Most U.S. households could lower their electricity bills and weather power outages with rooftop solar panels and home battery packs, according to a sweeping new study from Stanford University. The researchers found that about 60% of American homes would save an average of 15% on energy costs, and 63% could meet roughly half of their essential needs during a blackout—without seeing any increase in their electric bills.

Clean power, lower bills, and blackout resilience

The study, published August 1 in Nature Energy, analyzed detailed data from over 500,000 representative households across the continental U.S. The researchers assessed two things: how much solar and battery systems could reduce annual electricity bills, and whether they could affordably power critical needs like refrigeration, lighting, and heating during outages.

“With electricity rates now rising in most states, shaving utility bills can help people quite a bit,” said senior author Ram Rajagopal. “But the ability to ride out local or regional blackouts is becoming very important to many families.”

Extreme weather events and aging grid infrastructure are increasing the frequency and severity of outages across the country. Meanwhile, more states are changing how solar panel owners are paid for excess electricity, shifting from retail-based net metering to wholesale-rate net billing. That makes home batteries more important for storing energy instead of sending it back to the grid.

Key findings from the nationwide assessment

  • 60.3% of households could reduce electricity costs with solar or solar-plus-battery systems under current net billing rules
  • On average, these homes would save 14.7% on electricity annually
  • 63% of households could affordably back up essential needs during outages, covering an average of 50.5% of those loads
  • Homes in California, Texas, and Florida represent a large share of potential adopters by sheer numbers
  • However, households in high-risk outage areas like Louisiana and Tennessee often lack affordable access

Rajagopal’s team used granular household energy models and outage scenarios to evaluate each home’s performance under different utility policies. They incorporated weather data, retail electricity rates, income, and rooftop solar potential. Importantly, they considered only options that would not raise household electricity costs.

When solar falls short where it’s needed most

The study exposes a troubling mismatch: many households with the greatest need for backup power or lower bills are the least likely to benefit from solar and battery systems. For example, in outage-prone states like Tennessee, only about one-fourth of households could get affordable backup from solar and batteries. Meanwhile, more affluent and sun-rich regions tend to reap larger cost savings and higher resilience levels.

“The solar-battery benefits often fail to align with the areas that need them most,” said Arun Majumdar, co-author and dean of Stanford’s Doerr School of Sustainability. “Ensuring affordable, secure, and sustainable backup power is increasingly critical for at-risk homes.”

The misalignment is especially stark in less-populated and disadvantaged communities, where solar adoption has historically lagged. The study’s authors suggest that targeted policies—such as rebates, low-interest loans, and community energy programs—could help bridge these gaps.

Tax credits and policy shifts on the horizon

Homeowners currently benefit from a 30% federal tax credit for solar and battery installations under the Inflation Reduction Act. But those direct credits expire at the end of 2025 under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. After that, only indirect incentives through leasing or power purchase agreements will remain—until 2027 for solar and 2033 for batteries.

Lead author Tao Sun estimated that losing the tax credit would drop the share of economically viable homes from 60% to just 32%. However, falling battery costs are expected to restore viability by 2033.

At the same time, the shift away from net metering is reshaping the economics of solar. Under net billing, selling power back to the grid earns less, making battery storage more appealing. In states like California and Nevada, this transition still allows broad viability, but in others like Iowa or Washington, affordability drops significantly.

Looking ahead: equity, technology, and community solutions

The authors stress that solar-battery systems are just one part of the solution. They call for more research into mobile storage units and shared backup systems that could serve entire neighborhoods. These innovations could improve resilience in regions currently underserved by clean energy investments.

“Future work could look at the viability of mobile energy storage that can move into neighborhoods when needed to supply backup power beyond the household level,” Rajagopal said.

The findings underscore a critical moment for U.S. energy policy. As the grid becomes less reliable and the climate crisis intensifies, decisions made today about tariffs, subsidies, and infrastructure could shape who gets to keep the lights on tomorrow.

Journal and DOI

Journal: Nature Energy
DOI: 10.1038/s41560-025-01821-w
Publication date: August 1, 2025