Tag Archives: solar plus storage

sgip program updates 2020

SGIP 2020 program updates: what you need to know

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California’s Self Generation Incentive Program (SGIP) is one of the first incentives for battery energy storage in the country. The program has been very successful, helping California to lead the nation in residential energy storage deployment. Recently, the program has received additional funding, with a slightly revised charter for how to use those funds. Below, we detail the adjustments to SGIP and how it will impact individual, residential solar + storage shoppers in California. 

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tesla powerwall review

The Tesla Powerwall home battery complete review

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Reading Time: 7 minutes

Back in 2015, automaker Tesla Motors set its sights on the home energy storage market and announced the launch of its home battery product, the Tesla Powerwall.

In the past, Tesla Motors has been praised for making high-quality electric vehicles, as well as for their ability to reimagine and successfully rebrand existing technologies. In fact, while Tesla’s automobiles revitalized the 21st-century electric vehicle market, the first electric cars were invented more than a hundred years earlier. 

Tesla’s rebranding of residential-use batteries is in line with their legacy of reimagining existing products. Tesla’s battery may represent the first time in history that everyday homeowners are truly excited about the potential of storing energy at their home. The Powerwall, combined with the exciting Tesla Solar Roof, are both potential cornerstones of Elon Musk’s sustainable energy vision for the future.

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solar batteries

Bring your own battery programs: what you need to know in 2020

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As solar batteries become more and more popular, individual utilities are beginning to offer rebate and incentive programs to make the economics of adding storage to your solar panel system more favorable. Given that solar batteries are a new product, utilities have begun experimenting with new program designs specific to solar batteries. One of the newest, increasingly common program types is a bring your own battery, or bring your own device, program.

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top energysage articles of 2019

The best of EnergySage in 2019

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2019 was a big year for the U.S. solar industry: the country surpassed 2 million solar installations early in the year, California celebrated 1 million rooftops with solar this December, and in between the cost of solar reached historic lows. It was a year in which interest in solar–and energy storage–soared nationwide, but especially in wildfire-torn California.

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sonnen eco: the complete battery review

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Reading Time: 6 minutes

sonnen is one of the biggest names in energy storage technology, and in 2016 the company announced a new battery designed for home use: the sonnen eco. The eco is a fully integrated energy storage system that includes an inverter and smart energy management software. Property owners with solar that install a home battery like the eco are able to store excess solar electricity for use later in the day. As a result, properties with solar-plus-storage can increase their total monthly savings in certain markets. 

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energy storage in california

Breaking down the consumer demand for batteries in California

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Throughout the country, interest in energy storage systems is increasing. In fact, residential energy storage installations increased 500% from 2017 to 2018, according to the Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA). Nowhere is this more apparent than in California, where energy storage has truly taken off. 

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home with solar panels and a battery

Does solar-plus-storage still work during an outage?

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Battery storage paired with solar panels is a great way to save money on electricity bills in the long term, especially with new rate plans like time-of-use becoming more prevalent. But does adding a battery mean you’ll be able to produce, store, and use electricity with solar when the grid is down? Do you even need a battery? In this article, we’ll dissect how solar and storage can make for an effective grid resiliency technique.

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lumin complete review

An overview of Lumin’s energy management system

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When thinking about installing a solar or a solar-plus-storage system at your home or business, there’s one piece of information that is of the utmost importance: how much electricity do you use, and which of your home appliances use that electricity. That’s exactly where Lumin can help: the three-year-old, Charlottesville, Virginia-based company is joining the relatively nascent field of creating smart circuits, allowing you to dynamically choose or automate what to power with your solar and storage, which is especially useful in the event of an outage.

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