Home batteries can charge up when electricity is cheap and sell energy back to the grid at peak timesMischa Keijser/Westend61/Getty Images
Think of climate solutions in homes and you will probably think of solar panels on the roof. But a suitcase-sized battery in the closet can be a cheaper way to save money and the environment.
Although rooftop solar has been expanding, battery storage is now the world’s fastest-growing power technology, according to the International Energy Agency, including home batteries that can power the house and sell leftover energy to the grid. Most of these are paired with rooftop solar, but as energy prices rise, more and more homeowners have been buying just the battery.
Now, countries are starting to allow home batteries that can simply be plugged in, rather than professionally installed.
“That could be the game changer… that I think suddenly opens it up to a lot more people,” says Iain Staffell at Imperial College London. “Low-cost plug-in batteries could be the next rooftop solar.”
