The Tax Credit Is Gone, but Power Outages Aren’t. Why a Home Battery Purchase Is Still Worth It
Home battery installations hit a record high in the first quarter of 2026, up 86% from last year. Most of that jump came from homeowners rushing to install before the Inflation Reduction Act credit, which gave people a 30% credit on solar panels and other clean energy improvements in their homes, expired at the end of 2025.
“Some of that demand kind of bled over into the beginning of 2026,” said Max Issokson, a senior research analyst at Wood Mackenzie. He expects the market to slow down a bit this year now that the credit is gone, but he doesn’t think batteries will slow the same way solar panels will.
That tracks with what battery owners are saying. According to the Home Battery Adoption survey by Habitelligence, 91% of homeowners with a battery said they’d buy one again.
“The reasons are part financial and part personal,” said Mike Lock,...
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