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Home solar and batteries in the Bay Area, explained.
Under PG&E's current rules, the systems that actually lower a homeowner's cost are solar, a battery, and a smart panel designed together. These guides walk through the decisions that matter: whether the math works, what keeps your home running in an outage, and how the battery itself holds up. Plain English, real sources, no sales pitch.
Does it still pencil?
Start here. Whether solar makes financial sense shifted twice recently: PG&E NEM 3.0 changed how exports are credited, and the 30% federal residential tax credit ended for systems bought in 2026. Here is the honest read on both.
Is solar still worth it under PG&E NEM 3.0?
Yes, but usually not as a solar-only project. Under PG&E's Solar Billing Plan, exported daytime solar earns time-sensitive credits, so savings depend on using more solar at home and pairing the system with a correctly sized battery for evening load and high-value export windows.
How Potrero calculates your solar and battery estimate
A plain-English explanation of the roof data, household load profiles, PG&E billing rules, battery simulation, calibration study, and long-term assumptions behind Potrero’s instant estimate.
The federal solar tax credit in 2026: how it works, and is it ending?
The 30% federal credit homeowners used to claim on a solar purchase, the Residential Clean Energy Credit, no longer applies to systems paid for after December 31, 2025. If you buy your own system in 2026, you cannot claim it. The separate commercial clean energy credit still exists for business-owned systems, which is how a third-party ownership program can still pass federal credit value to a homeowner.
Solar lease vs. buying vs. paying once: the honest 2026 comparison
A solar lease or PPA lets you put panels on the roof with little money down, but a third party owns the system, keeps the incentives, and raises your payment every year. Owning your system, either with cash or a pay-once structure, keeps the savings and the asset with you. Here is how the options actually compare in California in 2026.
Is SGIP still available in 2026? California's battery rebate, explained
SGIP is California's Self-Generation Incentive Program, the state battery rebate. For most market-rate homeowners it has effectively ended. The ratepayer-funded General Market, Equity, and Equity Resiliency budgets all closed to new applicants on December 31, 2025. The only pathway still open in 2026 is a separate state-funded program for income-qualified households, and it has been fully reserved with a waitlist. For a typical Bay Area home, that means a battery now has to pencil on its own.
Will solar work on my roof?
Tile, flat, metal, small, or shaded, almost any Bay Area roof can take solar. What changes is the mounting, and more importantly the design that decides how much it produces.
Can you put solar on a tile, flat, metal, or shaded Bay Area roof?
Yes. Tile, flat, standing-seam metal, small, north-facing, and tree-shaded roofs can all take solar. Each just needs the right mounting and design. The harder question is how much energy the roof can produce, which comes down to panel layout and shade-tolerant panels more than the roof material itself. In the Bay Area, where roofs are small and chopped up, designing around the geometry is what separates a strong install from a weak one.
Keeping your home powered
A roof full of panels still goes dark in an outage unless the system is designed to run on its own. Here is what whole-home backup actually takes, and how to ride out a PG&E Public Safety Power Shutoff.
Will my solar and battery keep my home running during a PG&E outage?
Yes, if the system is designed for it. Grid-tied solar alone shuts off during an outage for safety, so panels on the roof do not power the home by themselves. A battery with an automatic transfer switch lets the home island and keep running, and how long that backup lasts depends on the storage size, the loads you run, and how much the sun recharges the battery each day.
What is a PG&E Public Safety Power Shutoff, and how do I keep my power on?
A Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) is a planned outage where PG&E turns off power during dry, windy, high fire-risk weather so its lines cannot spark a wildfire. A shutoff can last from a few hours to several days, and grid-tied solar switches off with the grid. The reliable way to keep your whole home running through a multi-day PSPS is a correctly sized home battery that lets the house island and recharges from solar each day.
The battery, up close
Under NEM 3.0 the battery is the load-bearing part of the system, so it is worth understanding how safe it is, how long it lasts, and where it can go.
Are home battery systems a fire risk?
Home batteries carry strict fire codes because the technology is new, not because the day-to-day risk is high. The lithium iron phosphate (LFP) chemistry used in home storage is far more thermally stable than the batteries in phones, e-bikes, and EVs, and a typical system stores less combustible energy than a single backyard propane tank.
How long do home batteries last, and do they degrade like an EV?
Home storage batteries are built to be cycled daily for many years. The lithium iron phosphate (LFP) chemistry in home batteries fades far more slowly than the chemistry in most EVs, phones, and laptops, so you do not need to baby the charge level. Capacity declines gradually with both age and use, and a good installer measures that decline over time instead of guessing from a spec sheet.
Where can home batteries be installed?
Usually in an attached garage, a dedicated utility space, or on an exterior wall near electrical equipment, if the site meets clearance, fire-separation, impact-protection, detection, egress, property-line, and local approval requirements. The location has to be proven in the permit plan, not just chosen from a photo.
Your electrical panel
Adding solar, a battery, EV charging, or a heat pump does not automatically mean a costly 200A panel or PG&E service upgrade. A smart panel can often manage the loads instead.
Can I avoid a 200A panel or PG&E service upgrade?
Often, yes. A 200A panel or PG&E service upgrade is not automatic for solar, batteries, EV charging, or heat pumps; load management, a smart panel, and battery storage can keep peak demand within safe limits. The final answer depends on panel condition, service capacity, load calculation, and local inspection.
What is a smart electrical panel, and do I need one?
A smart electrical panel monitors your circuits and actively manages loads, so a large new load like an EV charger or heat pump can run on your existing service instead of forcing a costly upgrade. Paired with a battery it also controls which circuits stay on during an outage. Whether you need one depends on what you are adding and whether you want backup and load control. It is not required for solar.
Other options people weigh
The alternatives homeowners ask about, and an honest read on where each one actually fits.
Is balcony solar legal in California?
Not yet. As of June 2026, plug-in balcony solar is not legal to connect in California. The bill that would allow it, SB 868, has passed the state Senate and is moving through the Assembly, but it is not law. Balcony solar is a good fit for renters who want a small, portable bill offset. For a homeowner who wants to cut a PG&E bill or keep the lights on during an outage, rooftop solar with a battery does a different and much larger job.
See the numbers for your home.
An instant estimate uses your address, roof, and PG&E usage to show a real price and system size. No contact information required to start.