Home Battery Backup on the Olympic and Kitsap Peninsulas
When the grid goes down, a standard grid-tied solar array shuts down with it, so the lines stay safe for utility crews. A home battery changes that: it keeps the circuits you choose running through an outage, recharges from your panels when the sun is up, and on ordinary days stores your midday surplus for the evening. Power Trip Energy is a certified installer for Tesla Powerwall 3, Enphase IQ Battery and FranklinWH aPower systems, and we add batteries to new arrays and to existing ones. Puget Sound Energy customers can enrol a compatible battery in the PSE Flex program for up to $1,000 per battery up front and up to $500 a year.
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What our customers say
“We loved our decision to purchase a solar power system from Power Trip Energy. We are supporting the world’s climate health and the local business community, both important to us. Also it was a sound financial move with immediate and long term returns. The staff at Power Trip made the experience fun, easy and rewarding.”
“We could not be more pleased with our new solar array. We knew of Power Trip from friends on Marrowstone Island but became much more interested after hearing Andy speak at a neighborhood gathering. His knowledge of the industry, historical and future-facing, is comprehensive. We have enjoyed all of our interactions with Becky and Mike, who put together our bids, completed our paperwork for system approval, and conducted training on monitoring panel productivity through the app. The installation crew was enjoyable to have around the property — prompt, pleasant, efficient, neat and tidy!”
How we set up battery backup
Decide what to back up
We start with the two questions from our FAQ: which loads do you want running during an outage, and for how long? The answers set the battery size and whether one unit or two makes sense for your home.
Install the battery and the backup switching
The battery, its backup gateway and the backed-up circuits are installed under our Washington electrical contractor licence (POWERTE964JN). We handle the permit and the paperwork with your utility, whether that is PSE, Jefferson County PUD or Clallam County PUD.
Watch it on your phone
Your battery’s app shows the charge level, what the array is making and what the house is drawing. If your battery maker allows it, it is also where a PSE Flex customer can skip a single event when they need every kilowatt-hour for a big day.
PSE Flex: get paid for your battery
If Puget Sound Energy is your utility, which it is for most of Kitsap County, a compatible battery can join the PSE Flex Batteries program, a “virtual power plant” that pays you to let PSE draw a little stored energy when the grid is under stress. PSE pays $75 per kWh of storage when you enrol, up to $1,000 per battery, and $0.50 per kWh your battery delivers during Flex events, up to $500 per battery a year, both by check. Events are automated, up to 50 a season and 100 a year; PSE never takes a battery below 20%, leaves out a battery that is already backing up a home in an outage, and says it will likely hold off on events when outage risk is high. Eligible brands are Enphase, FranklinWH, SolarEdge and Tesla, and a battery you already own can enrol if it is on PSE’s list (checked on pse.com, October 2026). Read our PSE Flex guide
Jefferson County PUD and Clallam County PUD customers
The Flex program is PSE-only. In Jefferson and Clallam counties a battery is still the way to keep the lights on through an outage and to use more of your own solar after dark, and you keep net metering through your PUD for the surplus you export. Ask us what currently applies in your utility territory.
Why homeowners choose Power Trip Energy for battery backup
- Certified installers for Tesla Powerwall 3, Enphase Energy Storage Solutions and FranklinWH, and members of PSE’s Contractor Alliance Network.
- Straight advice: until 2023 we talked most customers out of batteries because the products were not worth the money. Price and capability have changed, we have installed them with confidence since, and for PSE customers there has been an economic case as well since 2025.
- Battery experience since 2004, when Port Townsend’s first solar tracker was built as a battery-based, grid-interactive system; home storage upgrades in Port Townsend, Port Angeles and Seabeck in 2025 and 2026.
- Headquartered in Port Townsend since 2003, over 1,100 installations on the Olympic and Kitsap Peninsulas, NABCEP-certified staff, licensed Washington general contractor (POWERTE934QE) and electrical contractor (POWERTE964JN).
Home battery questions
Does my solar array keep working during a power outage?
Not on its own. A grid-tied inverter shuts down immediately in a blackout so it cannot back-feed the grid and injure utility crews. With a battery and a backup gateway the house forms its own micro-grid: the battery carries the backed-up circuits and the array recharges it during the day. More on outages in our FAQ.
Can I add a battery to the solar system I already have?
Yes. Most of our recent home storage projects are upgrades to existing arrays: two in Port Townsend and one in Port Angeles in 2025, and one in Seabeck in 2026. We check your inverter and electrical panel, size the battery to the loads you want covered, and handle the permit and the utility paperwork.
Which home batteries do you install?
We are certified installers for Tesla Powerwall 3, Enphase IQ batteries and FranklinWH aPower. All three qualify for PSE Flex, as does the SolarEdge Home Hub. Which one fits depends on your inverter, the loads you want to back up and whether you want one unit or two.
How much does the PSE Flex program pay for a home battery?
$75 per kWh of storage when you enrol, up to $1,000 per battery, plus $0.50 per kWh delivered during Flex events, up to $500 per battery a year, both paid by check. PSE never drains the battery below a 20% reserve and says it will likely hold off on events when outage risk is high. It is for Puget Sound Energy customers only. Our PSE Flex guide.
Can a generator charge the battery during a long outage?
Some energy storage systems can be recharged by a standby generator when the array cannot keep up with the house, and others cannot. Tell us if you have or plan a generator and we will pick a battery that works with it.
Is there a federal tax credit for a home battery in 2026?
The 30% residential federal credit ended for systems installed after December 31, 2025. For most of our customers the PSE Flex payments are now the main incentive; the 30% commercial investment tax credit still applies to businesses. We quote each project individually; see incentives and financing.
Where we install home batteries
From our Port Townsend shop we install batteries across the Kitsap Peninsula (PSE territory): Bainbridge Island, Poulsbo, Kingston, Silverdale, Seabeck, Bremerton and Port Orchard; across Jefferson County (Jefferson County PUD): Port Townsend, Port Hadlock, Chimacum, Port Ludlow and Quilcene; and on the North Olympic Peninsula (Clallam County PUD or the City of Port Angeles): Sequim and Port Angeles. See the whole Olympic Peninsula service area.
Ready to add battery backup?
Tell us about your home and your array, and we will size a battery for the loads you want covered, quote it, and tell you what PSE Flex or your PUD means for it. Or call the shop, Mon-Fri 8am to 5pm.