"This person took their shot at you being a sucker."

A homeowner in Santa Fe, New Mexico, who was looking for a straightforward backup power option during outages ended up with a quote for four batteries and began to doubt the company’s sales approach.

What happened

In a Reddit post, the homeowner said they already had solar installed and only wanted backup for essentials such as lighting, food storage, and a well pump when the power went out, but the discussion shifted from a single battery to a proposal for four.

The homeowner wrote that the person who came to the house seemed to have “zero knowledge,” could not answer direct questions, and appeared evasive.

Many other users said the recommendation sounded far larger than what the homeowner actually needed.

One commenter said, “This person took their shot at you being a sucker.”

Another wrote, “If you already have PV installed and working properly, this is a ripoff.”

One user suggested a smaller transfer-switch setup paired with a dedicated solar generator, saying it “would be around/less than 10k and it would cover your use case just fine.”

Solar can be a smart way to reduce home energy costs, but only when the pricing makes sense. Homeowners comparing systems can use EnergySage to get free solar installation estimates and review quotes before making a decision.

More background

A major point in the discussion was the difference between preparing for whole-home backup and covering only essential circuits. For a household that mainly wants to keep refrigeration, lights, water, and a few outlets running during an outage, commenters said the setup would differ from one meant to power the entire home overnight.

Several users offered rough sizing estimates.

One suggested aiming much lower, writing, “For backup you want about 10kwh battery that'll last you for the night and allow the solar to provide power during the day.”

Another said the homeowner would likely need “a separate, critical loads panel that the inverter will feed from the battery.”

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What can be done?

The first step is deciding exactly what needs to stay powered during an outage. Once that is clear, it becomes easier to choose whether a modest battery, a critical loads panel, or a larger whole-home system makes the most financial sense.

Adding battery storage to a solar setup can help protect a home during outages and may also reduce energy costs. Homeowners interested in those options can explore EnergySage for information about home battery storage, including competitive installation estimates.

EnergySage can also help guard against inflated quotes. With EnergySage's help, the average person can save up to $10,000 on solar purchases and installations. Its solar map also shows average home solar panel costs by state, along with incentive details, giving homeowners tools to compare pricing and look for available savings.

After reading feedback from other users, the homeowner said the responses confirmed what their own comparison shopping had already suggested: “Thank you everyone for the nearly unanimous confirmation that when I idly window shopped I was coming up tens of thousands cheaper.”

Where can I learn more?

Questions about right-sizing battery backup come up often when homeowners compare solar add-ons. Others in similar situations have considered whole-home storage, skipped batteries altogether, or looked for cheaper ways to add backup power.

• On Reddit, solar owners said full-home backup plans can be overkill for routine outages.

• SunPower and Palmetto are pushing home backup batteries with financing instead of upfront costs.

• In Australia, one homeowner said blackouts became invisible after installing a 20-kilowatt solar setup.

• In Utah, Rocky Mountain Power's grid-connected backup program helped households add solar batteries.