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ZDNET’s key takeaways
- Seventy-four percent of households expect their electric bill to go up
- Lack of backup power is the top energy frustration
- Two-thirds are considering solar or storage investments
Neighborhood solar panels blend into the background of the everyday commute. Home batteries might enter our minds during an outage, but then fade when the power returns. Most people don’t think about power and electricity unless they’re in the middle of a home project or something breaks.
Others have thought about electrification — or moving away from fossil fuels — more seriously, but haven’t taken any steps toward an actual installation yet for cost or logistical reasons.
If you’ve bought a home and had an inspection within the last decade, most likely your service, panel hardware, and wiring are up to code. Power-thirsty systems and appliances are isolated on their own circuits. You plug away (pun intended) with life and don’t think much about electricity.
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If this sounds like you, that likely means your power setup is standard, or at CORE level 2 – Operational. Households at the operational level are in the company of tens of millions of others that only concern themselves with home energy when they’re forced to.
These days, though, there’s a growing list of reasons to pay attention to how your home consumes energy — both good and bad.
Adequate but unpredictable
While the challenges and safety concerns of the “constrained” level are mitigated or eliminated, operational homes are typically the most exposed to factors beyond their owners’ control.
Local climate fluctuations drive swings in heating or cooling needs. Weather events cause outages, sometimes for days at a time. Increased consumption during peak demand periods strains the grid and necessitates brownouts. Fuel price volatility, regulatory changes, and even geopolitical factors spur noticeable or even massive swings in monthly utility bills.
Basically, you have all the power you currently need, but that also means that you’re more dependent on it than you ever have been, and it might feel less reliable and more price variable.
In an upcoming study from research firm Habitelligence, “The Home Energy Landscape,” early findings show two important trends that seem to be dominating the homeowner mindset:
- 74% of respondents believe that their electricity costs will increase “somewhat” or “significantly” over the next 5 years
- 61% of households experienced multiple power outages over the past year, some very brief but others extending longer into many hours in a day or even multiple days.
Looking specifically at Level 2 – Operational households — there is a range of limitations that weigh on the mind of homeowners, and the ones felt most intensely might look familiar.
Key frustrations with conventional power
Habitelligence
These might be minor nuisances for some, but for those with spiralling energy costs or significant life disruption from outages, advancing to the next level of energy maturity makes a lot of sense. Sixty-four percent of surveyed level 2 households are considering an investment in solar, storage, or both.
Real money, real value
Making an upward jump from level 2 usually carries the highest financial commitment of any of the levels, but it also brings with it the highest potential for added household value. A solar or battery storage system installed on its own won’t necessarily tick every box on the wish list, but each does offer several categories of possible goodness, including:
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Immediate and ongoing electric bill reductions through the usage of self-generated power, and in many cases, participation in energy credit or buy-back programs through the local utility.
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Greater resilience in managing price fluctuations, utility dependence, and power outages for homes equipped with battery storage or solar-plus-backup configurations.
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Long-term home value potential from solar upgrades, lower grid reliance, and reduced operating costs. While financing or utility agreements can affect resale, many solar- and battery-equipped homes are viewed favorably by buyers.
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Tax credits worth up to 30% of the solar installation cost, helping reduce tax liability and out-of-pocket expense. (Note: These federal credits end on December 31, 2025 — homeowners will want to have systems fully installed by then to claim the full benefit.)
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Intangible value of contributing to clean energy creation, reducing household grid consumption, and in many cases, contributing energy back to the grid to reduce overall strain on local electrical infrastructure.
Tech bonus – Clean slate for a double jump
Some operational homes might be in an advantageous position to jump two CORE levels in one investment. According to recent research, battery storage systems are at the top of the wish list, both for solar-equipped homes and for those starting from scratch in their home energy journey. The ability to generate and store energy is the hallmark of level 4 energy maturity, and there is a growing list of reasons why it could be just as viable to start from level 2 with no existing solar or battery in place.
As with any larger home system installation, there are usually economies of scale to be gained by grouping the components together in one installation rather than spreading them out piecemeal. More specifically, homes at the operational level don’t have to work around existing solar placement and wiring, and aren’t locked into the kinds of efficiency losses that can happen when systems are added after the fact instead of being designed in from the start.
Also: Installing a home battery or solar before tax credits end? Use this to assess your home first
These homes also have the opportunity to take advantage of a broader selection of battery technologies to fit their specific circumstances, as well as access to today’s most innovative home energy management hardware (e.g., hybrid inverters, smart panels) and app-based energy management software. These homeowners can map out a more purposeful combination of solar, battery storage, EV charging stations, or other components that can really boost the home’s efficiency, as well as their financial return.
Especially with the end of the federal tax credits looming, energy-minded homeowners may need to adjust their calculus and consider the full suite of near and long-term value that might be attainable with solar and storage investments.
There’s a bigger and heavier bag of questions now: How do you feel about your electricity costs, and what direction they’re heading? Is your power pretty stable, or do you expect outages to ramp up? Are you confident that your local grid will be able to keep up with rising demand?
Feeling uncertain about these questions doesn’t have to lead to a major home investment, but it also doesn’t make you a doomsday prepper.
This article is part of a series exploring home energy maturity within US households. Based on recent research from Habitelligence, each article takes a closer look at the challenges and opportunities associated with different stages of power and energy readiness. From the energy-limited house to the automated self-sufficient smart home, people are starting to take a more active role in managing and improving the critical infrastructure that runs their everyday lives.
Read other articles in the series:
Rate your home energy maturity on the CORE scale of 1-4 | Level 1 — Constrained
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