Battery backup for Illinois homes, with or without solar

Yes, you can install one today. A rebate for it has been proposed, but it is not open. Illinois' Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act (Public Act 104-0458, signed January 8, 2026, in effect June 1, 2026) set up the state's first incentive for stand-alone home batteries. ComEd filed proposed rules on September 4, 2026, asking to start October 19. Under that proposal, applications for batteries without solar open no earlier than January 1, 2027, and a stand-alone home battery on a ComEd account would get a proposed $300 per kWh for 2027 through 2029, including batteries connected on or after June 1, 2026. It is not approved yet. Ameren has not published its details, and in Naperville the city runs its own utility (Naperville Electric), so ComEd's rebates don't apply there. For now, ComEd's $300 per kWh storage rebate that you can actually get is only for batteries paired with solar.

Not if your solar went in before January 1, 2025. Those homeowners keep their full 1:1 net metering when they take ComEd's storage rebate. The only way to lose it is by taking ComEd's generation (solar) rebate, and you don't need the solar rebate to get the storage rebate. Systems connected after December 31, 2024 are already on supply-only net metering, so a battery helps by letting you use more of your own solar at night instead of exporting it for a lower credit.

It depends on what you want covered. A whole-home standby generator (about 22 kW) typically costs $8,500 to $13,000 installed and runs as long as its natural gas or propane lasts, so it wins for multi-day outages. It also needs yearly service and it is loud. A 13.5 kWh battery paired with solar lands roughly $9,000 to $12,500 after ComEd's $300 per kWh storage rebate, which ComEd customers can get now, so it is in the same range as a generator. It is silent, switches over almost instantly, and needs no fuel. How long it lasts depends on what you run: at about 500 watts of essentials, a full battery covers roughly a day, and longer if solar recharges it. On a time-of-day rate plan a battery can also shift your usage to cheaper hours, which a generator never does.

National installed prices: a Tesla Powerwall 3 runs about $13,000 to $16,500, and an Enphase IQ Battery 5P runs about $5,000 to $8,000 per unit plus $1,500 to $2,000 for the controller. For ComEd customers, ComEd's storage rebate pays $300 per kWh today for a battery paired with solar, so a 13.5 kWh battery earns $4,050 and lands roughly $9,000 to $12,500. A stand-alone battery (no solar) has a proposed $300 per kWh ComEd rebate that is not approved yet. In Naperville, the city runs its own utility (Naperville Electric), so ComEd's rebates don't apply. The former homeowner Section 25D credit is not available for a new 2026 purchase, whether the battery is installed alone or with solar. SPM offers $0 down financing.

Today it pays $300 per kWh for home batteries paired with solar on a ComEd account. You need a smart inverter, a time-of-day or hourly rate plan (Hourly Pricing, Delivery Time-of-Day, or Supply and Delivery Time of Day), and enrollment in ComEd's Scheduled Dispatch program. That program can draw on your battery on weekdays from 4 to 6 p.m., June through September, for a 5-year term, and pays $10 per kW each season. ComEd expects Scheduled Dispatch to start March 1, 2027. Verify current terms with ComEd; SPM handles the paperwork.

No. The City of Naperville runs its own electric utility, Naperville Electric, so ComEd's battery rebates don't apply to Naperville Electric customers. Nearby towns like Bolingbrook and Plainfield are ComEd, so they do. A battery can still make sense in Naperville for backup power. We check what your utility offers during the assessment, before you sign anything.

No. Illinois Shines SREC payments are based on the solar system's production, not the battery. A battery paired with solar does not change your SREC income; it adds backup power and lets you store solar production for evening use or outages instead of sending it back to the grid.

It depends on what you run. As rough math, a fridge, a sump pump in steady rain, a gas furnace blower, some lights and the Wi-Fi together often average around 500 watts, so a full 13.5 kWh battery lasts roughly a day. A well pump or central air shortens that a lot. Paired with solar, the battery can recharge whenever the sun is out.

In most cases, yes. It depends on your current inverter and panels, and we check that during the free assessment. If your solar went in before January 1, 2025, you keep your full 1:1 net metering when you take the storage rebate.

SPM installs Enphase IQ Battery and Tesla Powerwall systems, two of the most reliable and widely supported home battery solutions available. Both carry a 10-year warranty.

For a lot of homes, yes, but not all of them. It makes the most sense if you already have solar (especially pre-2025 solar that keeps full net metering), if you were pricing a standby generator anyway, or if outages hit your sump pump or medical equipment. ComEd's supply price reached 10.399 cents per kWh in June 2026, about 50% higher than two years earlier, and CUB expects prices to stay high through at least May 2028. A battery on a time-of-day plan shifts your usage to cheaper hours. It does not make energy, so it won't erase your bill. If it's not right for your home, we'll say so.

Yes. SPM offers $0 down financing for battery storage, whether it's added to existing solar, installed with new solar, or installed on its own. If you're a ComEd customer adding the battery to solar, ComEd's $300 per kWh storage rebate, available now, brings the balance down (verify current terms with ComEd).

Yes, if you own or plan to buy an EV. A battery paired with solar and an EV charger lets you charge from stored solar energy instead of the grid, and keeps essential circuits (though usually not a Level 2 charger itself, which draws too much power for most home batteries to back up) running during an outage. SPM factors planned EV charging load into the solar and battery sizing up front so the system is not undersized once a charger is added.

For whole-home backup power, yes: "solar generator" is a common way to describe a solar-plus-battery system that powers a house during an outage, which is what SPM installs (Enphase IQ Battery or Tesla Powerwall). That is different from a small portable solar generator, like a Jackery or EcoFlow, which is a standalone battery pack sized for camping or a handful of devices rather than a whole home, and is not something SPM sells.

A home battery goes through ComEd's two-phase process: Permission to Install once your application and local permit clear review, then Permission to Operate after ComEd's final inspection confirms the system meets code. SPM submits and tracks both applications, plus the rebate paperwork, and your battery cannot be switched on until Permission to Operate is issued.

Yes. SPM installs battery storage across Will, DuPage, Cook, Kendall, Grundy, and Kane counties, including Chicago, Naperville, Joliet, Bolingbrook, Orland Park, Tinley Park, and Aurora, plus the surrounding suburbs in each county. If you are unsure whether your address is in the service area, the estimate form checks your ZIP code automatically.