Brightbox™: A Superior Energy Storage Solution in Illinois

Brightbox is a holistic solar home battery service that offers you clean, safer, reliable back-up power to have better control over your home energy use and cost.

Brightbox allows you to store the excess energy your solar energy system produces during the day and use it when you need it most — such as in the evening, at night or when the electric grid fails due to an extreme weather event, or physical damage to the equipment.

Aside from very rare exceptions, Sunrun’s Brightbox service includes rooftop solar panels. Brightbox stores 100% clean, renewable, home-grown solar so you don’t have to pay your electric company for extra power to charge your battery.

Just like solar panels, the number of Tesla Powerwalls or LG Chem batteries you need will be determined by your unique energy needs and habits—though for some consumers, one battery may be sufficient. Your Solar Advisor will help you evaluate your energy usage to customize a solar energy battery system that sufficiently backs up your entire home. Request a free quote today.

An LG Chem solar battery backs up part of your home, while a Tesla Powerwall backs up your entire home. There are also differences in software and app functionality.

One Tesla Powerwall stores 13.5 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of usable electricity, which can be used to back up the home for a day. An LG Chem solar battery holds 9.8 kWh, which can be used to back up essential parts of the home from 8 to 12 hours. Rooftop solar panels will replenish the battery’s energy storage the following day. Back-up ability will depend on your unique home's power usage.

A solar battery installation is a relatively simple process. Tesla Powerwall and LG Chem solar batteries are about the size of a water heater and are easily mounted on a wall by our professional installers — usually inside your garage or outside of your home.

Through Sunrun’s Brightbox service, your Tesla Powerwall or LG Chem solar battery will automatically disconnect from the power grid in the event of a blackout and restore power in your home in a matter of seconds. Your rooftop solar panels will continue to recharge your solar battery until the grid is up and running again.

Our certified electricians will take care of installing and configuring your Tesla Powerwall or LG Chem battery for you. Batteries last anywhere between 10 and 15 years, and manufacturers typically offer a ten-year warranty.

Still, Brightbox is more than just a home battery: It’s a holistic service that includes professional maintenance and monitoring during the life of your agreement. Consumers who own their Tesla Powerwall or LG Chem solar battery get Sunrun service for ten years, while consumers with a monthly service agreement or full-amount service agreement get free maintenance and replacement for the lifetime of their contract.

You can monitor your solar battery performance with the mySunrun app. Sunrun also manages the battery remotely using proprietary software to make sure it’s running as it should and automatically updates your battery’s settings to help you save as much money as possible.

Our monthly and full-amount solar leasing options come with proactive monitoring and maintenance — on us. So if we notice that your rooftop solar panels or home battery aren’t working at their full capacity, we’ll send an expert over to fix it without you lifting a finger.

For many people with home solar, the largest tax credit they will receive for their system is part of the Inflation Reduction Act, or IRA. Eligible individuals can qualify for a tax credit of up to 30% of their system.

Illinois has other solar incentives and rebates for people who purchase their home solar system, including a solar rebate from ComEd, a property tax exemption, and Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SRECs) through the state’s Adjustable Block Program (ABP).

We recommend contacting a tax professional to most accurately determine the impact of the federal solar tax credit and local tax credits on your taxes.

Learn more about Illinois Solar Incentives.

You can use a portable generator; however, Sunrun doesn’t offer back-up generators. If you’re interested in installing a back-up generator, you can contact a local electrician or energy installation company. These experts can recommend a generator that will be appropriate for your home.

Please note that a Tesla Powerwall or LG Chem solar battery cannot be installed in homes that already have a stand-by generator.

Our rechargeable solar battery systems are designed to keep you on-grid during normal service times while still providing reliable backup when the sun isn’t shining or during the event of an outage. This is the most reliable and economical way to use your Brightbox system, and it’s the one most strongly recommended by Sunrun’s service experts.

At this time, Brightbox with a Tesla Powerwall or LG Chem solar battery is only available to new Sunrun consumers. We can’t install rooftop solar panels or a home battery if you already have an existing solar installation or if it isn’t offered in your area.