Vermont utility Green Mountain Power is expanding one of the country’s most exciting virtual power plant programs, adding a new battery lease program to its menu of home energy offerings that lets customers add backup power at little to no upfront cost.
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The new PWRcell 2 Energy Storage System from Generac has earned the prestigious 2025 GOOD DESIGN Award, recognizing the brand’s home battery products for their stand out design, functionality, and sustainability.
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Net metering — the ability to sell excess electricity back to the grid for fun and profit — has helped make rooftop solar panels the centerpiece of the home energy transition for more than a decade. But, as net metering rules change and electricity prices keep climbing, the value proposition isn’t as clear as it once was. Instead of sending extra power back to the grid, homeowners are increasingly deciding that it makes more sense to hold on to that excess power for themselves.
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NOTE: since most of the US is currently getting hit with a huge winter storm, I’m republishing this list of home batteries as a reminder to be prepared for the next one – particularly for folks who are looking at hours or days without power.
For years, Tesla Powerwall has been the go-to recommendation for homeowners looking for a painless, low-effort experience from their first home solar and battery backup solutions. But with a recent recall on more than 10,000 home batteries over fire safety concerns following a year (or more) of CEO Elon Musk’s political antics, more and more people are beginning to look for alternatives to the trailblazing Tesla tech. The good news: there are plenty of other great home solar battery solutions are there!
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Rather than straining the grid, the batteries in EVs can actually help to stabilize the energy grid under heavy loads. PG&E gets that, and to encourage participation in its growing V2G programs, the utility is offering GM Energy customers in its territory up to $4,500 toward qualifying home battery systems.
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The US battery storage market just had its biggest quarter ever. In Q2 2025, a record 5.6 gigawatts (GW) of new capacity came online, according to the latest US Energy Storage Monitor report from the American Clean Power Association (ACP) and Wood Mackenzie.
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The storm hit. The power’s out. With all the damage around you, it looks like you might be without power for a few days (at least). But you planned for this. You have a home backup battery. What happens now?
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Sunrun is putting tens of thousands of home batteries to work in Puerto Rico as the island’s electric grid faces a summer of high temperatures and energy shortfalls.
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The US energy storage market just posted its strongest Q1 ever, adding more than 2 gigawatts (GW) of capacity across all segments, according to the latest US Energy Storage Monitor from Wood Mackenzie and the American Clean Power Association (ACP).
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Abundance Energy, sonnen, and Energywell are teaming up to bring smarter, more resilient energy to Texas homes through a huge new virtual power plant (VPP) initiative.
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Connecticut’s home battery storage program, Energy Storage Solutions, just doubled its upfront incentive to help homeowners invest in backup power – here’s how it works.
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Bluetti, makers of battery backup systems both large and small, have announced its modular take on the home battery backup. With the Tesla Powerwall only available to solar roof customers (and backorders up the wazoo), many are dipping their toes into vehicle or home backup systems from the likes of Bluetti.
Bluetti has announced its flagship AC300 modular backup system, the B300 modular battery, the Fusion Box Pro to connect staggering power, and also the upgraded AC200 MAX all-in-one unit.
Gas generators still own the portable, emergency home-backup power space. Ten years ago there was a lot of hope and hype for using all the energy stored inside EVs’ batteries to power your entire house, but it hasn’t come to pass. No EV maker will sell you a bidirectional charger, outside of Japan and a handful of small utility pilots.
Meanwhile, the 2020 Ford F-150 will come with the option for its own built-in, onboard gas generator. And aftermarket companies, like Indiana’s Real AC power, offer sleek, chassis-integrated generator systems (pictured above) for internal combustion engine (ICE) trucks. EV makers ceded this space for unknown reasons. But now Tesla CEO Elon Musk has teased a 240V AC power outlet on the Cybertruck, something neither Rivian nor Bollinger have announced. We don’t know how many watts we can expect, though. So will the Tesla Cybertruck finally offer EV enthusiasts a path to navigate societal collapse? Or are we stuck with settling for “head’s up, you’re going to lose power” messages?
Tesla started testing the Powewall, its home battery system, with “pilot customers” last summer. At the time, a Tesla spokesperson told Electrek that the 7 kWh version of the battery pack was in production and that over the next few weeks they would “continue to ramp up to volume production”, but a few weeks later, the company moved the production line of its Tesla Energy products to the Gigafactory in Nevada, which delayed the ramp up of production.
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