Who wants one
Two reasons people call about batteries.
Most homes have one of them. Plenty have both.
Outages that keep coming
Wind shutoffs, a transformer that fails every summer, a rural feeder with a long repair queue. A battery carries the fridge, the Wi-Fi, the lights and the medical equipment through it.
Evening rates
Your panels make the most power at noon and your house spends the most at seven. Storage moves the middle of the day into the 4 to 9 p.m. window instead of exporting it for pennies.
Something that has to stay on
An oxygen concentrator, a CPAP, insulin in the refrigerator, a well pump. Those loads get named on the panel schedule before anything is ordered.
Sun Worx installation
What is included
From load list to a tested outage.
A battery is only as good as the circuits it was told to protect.
A load conversation first
We list what must run, what would be nice, and what can wait. That list decides the size of the cabinet, not a sales tier.
Whole-home or essential loads
Whole-home backup keeps the house behaving normally. An essential-loads subpanel protects the short list for less hardware. We price out the honest version of both.
Enphase or FranklinWH
Two platforms we install and support. Which one you get comes down to your backup goal, your existing equipment and where the cabinet can legally live.
Panel and breaker work
Transfer equipment, a protected subpanel where needed, and a check for whether the main panel has room before anyone quotes a cabinet.
Permit and utility filing
Storage carries its own permit path and its own utility paperwork. Both go out from our desk with the drawings attached.
A real outage test
Before we leave we cut the main, watch the house transfer, and stand there while it comes back. You see it work once with us.
How it works
Six steps to a house that rides out the dark.
Short on your end. Most of the wait is paperwork.
- 01
What has to stay on
We walk the house naming circuits. That list, not a brochure, sets capacity and backup type.
- 02
Rate plan and usage check
We read how your bill is structured and when your house spends. Storage only pays off if it is aimed at the right hours.
- 03
Design and sizing
Cabinet location, clearances, transfer equipment and the protected circuit schedule, drawn before you commit.
- 04
Permit and interconnection
Storage plans go to the building department and the storage application to your utility, filed together to keep the clock short.
- 05
Install and commissioning
Mounting, conductors, transfer gear, firmware and monitoring. One day for most homes, two if a subpanel is going in.
- 06
Outage drill and handover
We simulate the outage, confirm the transfer, set up the app, and label the panel so the next person understands it.
Equipment and warranty
What we install, and for how long it is ours.
All electrical and roofing work is performed by appropriately licensed professionals.
Money and rules
Where battery money comes from right now.
SMUD customers can qualify for battery rebates of up to $6,000 through the utility’s storage program. Statewide, the Self-Generation Incentive Program still funds storage, with its largest amounts reserved for medically vulnerable households and homes inside high fire-threat districts. Purchased home solar lost its 30% federal credit after December 31, 2025, though some third-party-owned lease and PPA programs can still apply a federal credit through 2027.
Every one of those programs has its own paperwork, its own queue and its own definition of who qualifies. We check your address and your utility against all of them before you decide anything.
Questions
Battery questions we hear every week.
Can one battery run my air conditioning?
Sometimes. Central AC is the heaviest thing in most houses, so it depends on the unit, whether it soft-starts, and how long you expect to run it. We size for the answer you want rather than promising it blind.
How long will it last in an outage?
As long as the loads you chose allow. A fridge, lights, internet and phones stretch a long way; add the dryer and the electric range and it is a different afternoon.
Does a battery work without solar?
Yes, and it will charge from the grid on the cheap hours. It just stops being a savings story and becomes a resilience one.
Where does the cabinet go?
Garage wall, utility closet or an exterior wall with the right clearances and temperature range. We pick the spot during design, not on install day.
What happens when the grid comes back?
The system re-synchronises on its own and starts refilling. You will usually notice only because the app tells you.
Pages people read next.
Tell us what has to stay on.
Name the circuits that matter and your utility. We come back with a size and a backup plan.
Based in Sacramento, serving Northern California. Call or text 510-773-1922 or email sunworxca@gmail.com.