Residential Calculators · New

Battery Economics Calculator

Is a home battery financially worthwhile for me? This calculator combines the full cost and value stack, then shows which conditions drive the answer.

Working model: Enter the annual value available to you today. Location-based incentive, VPP, demand-response, and TOU program matching will be added as verified program inventories are integrated.

Your location

Location will connect this model to eligible utility and state programs. For now, it identifies your state, utility, and current residential electricity-rate context.

Enter a 5-digit ZIP to establish location context.

StateEnter ZIP
Electricity rate16.5¢/kWh default
Program matchingManual inputs for now

Battery and ownership cost

Keep the cash price separate from the financed price. That difference exposes dealer or origination fees that a low advertised interest rate can otherwise hide.

$
$
years
%
$
$

Optional. Use zero if you do not want to assume a replacement.

year
%/yr

Annual value stack

Keep distinct programs separate. VPP participation and demand response can overlap operationally, but they are not automatically the same program or payment stream.

$/yr
$/yr
$/yr
$/yr
$/yr

Leave at zero if you do not want to monetize outage protection.

%/yr

Finance

Compare the price of the system with the price of the money. The default is a 25-year loan at 7.5% with $0 down; every assumption is editable.

$

Enter the principal before down payment. Do not substitute the lower cash price.

%
$

Solar leases and PPAs will use this same framework in bundled solar-plus-storage and SolarEconomics. They are intentionally not treated as standalone battery financing because lease payments and production-based PPA charges require different cash-flow models.

Your decision thresholds

Set the limits that define a workable investment for you. Results that meet both limits are highlighted in green; misses are highlighted in red.

years
$/mo
Your decision screenMeets bothPayback and payment are within your limits
Simple project payback—Cash price less incentives
Monthly payment—Selected financing
Project NPV—Finance-neutral, at your discount rate
MeetsPayback threshold—
MeetsMonthly-payment threshold—
First-year value stack $0/yr
Long-term economics
25-year nominal benefits
—
Total ownership cash outlay
—
Nominal net benefit
—
Project IRR
—

What the loan term really costs

Same principal and interest rate, different term. The 15-year row is identified as the lower-total-interest option.

Embedded dealer / origination fee$0
TermMonthly paymentTotal paymentsInterest + price premium

How this estimate works

  • Simple paybackNet cash price divided through cumulative annual operating value; financing is shown separately
  • Project NPV and IRRFinance-neutral project cash flows so an attractive loan cannot make a weak battery project look strong
  • Financing costUses the financed price, not the cash price, then applies the selected term, interest rate, and down payment
  • Value streamsEntered separately to reduce accidental conflation of TOU, VPP, demand response, solar value, and resilience

This is a planning model, not financial advice or a guarantee of program revenue. Confirm incentive timing, dispatch obligations, equipment eligibility, financing fees, tax treatment, and replacement assumptions before making an investment decision.