The power is out. I want a battery. (Or, do I?) 2021 thoughts on solar-tied storage.

[Photo courtesy of the great Owen Yancher @davisenterprise.com]

This is a bit of a reprise from last year, wherein we shared thoughts about the pros and cons of purchasing a solar-tied battery. Then and now, our position is constant: We do not believe it makes economic sense. But, we do do it (install batteries).

Since the two-week-ago storm, we’ve fielded several dozen calls from local homeowners, all seeking the peace-of-mind of reliable electricity. Completely understood: My wife and I lost our power, in Willowbank, for about 36 hours, and my partner’s power was out for five days. No bueno.

It was an extraordinary storm, and our collective response, rightfully so, was extraordinary.

Pragmatically, we continue to dissuade homeowners from investing in batteries: They’re expensive (about $13,000, pre-tax credit, for a 10 kW battery that will power a handful of low voltage circuits during an outage) and the net-metering arbitrage is insulting ($50-100/year in benefit).

But, if energy security and resiliency is important, batteries are worthy of consideration. They work, they’re proven, and they are getting better. Here’s an email we received from a Repower client (for whom we installed an LG solar and battery system, in concert with SolarEdge’s kick ass Energy Hub inverter and power optimizers):

I thought I'd write you a brief note about our system. As you all are probably aware, there have been a few outages in Yolo county the past 2-3 days and we were not spared in it. Our power went out at 4pm on 1/28 and restarted at 9pm that night. Our batteries kicked in 2 seconds after the outage started and continued until the outage was over. We were able to keep our internet access until about 7pm when ATT broadband went down, but we had cellular service. It was eerie in how dark and quiet our neighborhood was, yet our place was lit up like a cheap Las Vegas casino.

Since this was our first real outage and we were skeptical as to PGE's estimated restoration time, (in addition to standing out like a sore thumb amongst our neighbors), we turned off unnecessary lights and tried to conserve. By the time the grid was back up, we had 88% battery capacity left and everything worked as planned.

This morning I've been fielding a few inquiries from our neighbors who want to know more about our batteries! Our batteries are recharged back to 100% and things are humming along.

Thanks again for everything that you've done to make this possible.

We are very pleased with the outcome!

We cannot quantify nor arbiter the value of security. Of course, if given the choice, nary a homeowner would opt to live in the dark. But, if the trade off is investing $10-20k versus enduring a power outage (or, employing the analog: a generator), we believe it’s worthy of considering the pros and cons.

An anecdote: We’ve had several prospective Repower clients share that solar companies told them they would “throw in a battery” to their solar system purchase. Nothing is thrown in; homeowners pay for it. Don’t fall for the sales ploy.

As we opined in July 2020, solar + storage is the future: "Homeowners no longer take their electricity security for granted. They are increasingly anxious about maintaining normalcy as supply uncertainty increases.”

Storms are one thing. PG&E brownouts — when peak demand exceeds electricity supply — are another. Fortunately, residents in suburban Yolo County are fairly immune from PG&E’s shut downs: We are surrounded by a (wonderful) agricultural buffer, and more than 25% of homes in our community have solar PV systems, thus lessening our reliance on the grid. We are a resilient community, sans storms.

Then and now, we’re happy to help homeowners evaluate whether batteries (and solar, of course) make sense. We commit to maintaining our objectivity and will endeavor to be less pessimistic, opening our minds to the subjective rationale of adding storage to a solar system.

Please contact us if you’d like to learn more. Until then, our best to you and yours … we will get through this pandemic, stronger and more resilient on the other side.