Home battery glossary
The terms a salesperson uses to make a quote sound better than it is, defined in plain language. We lead with the part that actually changes your decision, and we say when it does not matter.
Battery leases and PPAs: $0-down, but you don't own it
Battery leases and PPAs let a company own the battery while you pay monthly or per kWh. It is the only federal credit pathway left for a 2026 buyer.
Depth of discharge (DoD): why usable capacity is not rated capacity
Depth of discharge is how much of a battery you can actually use. On packs that do not publish 100 percent DoD, the gap cuts your real backup hours.
kWh vs kW: capacity vs power, explained
kWh vs kW: kWh is how much energy a battery stores, kW is how much it can deliver at once. Mixing them up changes how many backup hours you actually get.
LFP vs NMC battery chemistry (and what LiFePO4 means)
LFP vs NMC battery chemistry: why LFP beats NMC for a fixed home install, and what the LiFePO4 label on a spec sheet actually tells you about the cells.
NEM 3.0: why California solar now needs a battery
NEM 3.0 sharply cut the credit new California solar customers earn for exporting power. Storing your own solar is now where the remaining value lives.
Round-trip efficiency: the energy you lose just by storing it
Round-trip efficiency is the share of energy you get back out of a battery versus what you put in, and it quietly taxes every savings estimate you make.
SGIP: California's state battery incentive program (general market closed)
SGIP is California's state-run battery incentive program. Its general-market residential budget is closed as of October 2026; equity budgets for income-qualified customers remain open or waitlisted in some territories.
Time-of-use (TOU) rates: why a battery is worthless on the wrong plan
Time-of-use rates price electricity by the hour, with expensive evening peaks. A battery profits on that spread, so a flat-rate plan leaves it nothing to do.
Virtual power plants (VPP): getting paid to share your battery
A virtual power plant (VPP) pays you to let your utility tap your home battery during grid stress, which can shorten payback. Pay varies by utility.
Whole-home vs essential backup: what you actually need to keep running
Whole-home vs essential backup: essentials keep the fridge, wifi, and lights alive on a modest battery. Whole-home runs everything but needs far more.