Brightbox™ Is a Reliable Solution against Outages in Rhode Island

Brightbox is a holistic solar home battery service that offers you clean, safer, reliable back-up power to have better control over your home energy use and cost.

Brightbox allows you to store the excess energy your solar energy system produces during the day and use it when you need it most—such as in the evening or when the electric grid fails due to an extreme weather event, or physical damage to the equipment.

Aside from very rare exceptions, Sunrun’s Brightbox service includes rooftop solar panels. Brightbox stores 100% clean, renewable, home-grown solar power directly from the rooftop panels every time the sun is out so you can use it when you need it most.

Just like solar panels, the number of Tesla Powerwalls or LG Chem batteries you need will be determined by your unique energy needs and habits—though for some consumers, one battery may be sufficient. Your Solar Advisor will help you evaluate your energy usage to customize a solar energy battery system that sufficiently backs up your entire home. Request a free quote to check if you qualify.

An LG Chem solar battery backs up part of your home, while a Tesla Powerwall backs up your entire home. There are also differences in software and app functionality.

One Tesla Powerwall stores 13.5 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of usable electricity, which can be used to back up the home for a day. An LG Chem solar battery holds 9.8 kWh, which can be used to back up essential parts of the home from 8 to 12 hours. Rooftop solar panels will replenish the battery’s energy storage the following day. Back-up ability will depend on your unique home's power usage.

A solar battery installation is a relatively simple process. Tesla Powerwall and LG Chem solar batteries are about the size of a water heater and easily mounted on a wall by our professional installers, usually inside your garage or outside of your home.

Through Sunrun’s Brightbox service, your Tesla Powerwall or LG Chem solar battery will automatically disconnect from the power grid in the event of a blackout and restore power to your home in a matter of seconds. Your rooftop solar panels will continue to recharge your solar battery until the grid is up and running again.

Our certified electricians will take care of installing and configuring your Tesla Powerwall or LG Chem battery for you. Batteries last anywhere between 10 and 15 years, and manufacturers typically offer a ten-year warranty.

Still, Brightbox is more than just a home battery: It’s a holistic service that includes professional maintenance and monitoring during the life of your agreement. Consumers who own their Tesla Powerwall or LG Chem solar battery get Sunrun service for ten years, while consumers with a monthly service agreement or full-amount service agreement get free maintenance and replacement for the lifetime of their contract.

You can monitor your solar battery performance with the mySunrun app. Sunrun also manages the battery remotely using proprietary software to make sure it’s running as it should. It also automatically updates your battery’s settings to save you as much money as possible.

Our monthly and full-amount solar leasing options come with proactive monitoring and maintenance on us. So if we notice that your rooftop panels or solar battery aren’t working at their full capacity, we’ll send an expert over to fix it without you lifting a finger.

The best solar incentive available for a purchased home solar panel system in Rhode Island is a tax credit that was introduced as part of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). This can provide a 30% tax credit to homes that qualify.

Another major solar incentive is the Rhode Island Renewable Energy Fund (REF) that offers you funding of up to $7,500 to purchase a new home solar system. National Grid customers who are not eligible for REF may get compensation for every kilowatt-hour (kWh) created by their home solar system, thanks to the Renewable Energy Growth (REG) program.

Rhode Island also offers property and state sales tax exemptions to purchase and install a new home solar energy system. Plus, Rhode Island also has a net energy metering (NEM) program to help you earn bill credits for the excess clean energy your solar installation creates. Net metering in Rhode Island can be an excellent way to increase your control over future electricity bills.

Speak to a tax professional in order to best understand which programs you may qualify for.

Learn more about Rhode Island Solar Incentives.

You can use a portable generator, however, Sunrun doesn’t offer back-up generators. If you’re interested in installing a back-up generator, you can contact a local electrician or solar energy installation company. These experts can recommend a system that will be appropriate for your home. Please note that a Tesla Powerwall or LG Chem solar battery cannot be installed in homes that already have a standby generator.

Our rechargeable solar battery systems are designed to keep you on-grid during normal service times while still providing reliable backup when the sun isn’t shining or during the event of an outage. This is the best and most economical way to use your Brightbox system, and it’s the one most strongly recommended by Sunrun’s service experts.

At this time, Brightbox with a Tesla Powerwall or LG Chem solar battery is only available to new Sunrun consumers. We can’t install rooftop solar panels or a home battery if you already have an existing solar installation or if it isn’t offered in your area.