How Does Home Solar Battery Storage Work?
If you’re thinking of going solar, you need to be thinking of storage. If you invest in a solar...
5 years ago, Hurricane Sandy left millions of people without power. As natural disasters continue to affect the East Coast, New York is still exploring opportunities to power the state with clean energy while increasing the reliability of its energy grid.
In fact, a key part of Governor Cuomo’s “Reforming the Energy Vision” is building a clean, resilient, and affordable energy system for all New Yorkers1. Under current discussion are target incentives for energy storage, and new rates structures to incentivize the adoption of energy storage 2. BrightboxTM solar battery service is only available for new Sunrun customers.
See Brightbox in Action
Sunrun Brightbox™ Benefits for New Yorkers
- Solar Power & Battery Backup During an Outage
Historically, power outages are most common in New York during extreme summer heat3. And as New Yorkers well know, disruptions also occur during severe weather storms. But no matter what the cause - if there is a blackout? Your Sunrun Brightbox™ battery will continue to power your home day and night. Unlike a generator (which needs gas) your Sunrun Brightbox™ automatically re-fuels itself when the sun comes back up the next morning. - Financial Flexibility
Our Sunrun Brightbox™ battery solution is designed to provide you with options. Power your home the way you want by owning, financing or leasing Sunrun’s premium solar + energy storage solution. (You can lease today and start saving immediately!) - Simplicity
At Sunrun, we make going solar simple. We customize your Brightbox system to meet the unique needs of your home and lifestyle. All of the paperwork and labor is handled by our team of experienced solar system installers while you enjoy reliable, affordable energy.
Keeping Your Lights On
Sunrun now offers New York homeowners a battery energy storage solution during blackouts. A power outage is always alarming and never expected - but you can be better prepared to keep your lights on, your food cold and your computers humming with Sunrun Brightbox™. And we’ve partnered with LG Chem, a world leader in lithium-ion batteries to bring you a battery backup system you can trust.
Throughout the day, your solar energy system powers your home and keeps your battery charged. Now, if there is an outage in the night, Brightbox can power the things you care about most for up to 10 hours* or until the sun comes up again.
Keep your food cold, your lights on, and enjoy greater peace-of-mind during a power outage with Sunrun Brightbox.
Stay
comfortable
comfortable
Keep your
food fresh
food fresh
Stay
connected
connected
Watch TV
Power your lights
Open your
garage door
garage door
Use the internet
* Backup time estimates are based on a fully charged battery and typical use of standard appliances, lights, and outlets.
The Future of Home Battery Backup
Sunrun is the largest dedicated residential solar company in the country. With over 10 years of experience selling and installing solar, you can rest easy knowing we have the experience and resources to weather the storm with you for years to come.
Sunrun Brightbox Solar + Storage solution is currently available for purchase in Long Island, New York and coming to more areas soon. To reserve your Brightbox and schedule a Solar + Storage consultation, complete the form below.
Frequently Asked Questions
Brightbox is a home solar battery service that offers clean, reliable and affordable power. Brightbox can be used for backup when the grid is down, or give you better control over your home energy use and cost.
Brightbox stores the electricity your rooftop solar produces during the day for when you need it most, such as in the evening, at night, or when the electric grid fails.
Yes. Brightbox is part of Sunrun’s holistic solar as a service offering. When you choose to go solar with Sunrun, you can add a Brightbox home battery if it is offered in your market.
Our expert electricians will take care of installing and configuring your battery for you. Batteries last anywhere between 10 and 15 years, and manufacturers typically offer a 10-year warranty.
Still, Brightbox is more than home batteries; it’s a holistic service that includes professional maintenance and monitoring during the life of your agreement. Customers who own their battery get Sunrun service for 10 years, while customers with a BrightSave Monthly or Prepaid contract get free battery maintenance replacement for the lifetime of their contract - generally 20 or 25 years.
You can monitor your Brightbox battery’s performance on your mySunrun app. Sunrun also manages the battery remotely using proprietary software so we keep tabs on your system 24/7 to make sure it’s running as it should, and automatically updates your battery’s settings to save you as much money as possible.
Our BrightSave Monthly and Prepaid solar plans come with 24/7 proactive monitoring and maintenance, on us. So if we notice that your Brightbox or solar panels aren’t working at their full capacity, we’ll send an expert over to fix it without you having to lift a finger.
At this time, Brightbox is only available to new Sunrun customers. We can’t install Brightbox if you already have an existing solar installation or if it isn’t offered in your area.
However, if you’re still interested in Brightbox please let us know—you’ll be the first to know when we’ve come up with a solution. We’re hard at work on optimizing our technology to provide an even more seamless customer experience.
The amount of available backup power depends on what you choose to back up, what time of day and season the power outage happens, and how much energy your household uses. If the battery is fully charged, it can provide 8-12 hours of backup. If your battery has been discharging throughout the day, it automatically holds a 20% reserve for a backup emergency, or about 3-4 hours for a blackout when the sun is down. When the sun comes back up, your Brightbox will start to charge again!
The electrical circuits in your home that power your lights and appliances are all connected to breakers, safely regulating the amount of power that feeds each circuit. Multiple appliances can be powered by one breaker. For instance, one breaker could power your refrigerator plus nearby outlets or lighting in your kitchen. While you can’t necessarily target individual appliances, with Sunrun Brightbox you can choose which breakers you’d like to back up. What you can back up depends on the current wiring of your home.
You can use a portable generator—however, Sunrun doesn’t offer backup generators. If you’re interested in installing a portable generator, you can contact a local electrician or renewable energy installation company. These experts can recommend a system that will be appropriate for your home.
Please note that Brightbox cannot be installed on homes that already have a standby generator.
Having a home solar battery service in New York will help you power through blackouts, lock in low rates with flexible financing options, and get a clean alternative to loud and potentially dangerous diesel generators.
Your system is also covered by our Sunrun Guarantee, so we handle maintenance and repairs at no additional charge.
One of the best reasons to own a solar system in New York is its Megawatt Block Solar Incentive, where you’ll receive a rebate on your system based on where you live, your utility, and the size of your system. The best part? State-approved solar installers will automatically apply the rebate to your bill so you don’t have to lift a finger. Top that off with New York’s generous Solar Energy System Equipment Credit (cover 25% or up to $5,000 of your system cost) and the Federal Tax Credit (30% of your total system cost), and you could cut the cost of your solar system by over 50%.
For more information on New York solar incentives, click here.
For most households, one solar battery is sufficient to backup your most important appliances. In the event of a blackout, your Brightbox battery provides up to 8-12 hours of backup and powers your critical rooms and appliances when fully charged.
When sun is back up, your solar panels will charge your battery so you can continue to backup your home until utility power is restored.
In the event of a power outage, your Brightbox automatically discharges power to your critical home appliances.
To learn more about how home solar batteries work, click here.
In the event of a power outage, appliances like your refrigerator, electronics chargers for cell phones, laptops, and your TV can be backed up by Brightbox for 8-12 hours. When the sun rises again, your solar panels will recharge your Brightbox. The most important rooms and appliances in your home will be powered by your home battery until the grid is up and running again. To learn more about how home solar batteries work, click here.
Brightbox works in tandem with the grid, and is not designed as an off-grid solution.
