Solar Battery Cost 2026: Installed Price per kWh From Program Records

The median solar battery cost in SGIP records was $1,266 per kWh in 2025

California's Self-Generation Incentive Program publishes the eligible installed cost, capacity and make of every battery it funds. For 2025 program-year home projects with incentives paid, the median was $1,266 per kWh, and the middle half of projects fell between $1,072 and $1,467.

The SGIP public project data export pulled on November 2, 2026 holds 95,499 residential and single-family battery records. Of these, 57,196 have incentives paid, covering 1,104,839 kWh of storage. This report prices the general market budget (Small Residential Storage), where 1,541 paid projects carry a 2025 program year.

Installed cost per kWh: SGIP Total Eligible Project Cost for the storage system divided by its energy capacity in kWh. Under the SGIP Handbook 2026, eligible cost can include equipment, design, permitting, installation, interconnection, sales tax and warranty (warranty capped at 10% of claimed cost). It is the price before any incentive.

The median 2025 project held 14.3 kWh, was rated 11.5 kW and cost $20,900. A quarter of projects cost less than $16,100 and a quarter more than $30,160. 98.1% of these batteries are recorded as paired with solar.

Projects still in Reserved status, whose costs were entered at reservation and are not yet verified, show the same price: a median of $1,267 per kWh across 922 projects.

Battery prices per kWh rose 54.9% from 2017 to 2025 in program records

Unlike panel prices, the installed price of home batteries in SGIP records has not fallen. The median climbed from $817 per kWh in 2017 to a nominal high of $1,298 in 2023 and stood at $1,266 in 2025.

After inflation the rise is smaller. In 2025 dollars, using BLS CPI-U annual averages, the 2017 median equals $1,073 per kWh, so the real increase to 2025 is 17.9%. The real peak came in 2022 at $1,391; 2025 sits 9.0% below it.

The records do not say why prices rose, and this report does not assign a cause. Over the same years the general market incentive stepped down from $0.50 to $0.15 per Wh, and the 2025 median system was larger (14.3 kWh) than in any earlier year. Program year is the year SGIP accepted the application, not the install date.

The flat $7,000 records described above also sit inside earlier years. In 2018 the developer filed 1,851 of them, 34.2% of the sample, and the 2018 median of $834 per kWh is that flat value itself ($7,000 for an 8.4 kWh unit). Table t8 shows every year with and without them. Removing them does not erase the rise: the 2017 median without them is $769 per kWh, or $1,010 in 2025 dollars, so the real increase to 2025 is 25.3%. The developer has no records in the 2025 price sample.

Volume in the general market sample peaked at 7,922 paid projects in program year 2020 and was 1,541 in 2025. The 2026 handbook allocates 63% of 2020 to 2024 collections to Equity Resiliency and 7% to Small Residential Storage. Berkeley Lab reports the battery attachment rate for new US solar systems; see average cost of solar panels for that series.

Larger batteries cost less per kWh: $1,760 under 12 kWh, $1,025 at 30 kWh and up

Per-kWh cost falls as system size rises, because fixed costs (labor, permitting, gateway and electrical work) are spread over more storage. Differences by make are smaller than differences by size. Minimum group size is 30 paid projects.

Two sizes dominate 2025 records: 41.1% of projects are 13 to 13.9 kWh and 27.8% are 26 to 27.9 kWh. Tesla-make projects of 13.2 kWh had a median cost of $17,000 (middle half $14,000 to $20,000); 26.4 kWh projects had $32,500.

Makes are listed alphabetically and are not ranked. The SGIP record names the manufacturer but not the model, so make medians mix product generations and sizes. 78 further 2025 projects used makes with fewer than 30 records each; together their median was $1,240 per kWh.

Outside California, home batteries cost $929 to $1,158 per kWh in program records

California is not the only state that publishes per-project battery costs. Connecticut's Energy Storage Solutions and NYSERDA's storage incentive data list cost and capacity for each home project; Oregon and Hawaii publish project costs without kWh. The SGIP median stays the anchor because it is the largest of these records.

Connecticut: the Energy Storage Solutions enrollment data (updated October 1, 2026) list 1,323 completed residential projects; 494 report no battery cost and are left out. The 226 completed in 2025 with cost data had a median of $1,158 per kWh (middle half $1,068 to $1,352), 8.5% below the SGIP 2025 median. Connecticut systems are larger: the median 2025 project held 30.0 kWh and cost $32,424, and larger systems cost less per kWh in SGIP records too. One contractor accounts for 137 of the 226 records, so the 2025 figure leans on its prices. Completed 2024 projects had a median of $1,279 per kWh (n = 175).

New York: NYSERDA's residential storage records (reporting period October 4, 2026) show a 2025 median of $929 per kWh across 704 completed projects (middle half $762 to $1,269), with a median usable capacity of 13.0 kWh and a median cost of $15,000. NYSERDA divides by usable ac kWh, which cannot exceed nameplate, so the kWh basis does not explain the lower figure. 177 of the 2025 records sit at exactly $761.54 per kWh, all from one contractor; without them the median is $1,065. Only 27.4% of 2025 completed records show NYSERDA funding above zero. The 2024 median was $889 (n = 730).

Oregon: the Solar + Storage Rebate data (rebates issued through June 30, 2025) record storage cost per project but no storage kWh, so no per-kWh figure can be computed. The median storage cost was $19,983 for 422 residential projects in funding year 2024 and $22,500 for 980 in 2023; 68.2% of the 2024 projects received the $2,500 storage rebate cap.

Hawaii: DBEDT's April 2026 report on Honolulu County building permits counts 186 battery-only residential permits in 2025, which DBEDT describes as presumably batteries added to existing solar, at a median accepted permit value of $11,500 (average $14,776). Permit values are declared at permitting, are not verified prices and carry no kWh.

A whole home battery backup needs about 2.1 batteries of 13.5 kWh for an average US day

Whether a battery can run a whole house depends on two numbers: stored energy (kWh), which sets how long it lasts, and power (kW), which sets how many loads can run at once. Federal consumption data set the energy side.

EIA-861 final data for 2025, released October 7, 2026, put average residential use at 874.28 kWh a month nationally and 493.53 kWh in California. That is 28.7 kWh and 16.2 kWh a day. A 13.5 kWh battery, Berkeley Lab's 2025 median size, holds 47.0% of an average US day.

• Average US home, one full day: 28.7 kWh, about 2.1 batteries of 13.5 kWh.
• Average California home, one full day: 16.2 kWh, about 1.2 batteries.
• Power: the median 2025 SGIP battery was rated 11.5 kW of continuous output.
• Cost at the 2025 SGIP median: one 13.5 kWh battery about $17,084; a two-unit 26.4 kWh project $32,500 (median of Tesla-make records).

Averages hide the loads that decide backup sizing: electric heat, central air conditioning, well pumps and EV charging. SGIP also requires load justification for single-family batteries above 15 kWh. Panel work that can come with a battery is priced in electrical panel upgrade cost. A licensed electrician should do the load calculation and the work: hire an electrician.

Incentives take $30 to $1,100 per kWh off, depending on state and income

Battery incentives come in two forms: upfront rebates per kWh or per project, and performance payments for letting the utility discharge the battery during peak events. The federal credit no longer applies to new installs.

California: the SGIP Handbook 2026 sets the general market Small Residential Storage rate at $0.15 per Wh at Step 7, down from $0.50 at Step 1, with single-family incentives capped at 30 kWh. The statewide budget page showed $1,923,197.11 still available on November 1, 2026. Income-qualified customers get $1.00 per Wh (Equity Resiliency) or $1.10 per Wh plus $3.10 per W of solar (Residential Solar and Storage Equity, for which the CPUC authorized $280 million).

In the equity budgets the incentive covers most of the cost: the Equity Resiliency rate equals 70.1% of that budget's 2025 median of $1,427 per kWh. Equity projects also cost more per kWh than general market projects; panel and wiring upgrades up to $3,500 are allowable costs only in the equity budgets.

Connecticut: Energy Storage Solutions pays $30 per kWh upfront ($130 for Grid-Edge customers) from April 1, 2026, plus a performance incentive of $300, $450 or $550 per kW for standard, Underserved and Low Income customers, paid each season for 10 years. In the program's own example, a 30 kWh, 20 kW battery earns $900 upfront and an estimated $18,000 in performance payments, about $630 per kWh over 10 years.

Massachusetts: ConnectedSolutions paid $275 per kW of average battery contribution during summer events (up to 60 events a summer, each up to three hours) as captured June 17, 2026: $1,375 a year for a 5 kW contribution, or $102 per kWh of a 13.5 kWh battery per year.

Oregon and Maryland: Oregon offers $300 per kWh up to $2,500, but reservations are closed after the June 2026 round filled. Maryland pays 30% of project cost up to $5,000 through May 31, 2027; the cap binds on any project above $16,667.

Federal: the Residential Clean Energy Credit covered 30% of battery cost (3 kWh minimum) for property placed in service from 2023 through 2025 and is not available after December 31, 2025. Details: solar tax credit. Export credit rules are in net metering by state. Nothing here is tax or financial advice.

CPSC lists 5 home battery recalls since 2020, covering 34,060 units

Home batteries are listed to UL 9540 and installed under the residential code, which caps unit size and total storage by location. Recalls since 2020 involve lithium-ion cells that can overheat.

The CPSC recalls database, searched for all recalls dated January 1, 2020 to November 2, 2026, shows 5 recalls of installed home energy storage batteries. The most recent, on November 13, 2025, covers about 10,500 Tesla Powerwall 2 units after 22 reports of overheating, including six of smoking and five of fire, with no injuries reported. Three recalls cover LG RESU 10H batteries and one an Eguana system using LG battery modules. 5 recalls of portable power stations in the same pull are not counted.

• Listing: 2021 IRC Section R328.2 says energy storage systems "shall be listed and labeled in accordance with UL 9540," the safety standard for energy storage systems and equipment.
• Unit size: R328.5 says "Individual ESS units shall have a maximum rating of 20 kWh."
• Total size: R328.5 caps the aggregate rating at 40 kWh within utility closets, basements and storage or utility spaces, and at 80 kWh in attached or detached garages and detached accessory structures, on exterior walls, or outdoors on the ground. Larger installations fall under International Fire Code Section 1207.
• Locations: R328.4 allows detached garages and accessory structures, attached garages separated from living space, outdoors or on exterior walls at least 3 feet from doors and windows into the home, and enclosed utility spaces with finished or noncombustible walls (5/8-inch Type X gypsum board over unfinished wood framing). It bars sleeping rooms and closets or spaces opening into them.
• Spacing: R328.3.1 requires 3 feet between units unless large-scale fire testing documents a smaller distance. UL 9540A is the fire propagation test method used for that testing.

Edition and source: the wording above is 2021 IRC Section R328 as reproduced by the Washington State Building Code Council in January 2023; Washington's own edits are marked in that document and none appears in R328.4 or R328.5. UL's 2021 code-authorities summary gives the same limits. In the 2024 IRC these provisions are numbered Section R330, according to the council's April 2026 analysis. The 2024 IRC text and NFPA 855 (2023 edition) Chapter 15 could not be opened for this report, because the ICC and NFPA free-access pages load only through a browser script, so their wording is not quoted here.

Local adoption of code editions varies, and later editions may change these limits. Battery installs involve service equipment and stored energy; the work belongs with a licensed electrician (EV, solar and low-voltage work). Recall history for panels is in electrical panel recalls.

A battery stores less than one average day; a standby generator runs on fuel

Batteries and standby generators solve outages differently, and their prices are tracked separately.

One 13.5 kWh battery holds 47.0% of an average US home's daily use (EIA-861, 2025), so long outages depend on solar recharging, while a standby generator runs as long as its fuel supply lasts. Generator prices are in whole house generator cost; outage frequency by state is in power outages by state.

The math behind the moves

Get the calculations (CSV)

Numbers to watch

1. Median installed solar battery cost was $1,266 per kWh for 2025 SGIP general market projects in California (n = 1,541; IQR $1,072 to $1,467).^[1]
2. The median 2025 project cost $20,900 before incentives; the median battery held 14.3 kWh of storage and 11.5 kW of rated power (California, SGIP).^[1]
3. From 2017 to 2025 the SGIP median rose from $817 to $1,266 per kWh, up 54.9% nominal and 17.9% in 2025 dollars (California).^[1][8]
4. The 2025 median was 2.5% below the 2023 median of $1,298 per kWh, and 9.0% below the inflation-adjusted 2022 peak of $1,391 (California, 2025 dollars).^[1][8]
5. In 2025, Tesla-make records sized 13.2 kWh had a median project cost of $17,000 (n = 596); 26.4 kWh records had $32,500 (n = 409) (California, SGIP).^[1]
6. By size, 2025 medians ran from $1,760 per kWh under 12 kWh to $1,025 per kWh at 30 kWh and over, a 41.8% gap (California, SGIP).^[1]
7. By make (30+ projects, alphabetical), 2025 medians were Enphase $1,614 per kWh (n = 156); FranklinWH $1,267 per kWh (n = 225); Tesla $1,231 per kWh (n = 1,082) (California, SGIP).^[1]
8. The SGIP general market pays $0.15 per Wh at Step 7, or $150 per kWh, 11.9% of the 2025 median price; the median project net of it was $18,560 (California, 2026 handbook).^[1][3]
9. California's equity budgets pay $1.00 to $1.10 per Wh; the Equity Resiliency incentive equals 70.1% of that budget's 2025 median of $1,427 per kWh.^[1][3]
10. Connecticut home batteries completed in 2025 had a median installed cost of $1,158 per kWh (n = 226; median 30.0 kWh), and New York's $929 per kWh (n = 704; usable kWh), per Connecticut Green Bank and NYSERDA records.^[23][22]
11. All 413 SGIP 2024 records at an identical $530.30 per kWh come from one developer that recorded $7,000 per 13.2 kWh unit and $14,000 per 26.4 kWh pair; without them the 2024 median is $1,289 per kWh (California).^[1][28]
12. NLR's Q1 2025 residential benchmark implies $997 per kWh for a 13.5 kWh battery in 2025 dollars; the SGIP 2025 median is 26.9% higher (United States model vs California records).^[7][8][1]
13. CPSC recorded 5 recalls of installed home energy storage batteries from 2020 to November 2, 2026, covering 34,060 US units, all for fire or overheating hazards.^[11]

In short

• Paid home battery projects in California's SGIP general market had a median installed cost of $1,266 per kWh in program year 2025, with half between $1,072 and $1,467 (n = 1,541).
• The median 2025 project cost $20,900 before incentives and the median battery stored 14.3 kWh; the middle half of projects cost $16,100 to $30,160.
• Battery prices per kWh in these records did not fall: the median rose 54.9% from 2017 to 2025 before inflation and 17.9% after inflation, peaking in real terms in 2022.
• Size matters more than make: batteries under 12 kWh had a median of $1,760 per kWh, systems of 30 kWh and over $1,025.
• Outside California, projects completed in 2025 had medians of $1,158 per kWh in Connecticut (n = 226) and $929 in New York (n = 704); Oregon and Hawaii publish project costs but no battery kWh.
• Covering an average US home's 28.7 kWh daily use takes about 2.1 batteries of 13.5 kWh; an average California home needs about 1.2.
• Incentives range from $30 per kWh upfront in Connecticut to $1,100 per kWh in California's low-income budget; the federal 30% credit ended for systems placed in service after December 31, 2025.

Common questions

Keep reading

• EV, Solar and Low-Voltage guide
• Average cost of solar panels
• Whole house generator cost
• Solar installer salary by state: BLS pay, jobs and outlook
• Solar panel recycling in the US: state laws, EPA's pending rule and how much panel waste is coming
• Solar tax credit 2026: the federal credit has ended, and this is who claimed it by state and income
• All electrical contractor data

How we built this report

Source selection: installed prices come from the California Self-Generation Incentive Program public project export (selfgenca.com, pulled November 2, 2026), the only free public record found that lists eligible installed cost, kWh, kW and manufacturer for each funded home battery in a recent full year. Connecticut Green Bank (Energy Storage Solutions enrollment, data.ct.gov) and NYSERDA (storage incentive data, data.ny.gov) records give a state comparison; Oregon Department of Energy rebate data and Hawaii DBEDT permit tabulations give per-project values without kWh. Berkeley Lab, NLR, EIA, BLS, CPSC, IRS and state program pages supply context. Vendor and marketplace prices were reviewed only as pages to beat and are not used as figures.

Inclusion: Equipment Type Electrochemical Storage; Host Customer Sector Residential or Single Family; Budget Classification Paid or PBI in Process (incentive paid after cost documents were checked at claim). The price series uses the general market budget (Small Residential Storage), 38,170 paid records. Cost is Total Eligible Project Cost for storage where reported separately, otherwise Total Eligible Costs. Records below $200 or above $5,000 per kWh were dropped as entry errors (114 records). Size bands and makes require at least 30 paid records. State records: residential, completed, cost and kWh above zero, same $200 to $5,000 per kWh screen, grouped by completion year (Connecticut Total Battery Cost over nameplate kWh; New York Total Project Cost over usable ac kWh); Oregon residential records with a storage cost, by funding year.

Conflicts and sensitivities: equity budgets are shown separately because their incentive rates and allowable costs (including panel upgrades) differ. The 2024 median is shown with and without the 413 records at $530.30 per kWh, which a November 3, 2026 re-pull traced to one developer's flat $7,000 per battery unit entries; table t8 shows every year with and without that developer's flat-cost records. The re-pull added records to program year 2025 (1,550 records, median $1,267 per kWh); the November 2 pull stays the anchor. New York's most repeated value is shown the same way. Reserved 2025 projects were checked against paid ones. Make names were merged across spelling variants (for example Tesla, Tesla Inc. and Tesla Energy).

Derived metrics: inflation adjustment uses BLS CPI-U annual averages (2025 = 321.943). Daily use is EIA-861 2025 monthly consumption x 12 / 365. Incentive per kWh conversions use a 13.5 kWh battery, Berkeley Lab's 2025 median. Formulas and inputs are in derived_metrics.csv; the scripts in scripts/ reproduce every table.

Limitations: SGIP covers California participants only, and California costs differ from other states. Program year is the application year, not the install year. Eligible cost is applicant-reported. State records differ in year basis, kWh basis and system size, so they are compared, not pooled. Recalls cover CPSC actions only. Code limits quote 2021 IRC Section R328 as reproduced by the Washington State Building Code Council; the 2024 IRC (Section R330) and NFPA 855 (2023 edition) text could not be opened, and local adoption varies. Not tax, legal or financial advice.

Last updated November 5, 2026 (state comparison, repeated-value check and code citations added; SGIP figures from the November 2, 2026 export). Data, tables and charts are licensed CC BY 4.0 with attribution to Electrical Contractors and Wiring Data Desk.

This report presents published data with its limitations. It is not legal, financial or investment advice.

Sources by tier

Tier 1: primary and official sources (26)

• [1] California Self-Generation Incentive Program Administrators (PG&E, SCE, SoCalGas, CSE, LADWP). SGIP public project data export (sgip_public_export_2026-11-02.csv). Program years 2001 to 2026, pulled 2026-11-02. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [2] California Self-Generation Incentive Program Administrators. SGIP Weekly Statewide Report, 11/01/2026, with Report Field Tooltips sheet. As of 2026-11-01. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [3] California Self-Generation Incentive Program Administrators. Self-Generation Incentive Program Handbook 2026 (V3). 2026. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [4] California Self-Generation Incentive Program Administrators. SGIP Program Level Budget Summary, Statewide. As of 2026-11-01. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [5] California Public Utilities Commission. Self-Generation Incentive Program (program page and decision history). 2019 to 2025 decisions. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [6] Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. U.S. Distributed Solar and Storage: 2026 Data Update (summary slide deck, August 2026). 2025 installations. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [7] National Laboratory of the Rockies (formerly NREL) for the U.S. Department of Energy. Q1-2025 Solar Photovoltaic System Cost Benchmarks (dataset page and 2025 Benchmarks Description, released 2026-01-06). Q1 2025, 2024 dollars. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [8] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. CPI-U, U.S. city average, all items (CUUR0000SA0), annual averages. 2017 to 2025. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [9] U.S. Energy Information Administration. Annual Electric Power Industry Report (EIA-861), 2025 final data: Average Monthly Bill, Residential. 2025. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [10] U.S. Energy Information Administration. Form EIA-861 detailed data files (release dates). Released 2026-10-07. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [11] U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Recalls API (SaferProducts.gov REST web services), recalls dated 2020-01-01 to 2026-11-02. 2020-01-09 to 2026-10-29 (latest recall in the pull). Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [12] Connecticut Green Bank, Eversource and UI (overseen by PURA). Energy Storage Solutions: energy storage for your home (incentive rates effective 4/1/26). Rates effective 2026-04-01. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [13] Connecticut Green Bank, Eversource and UI (overseen by PURA). Program Changes for April 1, 2026 (incentive comparison for homes). 2026-04-01. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [14] Sponsors of Mass Save (Massachusetts utilities). Mass Save: Batteries (ConnectedSolutions), Internet Archive copy of 2026-06-17; live page returned HTTP 403. As captured 2026-06-17. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [15] Oregon Department of Energy. Oregon Solar + Storage Rebate Program: Homeowners. 2026. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [16] Oregon Department of Energy. Oregon Solar + Storage Rebate Program (program status, June 2026 update). June 2026. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [17] Maryland Energy Administration. FY27 Residential and Commercial Energy Storage (RCES) Program Funding Opportunity Announcement, issued 09/24/2026. FY27 (application deadline 2027-05-31). Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [18] Maryland Energy Administration. Maryland Energy Storage Income Tax Credit (inactive program notice). Tax year 2024. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [19] Internal Revenue Service. Residential Clean Energy Credit. Page reviewed 2026-07-04. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [22] New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), via data.ny.gov. Residential, Retail and Bulk Energy Storage Incentive Programs Reported by NYSERDA: Beginning 2019 (dataset ugya-enpy, reporting period 10/04/2026). Projects approved since April 2019; reporting period 2026-10-04. Accessed 2026-11-03.
• [23] Connecticut Green Bank (program administered with Eversource and UI, overseen by PURA), via data.ct.gov. Energy Storage Solutions (ESS) Enrollment (dataset uy2c-bbdw, last updated 2026-10-01). Projects approved 2022 to 2026; data updated 2026-10-01. Accessed 2026-11-03.
• [24] Oregon Department of Energy, via data.oregon.gov. Solar Plus Storage Rebate: Multi-Year Report (dataset fbqx-su36, rebates issued as of June 30, 2025). Funding years 2023 to 2025; rebates issued through 2025-06-30. Accessed 2026-11-03.
• [25] Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, Research and Economic Analysis Division. Solar PV Battery Installations in Honolulu, 2025 Update (April 2026), Table 1. Building permits issued 2017 to 2025, Honolulu County. Accessed 2026-11-03.
• [26] Washington State Building Code Council. IRC Proposed Correlation Changes (January 2023): reproduces 2021 IRC Section R328 Energy Storage Systems with Washington edits marked. 2021 IRC Section R328 (model code text as reproduced 2023-01). Accessed 2026-11-03.
• [27] Washington State Building Code Council. Economic Impact Analysis, 2024 IRC proposals (April 2026): proposal 24-GP2-023, IRC R330.1 Energy Storage Systems. 2024 IRC adoption cycle, April 2026. Accessed 2026-11-03.
• [28] California Self-Generation Incentive Program Administrators (PG&E, SCE, SoCalGas, CSE, LADWP). SGIP public project data export, re-pulled 2026-11-03 (sgip_public_export_2026-11-03.csv) for the repeated-value check. Program years 2001 to 2026, pulled 2026-11-03. Accessed 2026-11-03.

Tier 2: trade bodies, market research, company data (2)

• [20] UL LLC. 2021 Residential ESS Requirements: IRC Section R328 and NFPA 855 Chapter 15 (code authorities summary, 08/2021; used as a secondary cross-check). 2021 IRC and NFPA 855 requirements. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [21] UL Solutions. Energy storage system testing and certification (UL 9540, UL 9540A, UL 9540B). Accessed 2026-11-02. Accessed 2026-11-02.