Technology

Batteries should sense a loss of power automatically and will start powering your home immediately. No extra work required. 

No, your battery will not discharge two days before any storms are predicted to cause outages in your area. 

Yes, your battery can provide power to your home anytime the grid goes down using the energy it has stored. 

No, it is your contractor’s responsibility to implement the storage system controls. The Program Administrators will require that the battery settings be implemented through the utility and not at the device level, so that the settings can be easily monitored and updated remotely by the utility without the need for your contractor to come back to reprogram your system. 

This depends on the size and number of batteries in your system, and the items you are powering with the batteries. The larger the battery, the longer it will be able to power your appliances and lights without being re-charged by solar PV or the grid. Your contractor will help you decide on a battery size that works for the goals of your household.  For a 13.5 kWh battery, during an outage, your refrigerator could continue to run for approximately 33 hours. 

The benefits of a portable generator include that they have a low upfront cost and are portable. The drawbacks of a portable generator include buying and transporting fuel, they are loud, high in emission, require maintenance and are not on standby.  

The benefits of a battery include that they are silent, emit no fuel, enable you to store and use your solar PV energy, are on standby and have incentives available through Energy Storage Solutions. The drawbacks of a battery include that they have a high upfront cost, require professional installation, interconnection and permitting, and are not portable.  

There are environmental benefits to making the switch from a fossil fuel generator. Instead of buying, and storing fossil fuels, your grid-tied battery could run more quietly, and from cleaner fuel sources. 

The benefits of a standby generator include that they have high output, can be connected to your natural gas or propane and are on standby. The drawbacks of a standby fossil-fuel generator include that they have a higher lifetime cost, require professional installation with fuel, involve permitting, require maintenance and are not portable.  

The benefits of a battery include that they are silent, emit no fuel, enable you to store and use your solar PV energy, are on standby, and have incentives available through Energy Storage Solutions. The drawbacks of a battery include that they have a high upfront cost, require professional installation, interconnection, and permitting. 

Additionally, commercial and industrial customers with existing fossil fuel generators will be permitted to request capacity rights in order to monetize storage assets into ISO-NE market programs (if they take existing fossil fuel generators offline). 

Yes, a battery storage system needs to be installed in a location with an Internet service. 

A home battery needs to be installed and connected by an eligible contractor. They will handle all the technical details. Even if you’re not enrolling in Energy Storage Solutions, we do ask that you or your contractor contact your utility provider when installing your battery, so they can make sure the electrical grid in your area is ready to accept your battery. 

You can find a list of the pre-approved technologies eligible for this program on the program website, here. This list will be updated on a rolling basis as new technologies are approved.  

If you wish to use a technology not on this list, you can ask your contractor or the battery manufacturer to submit a New Technologies application through our website, here.