About Home Battery ROI Calculator

Why this site exists

On January 1, 2026, the 30% federal residential clean energy credit for batteries (Section 25D) expired. Almost every home battery calculator on the internet still shows that credit in its math. That means homeowners are being told their battery will pay back faster than it actually will — sometimes by years.

This site exists to fix that. We give US homeowners an accurate, current estimate of when a home battery would pay for itself in 2026, using only the incentives that actually exist today: state programs like California's SGIP, utility programs like ConnectedSolutions in New England, and time-of-use electricity rate arbitrage. We don't show the expired federal credit. We tell users the truth.

What we are (and aren't)

We are an information site. We help homeowners understand whether a home battery makes financial sense for their specific situation, and we connect them with installer partners who can give them quotes.

We are NOT:

• A licensed contractor. We don't install batteries.
• A licensed financial or legal advisor. Our payback estimates are estimates only — not financial advice.
• Affiliated with any specific battery manufacturer.
• An aggregator that resells your data without consent. Your information is only shared with installer partners after you explicitly opt in through our email gate.

How the math works

Every payback estimate on this site is produced by a single formula that takes into account:

• The battery's installed cost (sourced from public installer pricing data)
• State and utility incentives applicable in your ZIP code
• Your local time-of-use electricity rate (the spread between peak and off-peak)
• Optional virtual power plant (VPP) payments if your utility offers them
• The value of having backup power during outages
• Battery degradation over time (~2% per year for modern LFP batteries)
• The time value of money (5% discount rate)
• Projected electricity rate inflation (2.5% per year)

The output is a single number: how many years until the battery pays for itself, in today's dollars. We deliberately do NOT tell you whether it's "worth it" — that's your call to make. We give you the math; you decide.

How we keep the site free

When a homeowner uses the calculator and submits their email to see results, that lead (their email, ZIP, and project details) is shared with one or more local installer partners — companies like solar/battery installers who pay us for the introduction. They may then contact the homeowner to offer a quote.

That's the business model. It's the same way most home-services calculators on the internet work. The user gets a useful tool for free; the installer gets a qualified lead; we keep the site running. Our privacy policy spells out what's shared and how to opt out.

We also display some advertising (Google AdSense) on most pages. We do not run sponsored content disguised as editorial recommendations. We never accept payment to alter calculator outputs in favor of a particular battery brand.

Data freshness

Incentive amounts and electricity rates change constantly. We review all data monthly, using an AI agent that flags changes for human approval before any update goes live. The "last reviewed" date is stamped on every state page and on the calculator results.

Who runs the site

Home Battery ROI Calculator is an independent project run by Brock McDermott. Brock is not a solar installer, energy engineer, or financial advisor. The site was built using AI tools, with all data sourced from official utility tariffs, state energy office publications, and battery manufacturer specs.

Contact: [email protected]

Corrections and feedback

If you spot an inaccurate incentive amount, an outdated rate, or any other error on the site, please email us. We aim to correct verified errors within 7 days. We take accuracy seriously — it's the whole point of the project.