After 15 years and over 200 battery installs across New Jersey and Pennsylvania, Jon at My Solar Home ran the four most popular home batteries through 10 independent tests — including one test that most installers never bring up. Storage capacity, maximum expandability, continuous power output, peak surge power, round-trip efficiency, warranty length, installed price, installer rating, after-sales support quality, and black start capability. The results aren’t what most homeowners expect, especially if you came in assuming the market leader wins everything.
The interactive tool below lets you sort by any metric and see the overall winner. Click any column header to rank. The overall score accounts for all 10 tests.
How to use: Click any column header to sort. Click again to reverse. Use the search box to filter. The Overall Score column weights all 10 tests together. Scroll right on mobile to see all columns.
Which Home Battery Is Right for Your Home?
The Powerwall 3 wins four of the ten tests — peak surge power (22 kW, nearly double any competitor), efficiency (97.5%), installed price ($11,500, lowest on the list), and installer rating (9.2/10). For most homeowners with a standard home and shorter outage risk, it’s still the most straightforward recommendation. Know the trade-offs going in: Tesla’s after-sales support ranked last, and if the battery reaches absolute zero during a multi-day grid outage, it cannot restart using solar alone — it requires grid power to come back. For shorter outages, that’s a trade-off most homeowners accept.
If you’re in a storm-prone region — the Gulf Coast, the Carolinas, or here in New Jersey where extended outages after a major nor’easter or hurricane aren’t unusual — the Powerwall 3’s lack of true black start capability deserves serious weight. Both the Enphase IQ 10C and the Franklin aPower 2 have confirmed autonomous black start. Enphase’s “Sunlight Jumpstart” recovers from as low as 2% charge using IQ8 microinverters. Franklin’s aGate controller makes automatic restart attempts at 10 AM, 12 PM, and 2 PM every day without any manual intervention. In a five-day outage, that’s the difference between functioning solar and sitting dark with panels on your roof.
If you already have Enphase microinverters, stay in the ecosystem. The IQ 10C integrates seamlessly, wins on after-sales support (Enphase’s Enlighten monitoring often catches problems before you notice them), carries a 15-year warranty, and has the best black start implementation on this list. It may not lead the raw spec categories, but as a complete package for an Enphase customer it’s very hard to beat.
If you have a large property — a farm, a large home with a guest house, commercial outbuildings, or you want real multi-day energy independence — the Franklin aPower 2 stands alone. 225 kilowatt hours of maximum expansion capacity, up to 15 units in a single install, confirmed black start, 15-year warranty, and support that has improved dramatically over the past two years. Nobody else on this list is in the same conversation for large-scale home storage. The SolarEdge Nexis (19.6 kWh, 13 kW continuous) is worth watching for 2027 — the specs are impressive — but it’s brand new, black start is unconfirmed, and field data is limited. One to revisit after 18 months in the field.
Not Sure Which Battery Is Right for Your Home?
Jon reviews every inquiry personally. Get a free 15-minute consultation — he’ll tell you exactly which battery makes sense for your property, your utility rate, and your backup goals. No sales pitch. Just straight numbers.