SolarEdge Home Battery
What it is, what it costs installed, and whether it is the right battery for your house.
The SolarEdge Home Battery is 9.7 kWh of usable capacity with 5 kW of continuous output, stackable up to three units per inverter. If you already have a SolarEdge inverter on the wall, this is almost always the cheapest and cleanest way to add storage. If you do not, it is usually the wrong choice, and we will say so.
It is DC-coupled, which means it connects on the solar side of the system rather than the household side. Excess production goes straight into the battery without being converted to AC and back again. SolarEdge publishes up to 94.5% round-trip efficiency, which is high for a home battery, and that advantage compounds every day you cycle it rather than showing up once.
SolarEdge also builds a configuration specifically for California. The Home Rate Saver is a battery-only setup with no backup hardware, designed for NEM 3.0 self-consumption. It stores your midday generation and discharges it through the evening peak, and because it skips the backup interface and the essential loads panel, SolarEdge states it saves up to 38% in upfront hardware cost and often avoids a main panel upgrade.
The trade is real: Rate Saver does not give you backup power. If the grid goes down, the lights go out. That is the honest catch, and whether it matters depends on whether you are buying a battery to cut your bill or to keep the house running.
What the numbers mean
Six things worth knowing
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9.7 kWh
Usable capacity
Per unit, at 100% depth of discharge. Stackable up to three units per inverter, and further across multiple inverters. The smallest single unit of the four platforms we work with, which suits modest evening loads.
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94.5%
Round-trip efficiency
The highest of the four platforms we work with, and the direct result of DC coupling. Fewer conversion steps means less of your generation lost between the roof and the socket, every day, for the life of the system.
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5 kW continuous
Output power
Per inverter, with 7.5 kW peak for 10 seconds. The lowest continuous output of the four, which is fine for bill reduction and light backup but limiting if you want to run air conditioning during an outage.
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Rate Saver
Built for NEM 3.0
A battery-only configuration tuned to California's time-of-use structure, with battery management algorithms written around NEM 3.0 rates. No backup hardware, which is where the cost saving comes from.
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200%
DC oversizing
SolarEdge inverters allow DC oversizing up to 200%, so a larger array can feed a smaller inverter and the excess goes into the battery rather than being clipped and lost.
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10 years
Warranty and safety
10 years with 70% capacity retention and no cycle limit under standard use. It was one of the first residential batteries to pass the UL 9540A unit level fire safety test, which is what allows indoor installation.
Full specifications
| Usable capacity | 9.7 kWh per unit |
|---|---|
| Continuous output | 5 kW per inverter |
| Peak output | 7.5 kW for 10 seconds |
| Chemistry | Lithium-ion (NMC) |
| Coupling | DC, requires SolarEdge Home Hub inverter |
| Round-trip efficiency | Up to 94.5% |
| Depth of discharge | 100% |
| Voltage range | 350 to 450 V DC |
| Stacking | Up to 3 per inverter, more across inverters |
| DC oversizing | Up to 200% |
| Warranty | 10 years, 70% retention, unlimited cycles |
| Certification | UL 9540A unit level, indoor rated |
| Mounting | Wall or floor, indoor or outdoor |
Per SolarEdge Home Battery 400V published specifications. Last reviewed 12 August 2026.
Being straight about it
When SolarEdge is not the right answer
- You do not have SolarEdge equipment. This battery needs a SolarEdge Home Hub inverter. If you have another brand, adding one purely to fit this battery rarely makes financial sense. An AC-coupled battery like the FranklinWH aPower 2 is the better route.
- You want whole-home backup. At 5 kW continuous this is the lowest output of the four. Powerwall 3 at 11.5 kW and aPower 2 at 10 kW carry far more at once.
- You are choosing Rate Saver to save money. Rate Saver has no backup capability at all. It cuts your bill and nothing else. If an outage matters to you, you need the Backup Interface, and the 38% saving goes with it.
- You want a large single unit. At 9.7 kWh this is the smallest of the four. aPower 2 is 15 kWh and Lunar scales to 30 kWh in one tower.
- You want LFP chemistry. The 400V battery uses NMC cells. Powerwall 3 and aPower 2 both use LFP, which is more thermally stable.
The efficiency case
Why DC coupling matters
Solar panels produce DC power. Your house runs on AC. A battery stores DC. Every conversion between the two loses a little energy.
In an AC-coupled system, midday solar is converted to AC by your inverter, converted back to DC to charge the battery, then converted to AC again to run your house in the evening. Three conversions, three small losses.
A DC-coupled battery skips two of them. Excess production goes straight from the panels into the battery as DC, and only converts once on the way out. That is where the 94.5% round-trip efficiency comes from, and it is why this is the platform to pick if your goal is squeezing the most out of an existing SolarEdge array rather than backing up the whole house.
The catch is the same thing that makes it efficient. Because it connects on the solar side, it needs a SolarEdge Home Hub inverter to connect to. That is the whole decision on this battery in one sentence.
Cost
What it costs, honestly
We do not publish a price, because a number without your bill attached is a guess. With SolarEdge there is one variable that moves the number more than the others: whether you want backup. The Rate Saver configuration skips the Backup Interface and the essential loads panel, and SolarEdge states that saves up to 38% in upfront hardware cost. Adding backup adds it straight back.
The federal 30% residential clean energy credit under Section 25D expired on 31 December 2025, so a cash or loan purchase in 2026 receives no federal credit. What is left depends entirely on your utility, and the amounts vary widely between PG&E, SCE, SDG&E, SMUD, LADWP and the community choice aggregators. Send us a recent bill and we will tell you exactly what is open where you live.
Questions
SolarEdge Home Battery questions
Do I need a SolarEdge inverter to use this battery?
Yes. The Home Battery is DC-coupled and connects to a SolarEdge Home Hub inverter. If you have a different brand of inverter, this is almost certainly not the right battery for you, and we will point you at an AC-coupled option instead rather than selling you an inverter you do not need.
What is the Rate Saver configuration?
A battery-only setup designed for California's NEM 3.0 rules. It stores your midday solar and discharges it through the evening peak, with battery management algorithms tuned to time-of-use rates. It skips the backup hardware, which is where the cost saving comes from. It also means no backup power during an outage.
So Rate Saver will not keep my lights on?
Correct, and this is the single most important thing to understand about it. Rate Saver reduces your bill. It does not provide backup. For backup you need the SolarEdge Home Backup Interface, which adds hardware and cost. We will ask which of those two things you actually want before quoting anything.
How much does a SolarEdge Home Battery cost in California?
We do not publish a price, because a number without your bill attached is a guess. The main variables are how many units you need, whether you want backup, what work your electrical panel requires, and which incentives you qualify for where you live.
How many can I stack?
Up to three per inverter, and more across multiple inverters for larger systems. Most homes that suit this battery need one or two.
Is 94.5% efficiency actually meaningful?
Over a decade of daily cycling, yes. It is the highest of the four platforms we work with and it comes from DC coupling avoiding two conversion steps. It will not be the deciding factor on its own, but if you already have SolarEdge equipment it is a real advantage rather than a marketing number.
What does the warranty cover?
10 years, with a guarantee that the battery retains at least 70% of its original capacity at the end of that period, and no cycle limit under standard solar use. That is the same term as Tesla and shorter than FranklinWH at 15 years or Lunar at 12.5. Read SolarEdge's warranty document for the full conditions.
Can it be installed indoors?
Yes. It was one of the first residential batteries to pass the UL 9540A unit level fire safety test, which is what permits convenient indoor installation. It can also be wall or floor mounted, indoors or outdoors.
Do I need a permit for a home battery in California?
Yes. A building permit and utility interconnection approval. We manage both, along with the schedule, so you are not chasing your city's permitting office or your utility.
Do you install it?
No. We do not install solar or batteries. We specify your system, secure the incentives and rebates you qualify for, and manage the project. We have partnered with experienced installers across California who handle the fulfillment.
Next step
Is SolarEdge right for your house?
The first question is simple: what inverter do you already have? Send us a recent utility bill and tell us what is on your wall. We will work out whether this is the efficient answer or whether one of the other three fits better. Including when the cheaper one is the right answer.
Solari Storage is a California battery sales and program-qualification company. We do not install solar or batteries. Our install partners handle fulfillment.