The Pocket Guide to Selling Storage

Introduction

SEIA predicts that by 2027 30% of residential solar systems will be paired with storage. What’s more, the National Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory released a report in May 2024 that solar-plus-storage installations now make up 60% of all solar installs in California, a year into NEM3.0.

As demand rapidly grows for battery storage, solar installers are in a great position to benefit by integrating storage into their residential solar businesses. While selling solar plus storage is similar to selling just solar, there are several critical differences that you need to know.

In this guide we’ll show you:

  1. Positioning: how to position your storage offering
  2. Sales process: how to model storage to increase your sales
  3. Common questions: how to handle common questions about storage

If you’re just getting started selling storage or looking for strategies to sell storage more effectively, this guide is for you!

Positioning

There are three primary ways to position storage:

💰 Electricity bill cost savings

💡 Peace-of-mind

☀️ Off-the-grid solution

Positioning battery storage as a way to reduce a homeowner’s electricity bill can be a difficult sell in many markets — but it is improving in many markets.

First, battery prices continue to fall. Then, in certain markets where new solar policies and rates designs are increasingly using time-of-use rates, such as California’s NEM 3.0, battery storage can often deliver cost-savings. The savings can be even greater in those markets with variable solar export rates.

Later in this guide, we’ll show you how to model storage to see whether it makes sense to position it as cost-savings.

If using storage for cost-savings isn’t possible (like in regions with 1-to-1 net metering), the next best way to frame storage is as a peace-of-mind purchase. This framing is becoming increasingly successful thanks to a few factors:

  1. Disaster protection: As extreme weather events become more frequent, homeowners are looking for energy security.
  2. Personal well-being: As at-home healthcare becomes more common, consistent energy within the home is becoming increasingly important.
  3. Work-from-home: As more people adapt to working from home, reliable energy is becoming more important.

Sales Process

Because storage can serve a wide range of needs, the most effective way to sell storage is by using a consultative approach.

Consultative Process

At the center of consultative selling is asking a series of questions without offering advice at first. Here are a few discovery questions you can start with:

  1. What do you already know about battery storage?
  2. Why are you looking into battery storage?
  3. Have you looked into this before?

Asking these questions should help you understand your customer’s needs, determine your best positioning, and start thinking about what type of system will work best for them.

Terms to know

Some important terms to make sure homeowners understand.

Time-of-use (TOU) rates: When a utility company charges higher rates at a certain time of the day and lower rates at other times; utility companies do this when there is higher demand on the grid, in the evenings when everyone is at home using power for instance (5pm - 9pm).

Export rates: How much the utility company pays the homeowner for excess solar power they send to the grid. With variable export rates, the utility pays different amounts depending on the time of day, time of year, and other factors.

Backup power: Battery is kept at a full state of charge for emergency scenarios and the home is no longer receiving energy from the electrical grid (power outages, natural disasters, etc.)

Self-consumption: When a battery’s operating mode is set to self-consumption, the homeowner will consume energy from their battery and recharge it with excess energy from their solar system.

Energy arbitrage: The process of withholding energy in the battery and using it when it’s more valuable; the end result is an increase in the value of energy generated by the PV system.

Whole home electrification: The combination of various home energy upgrades — heat pumps, home batteries, electric appliances, etc. — that lead to the home being powered fully by electricity. This can be a powerful selling point for battery storage.

The main use cases

Most homeowners will want to know if storage can help them reduce their energy bill. With Aurora’s storage modeling capabilities you can determine cost savings in a flash, and pivot quickly if cost savings isn't the main benefit.

There are three main use cases for battery storage. Each has potential avenues for savings and provides different benefits.

Let’s look at each one briefly.

Backup

This is the classic case for battery storage. Not so much based on ROI, the battery serves as a clean, better electric generator for when the power goes out. The homeowner’s peace of mind is at the forefront here, but there is ROI — how much does it cost the homeowner when the power goes out?

Questions to ask:

  • What kind of appliances are critical in case of an outage (essential, critical, whole home)?
  • How many days do you feel like you'll need to have backup for?

Self-consumption

This is where we can get into more tangible ROI.

With battery storage for self-consumption, the battery charges during the day when solar power is plentiful, and is then used to power the house when the sun goes down and electricity rates are higher.

We can see in this example that grid use falls from 55% with a solar-only system to just 30% with solar + battery.

Questions to ask:

  • How important is it to you to reduce your grid use?
  • Are you aware of the tax credits and incentives available for battery storage?
  • How much have your utility rates increased in the past year?

Energy arbitrage

Energy arbitrage is a specific type of battery self-consumption where the system takes into account both time of use rates (TOU) and variable export rates.

As with battery storage for self-consumption, the battery charges during the day when solar power is plentiful, and is then used to power the house when the sun goes down and electricity rates are higher.

However, energy arbitrage considers TOU rates when deciding when to discharge the battery. In the case to the right, the fully charged battery doesn't begin to power the house until TOU rates are highest (in this example, at 6pm).

There is another energy arbitrage case worth looking at, too: variable export rates. We discuss those next.

Questions to ask:

  • How much do you know about your utility's rate structure?
  • Which is more important to you: reducing grid use or saving money on your bills?

Energy arbitrage with variable export rates

In addition to TOU rates, in some areas the utility company also compensates homeowners with different amounts for the solar energy they send to the grid — depending on time of day, time of year, and other factors. This is especially relevant in markets like California, where battery storage continues to gain popularity. For example, at noon on a September day, the utility may pay $0.04 per kWh a homeowner sends to the grid. But at 5pm that same day, the utility may pay more than $3.00 per kWh. While this example is extreme, it illustrates how if battery storage is used to its full potential, utility bill savings — and real ROI — are very possible.

We can see that using energy arbitrage slightly reduces self-consumption, but increases bill savings, thanks to a more optimal control. In the case of variable export rates, the system still discharges to meet some of the loads during peak TOU hours (4pm-8pm). However, it then attempts to export as much power to the grid as possible from 6pm-8pm during high-value export hours.

Determining what's best for the customer

Which model works best for the homeowner?

In 3 simple steps, you can give them the answer they’re after:

  1. Input their energy information

Aurora automatically selects the correct pre- and post-solar utility rates based on project location. Then, with just one month’s energy bill, Aurora can extrapolate how much energy that homeowner likely uses throughout the year and will take into account weather patterns, other energy users in that area, and much more. You can even add additional electrification or efficiency measures that homeowners are considering to model their future energy usage.Aurora automatically selects the correct pre- and post-solar utility rates based on project location. Then, with just one month’s energy bill, Aurora can extrapolate how much energy that homeowner likely uses throughout the year and will take into account weather patterns, other energy users in that area, and much more. You can even add additional electrification or efficiency measures that homeowners are considering to model their future energy usage.

2. Ask about their energy patterns

To get a better understanding of when they use the most energy, you’ll want to ask a few more discovery questions, such as:

  1. Do you have an EV? If so, when do you charge it?
  2. Do you use the most energy in the morning, afternoon, or evening?
  3. Are you able to change the time of day you use the most energy?
  4. What kind of appliances are critical in case of an outage?
  5. Are you considering any upcoming changes to your energy usage, such as buying an EV?

Visuals can help illustrate to the homeowner why you’re asking these questions. Using the charts here, you can show a homeowner how their utility company charges for energy and why the timing of their energy usage matters.

The best part? You can easily add charts like these directly into your Aurora sales proposal so your sales process is smooth and streamlined.Are you considering any upcoming changes to your energy usage, such as buying an EV?

3. Model storage for backup, grid independence, or bill savings

Once you’ve input their energy information and determined an appropriate PV system, Aurora will automatically calculate what the homeowner’s utility bill savings could look like.

Then, you can toggle between the three different use cases for battery storage: backup, self-consumption, and energy arbitrage. Walk through the tour below to see more details.

Try it out here.

Handling Common Storage Questions

No matter how well you prepare for a solar sale, some objections are bound to come up. Let’s look at three common homeowner questions and objections and how to properly handle each.

Fast ROI

Customer says I’m looking at storage to lower my electricity bill. I want as fast a return on my investment (ROI) as possible.

Questions to ask

  1. What does fast ROI mean to you?
  2. Have you done any research into the ROI of storage?
  3. Have you received any quotes from other providers offering ROI?

Details to share It used to be that savings on electricity bills were tough to get from battery storage. Now, a few factors have combined to make the ROI case for battery storage much more compelling.

  1. Battery prices continue to come down
  2. With the increasing popularity of TOU rates, it’s possible to use batteries to offset grid use during peak times
  3. If you’re in an area that also has variable export rates, energy arbitrage can help even more, exporting electricity from the battery to the grid when export rates are highest
  4. And let’s not forget, as solar and storage prices come down, utility prices continue to rise

100% Backup

Customer says I’m looking to get enough storage to backup 100% of my energy usage for a week.

Questions to ask

  1. How did you come up with 7 days so I can better understand your needs?
  2. What’s your ideal budget for storage?
  3. Do you anticipate you will use all of your appliances at the same rate during an outage?
  4. What are the critical appliances to run during an outage?

Details to share You may want to explain that backing up 100% of their energy usage is very expensive and usually not necessary. The easiest way to do this is by modeling a 100% backup system for them using the pre-built recommendation in Aurora.

Aurora’s storage modeling capabilities allow you to see a side-by-side comparison of battery sizing and an estimated amount of backup for each scenario. Using this framing, you can explain how backing up the essentials is far more cost-effective, which will help them feel that your final recommendation has been well thought out.

High Pricing

Customer says Storage is way too expensive, I don’t think I can afford it right now.

Questions to ask

  1. There are financing options that would allow you to make monthly payments. Would you like to hear some of these options?
  2. There may also be storage incentives that you qualify for. Have you looked into these?

Details to share You may want to explain that paying for storage doesn’t have to be done in one lump sum. Instead, they can use Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) loans which add the cost of storage to the homeowner’s property tax. There are now also storage leasing and loan options that allow them to pay for storage in monthly installments. An added benefit to leasing batteries is that if a battery breaks, the homeowner isn’t responsible for the repairs.

Summary

As you go through this process, it’s important to keep in mind that storage isn’t for everyone. As you’re discussing storage with a customer, you’re qualifying them as a buyer just as much as they’re qualifying you as a vendor.

Selling storage presents a huge opportunity for solar installers, but how you sell storage can make all the difference. The 3 basic steps you should take away are:

Want to learn how Aurora can help you sell more storage?

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1. Take a consultative approach

Storage can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people. Rather than jumping in with solutions, first take some time to ask questions so you know how to best position your offering.

Ask these 3 questions to start:

  • What do you already know about storage?
  • Why are you looking into storage?
  • Have you looked into this before?

2. Handle objections by sharing helpful knowledge

A big part of selling solar plus storage is educating the customer on why certain options can and can’t work. After you’ve listened to their concerns, share some of your industry knowledge to provide guidance.

3. Model multiple options

The most effective way to close a sale is by providing the customer with options. Using software like Aurora’s storage modeling can help make storage easier to understand and make a customer feel like all their needs have been considered.

Learn more...

Here are some resources to keep the momentum going

Optimize your ROI story with solar + storage modeling for energy arbitrage

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What are time of use rates? Your TOU guide

This article looks at all the basics or TOU rates, including how battery storage can help homeowners save money.

The 5 minute storage sales cheat sheet

This cheat sheet gives a synopsis of how to sell storage more effectively.

How to educate homeowners on battery storage under NEM 3.0

Selling battery storage in California? This guide shows you how to use hour-by-hour visualizations to sell storage more effectively.

3 Difficult battery storage objections and how to overcome them

This short blog post covers three of the most common battery storage objections you’ll come across and explains strategies on how to overcome each one.

Empowering Energy Independence: Solar + Storage

See how Michigan State Solar has optimized their solar + storage sales in real life.