We bought a house (in Utah) with solar (paid off). We've thought a bit about adding a battery, and a solar salesperson stopped by while I was expecting a package so I opened the door, and since we had thought about adding a battery we figured we'd hear what they had to say. I'm not impressed with the numbers they presented (a 20kWh battery on a 20-year loan, the project cost was a little over $30k but there are about $20k in tax credits/benefits/incentives/rebates) and I dislike the idea of a loan. He did say the battery had a warranty for 20 years and was likely to last much longer (but that is likely an over-exaggerated sales pitch). I hesitate to get another quote from another company.

We are not set on getting a battery, but certainly want to explore it. We have some cash we could throw at it, but not enough to drop $30k. My thoughts are:

1) RMP rates are comparatively low, but could go up even more (we're at the beginning of an 18% increase over the next 2 years already) and the net metering could get worse, not to mention they could start implementing what they do in CA such as dropping the hammer on time of use. Based on our solar system and power usage/bills, the sales person estimated we'd save about $100/month on our solar bill in the summer months and about $50/month the other months due to the current net metering policy.

2) A backup for when the power goes out, though admittedly it doesn't seem to go out a ton, at least not lately. But it's certainly nice to have.

Are there ways to take advantage of those potential savings and tax credits and stuff without going through that process with a company? Although the after-incentives cost is only about $10k, due to the nature of when and how you get the tax credits/benefits, you can't just write a $10k check and call it good. Or can you? I'm sure there are some knowledgeable people here, hit me up with your vast knowledge and wisdom. Maybe the option the salesman presented isn't so bad if RMP does indeed start gouging us in a few years.