Batteries Projected to Be in High Demand Under New Building Requirements
San Diego, CA, August 5, 2019 –In 2020, California will become the first state to require rooftop solar on new homes. This includes single-family homes and multi-family residential buildings up to three stories high. The goal is to build net-zero energy homes that produce as much energy as they consume, reducing the state’s carbon footprint.
With as many as 100,000 single-family homes built in California each year, residential solar will quickly become mainstream. But rooftop panels alone won’t make solar very cost-effective for these homeowners. That’s because the state’s three largest utility companies are switching to time-of-use rates, in which residential power is most expensive between 4:00 and 9:00 p.m.—when the panels aren’t generating.
The solution is solar plus storage. With these systems, energy produced by the panels during the daytime is stored in a battery and used in the evening, avoiding high utility rates. Nationwide, the residential solar storage market has seen 138% growth since the first quarter of 2018. As more and more California homeowners realize the financial advantages of storage, demand for solar batteries could outpace supply.
San Diego–based NeoVolta Inc. could play a key role in supplying California’s demand for residential storage. NeoVolta designed its NV14 home energy storage system to help homeowners reap the financial benefits of solar. Energy generated during the daytime can be stored in the NV14’s clean, cobalt-free battery and used during evening “peak demand” hours when utility rates are often twice as high. And in the event of a blackout, the NV14 will power a home’s critical loads indefinitely.
“Americans have long supported the idea of solar, but now it’s policy and reality,” said Brent Willson, CEO of NeoVolta. “This is an important moment. NeoVolta is launching a statewide rollout of the NV14 solar storage system here in California, just as the state is preparing to require rooftop solar on new homes. The NV14 energy storage solution will supply the projected demand, while also offering the security of backup power.”
