-use shifting. On time-of-use rate plans (AZ, NV, parts of CA), shifting consumption from peak hours (4–9 PM) to off-peak hours saves real money. Battery enables this without changing your behavior.
Backup power during outages. When the grid goes down, your panels-only system shuts off (safety requirement). With battery + transfer switch, your critical loads keep running — fridge, lights, internet, AC. For hurricane states, PSPS-affected California, and post-2021 Texas, this is a feature people actually use.

When panels + battery is the right answer

You're in California (NEM 3.0).
You're on a time-of-use rate plan (most of AZ, NV, increasing in CA).
You're in a hurricane-prone area or post-storm-trauma zone (FL, parts of TX, coastal NJ).
You're in PSPS territory (PG&E, parts of SCE).
You have specific loads you can't lose during an outage — medical equipment, home office, food storage.
You want energy independence and are willing to pay for it.

Battery options in our network

Tesla Powerwall 3

13.5 kWh capacity. Integrated solar inverter (replaces a separate inverter). Strong app, deep Tesla ecosystem integration if you have a Tesla EV. 10-year warranty. Most common pick across our installers.

Enphase IQ Battery 5P

5 kWh modular blocks; typical install is 2–3 blocks (10–15 kWh). Integrates seamlessly with Enphase microinverter solar systems. 15-year warranty (best-in-class). Slightly more expensive but better warranty.

FranklinWH

13.6 kWh capacity. Newer entrant with strong reviews and competitive pricing. 12-year warranty. Less ecosystem lock-in than Tesla. Increasingly common in our standard-tier installer network.

Generac PWRcell

9–18 kWh modular. Ground-mount option for garage installs. Strong with whole-home backup configurations. Available through select installers (Lone Star Solar in TX).

What's in a panels + battery system

Same as panels-only (panels, inverter, racking, monitoring), plus: battery storage unit (mounted in garage, basement, or outside on a wall), critical loads subpanel (separates loads you want backed up from non-critical loads), automatic transfer switch (the gear that disconnects from the grid during an outage so your battery doesn't backfeed). Total install footprint: a wall-sized battery unit plus a small subpanel.

Honest tradeoffs

Cost. Battery adds $10K–14K to the project. Federal ITC (30%) applies to the battery cost too, so net add is $7K–10K. Worth it for most situations described above; not worth it if you only want bill savings and you're in a full-retail-net-metering state.

Lifespan. Batteries last 12–18 years in most installs — typically one replacement during the 25–30 year panel lifespan. Budget $7K–10K (today's dollars) for a future replacement.

Backup capacity. A 13.5 kWh battery powers critical loads (fridge, lights, internet, occasional AC) for 12–24 hours. It does not power your whole house indefinitely. Whole-house backup typically requires 2–3 batteries plus a generator.

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