PREP Base Power Whole House Battery Backup

WTSR

WTSR

Veteran Member
www.basepowercompany.com

Save money. Stay powered. | Base Power

Base brings affordable, reliable energy and whole-home backup to homes across Texas — fixed low rates and battery backup that kicks in automatically.
www.basepowercompany.com www.basepowercompany.com

I am looking at Whole House Battery Backup, Base Power offers a 39 KWH battery that runs your whole house. It seems depending on where you live they can actually become your power provider. In Austin they are Partnered with Austin Energy, so you pay the same rate to Austin Energy but they get to use your battery for putting power back into the Grid when needed. The cost here is $695 install and $19 a month membership fee. Just wondering if anyone has gone this route yet. The battery weighs hundreds of pounds and has to be mounted on a pad outside near the meter. I'm getting Solar installed without battery, and I was thinking this was a good way to save money as batteries are about 20K installed.

They advertise up to 3 days outage protection with reduced usage. And my solar panels can charge it and they can buy excess power from my panels as well.
 
I would be very careful about any "deals" with regard to energy and your home. Here in Arizona a supposed reputable company went throughout town selling roof top solar system with panels that would completely get rid of your utility bill AND make you money because any extra energy your solar panels produced would be bought back by the local power company. The money you save on your energy bill would easily offset your monthly payment.

Everyone who went this route quickly found out that the number of solar panels they sold you were half as many as you actually needed to produce enough power to offset even a small portion of your utility bill. Even some people I know to be fairly intelligent bought in to this. Not to mention the power company had no interest in buying your excess power and no means to do it if they wanted to buy it.
 
I agree be careful. When I moved up here to a piece of land in the family, They gifted us four acres. I went to an energy fair and bought a 4500 watt wind generator (half price) and a tower kit. Which I added to our off grid system I was using to build. I then tried to get grid run in from a cooperative They wouldn't hook me up due to the wind generator I had up. Told me, it had to be arranged with their renewable energy guy. Many calls and no response for most of a year until I was finally called back. By then I was so mad at them that I just stayed off grid. It was a lot of money to run it in although I likely spent more then I would have on grid over the three decades, I have enjoyed knowing I did it myself.
 
If you are considering this just for prep reasons, then maybe this would work well for you. I have no real info and I am just offering encouragement.
I do have about 1/2 solar power here at my house with a corresponding battery bank. Mine has worked well for the 6 years since I installed it myself.
 
The Power Company here in Austin partners with the Battery Company, essentially Austin Energy owns the battery and you get to use it when the grid goes down.
 
hiwall said:
If you are considering this just for prep reasons, then maybe this would work well for you. I have no real info and I am just offering encouragement.
I do have about 1/2 solar power here at my house with a corresponding battery bank. Mine has worked well for the 6 years since I installed it myself.
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I agree for only $19 a month seems like something to explore.
 
WTSR said:
Thank you for that, I believe I have the solar part covered.

What I'm asking is anyone have experience with the 39.2 KWH Whole House Battery Backup
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20k for a whole house battery is ridiculous.
Plus if you have some time and smarts you can build your own.
I did, at the age of 77. We live with 30kwh and haven't used a generator since.
About $5k. Prices on the battery cells have come way down since then.

I built 4 24v 280ah lifepo4 batteries, each with a bms. 24v because we already had the inverters.. There are two batteries per large cooler with a false bottom and a heating pad inside.

I can moniter their stats through Bluetooth.
It's not that difficult, and I know there aren't any "bad welds", "too small wiring", or "loose connections" hiding inside a fancy expensive commercial battery case......
 
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Pebbles said:
I would be very careful about any "deals" with regard to energy and your home. Here in Arizona a supposed reputable company went throughout town selling roof top solar system with panels that would completely get rid of your utility bill AND make you money because any extra energy your solar panels produced would be bought back by the local power company. The money you save on your energy bill would easily offset your monthly payment.

Everyone who went this route quickly found out that the number of solar panels they sold you were half as many as you actually needed to produce enough power to offset even a small portion of your utility bill. Even some people I know to be fairly intelligent bought in to this. Not to mention the power company had no interest in buying your excess power and no means to do it if they wanted to buy it.
Click to expand...

I ran off more than a few "Solar Company" sales dweebs, because I knew the orientation of my roof, it's area, and what my monthly usage was and how very unlikely their pitch was. And told them.

I am hoping for/planning a solar install in a different location one day, but the metrics are completely different and it will be largely self built, assuming I'm up to the task. Then the math changes drastically.

eta: A friend was intrigued by a pitch from a sales org. that dabbled in Solar installs (*cough*) and asked me to look over the proposal. Calculating the finance charges/amortization, savings and etc. put the cost at over 120k, and break even might occur some 5 years (iirc) after the warranty period was over (Assuming Fly-by-night industries was still in business for the duration of the warranty).
 
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WTSR said:
Thank you for that, I believe I have the solar part covered.

What I'm asking is anyone have experience with the 39.2 KWH Whole House Battery Backup
Click to expand...
I watched a vid on some company that puts the battery outside and offers the same type of deal...the comments were not kind.
Look up reviews for the company and the offer.
 
He wants it for a prep item. He would not need it or use it during 'normal' times. If the grid goes down is when he would would be using it. If the grid was down the battery bank could not and would not be sending its power elsewhere so he would have the total use of the battery bank when he needed it. (I assume)
He would be getting a very large battery bank for emergency use for a very small price.
He is getting some solar power (sounds like a separate deal) that could in theory charge the battery bank during daylight hours when the grid was down.
If it worked how I just described then it would be an excellent prep item at lower cost than doing it all alone. The question I would ask the companies involved would be.....
Does the battery bank give only me the power when the grid is down?
Does my solar charge the battery bank when the grid is down?
 
WTSR said:
www.basepowercompany.com

Save money. Stay powered. | Base Power

Base brings affordable, reliable energy and whole-home backup to homes across Texas — fixed low rates and battery backup that kicks in automatically.
www.basepowercompany.com www.basepowercompany.com

I am looking at Whole House Battery Backup, Base Power offers a 39 KWH battery that runs your whole house. It seems depending on where you live they can actually become your power provider. In Austin they are Partnered with Austin Energy, so you pay the same rate to Austin Energy but they get to use your battery for putting power back into the Grid when needed. The cost here is $695 install and $19 a month membership fee. Just wondering if anyone has gone this route yet. The battery weighs hundreds of pounds and has to be mounted on a pad outside near the meter. I'm getting Solar installed without battery, and I was thinking this was a good way to save money as batteries are about 20K installed.

They advertise up to 3 days outage protection with reduced usage. And my solar panels can charge it and they can buy excess power from my panels as well.
Click to expand...
I have a friend that has something to this effect.
They set a 20' conex, fence around it.
He has some small acreage with cattle.
The energy lease pays his property taxes.
He doesn't get to "use" or tie to it in anyway.
It is a thing.
They store it when its cheap and sale it when its peak rates
 
Sebastian said:
Either battery prices have collapsed or there is something deeply wrong here. What about inverters? Charge controlers?
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I found some info which might be helpful. The battery has an 11kw inverter in it that powers the house when the grid goes down. You can get an additional port for it that allows it to charge from a generator. I think mainly how it saves you money is by charging during off peak hours and powering the house during peak hours which theoretically could save the customer money in the long run.
 
Millwright said:
NO

Full stop.

You are paying them to site batteries at your house so they can draw off them when they want?

Kinda defeats the purpose, from my limited perspective?
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Yes and no,there are supposed to be set limits of drawdown so you are not left powerless.
 
I've often wondered if you could take a reman forklift battery and adapt it for this purpose. There would be more maintenance but would be way less expensive to get going with a system.
 
tech said:
38 kwh of LiFePo4 (48vdc nominal) batteries is about $10k these days. Maybe 50 -70 bucks for wiring. About 1200 lbs. but on wheels (at least mine are.)
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But you control yours and get to use the power whenever you want, too. I’ll dig around for the video I watched on this setup in the OP. If I remember correctly, people weren’t too happy with the arrangement.
 
The company Base Power seems to have (many different) contracts with the respective local power companies.
The key to all seems to be PEAK power , not Base Power!
The only way that the company can with draw power from the batteries is to degrade the main grid.
But if you have the main portion of your customers on such machines you could actually do that during times of PEAK load. The excuse for the event would be peak load of the system, and the benefit would be that during such events all users of their backup battery would have power.
This is my speculation, essentially the the company Base power has contracts on BOTH sides (Power Companies and Power customers.)
 
Since the inverter is built into the box, it could be externally triggered and take over.
Then the benefit would be completely on the side of the power companies, as they could cut peak usage of
the net by using the customer installed batteries.
 
Make sure you know what happens if/when any company you contract with goes out of business. Amazing how many are up & gone.

www.solarinsure.com

The Complete List of Solar Bankruptcies and Business Closures

2023 has brought immense challenges, with higher interest rates, tighter financing, and adverse policy shifts which have contributed to solar bankruptcies.
www.solarinsure.com www.solarinsure.com

“….over 100 solar bankruptcies based on our industry data, a number unseen before in our almost 20 years in the solar sector.”

“…dverse state and federal policy impacts exacerbated shifts in financing, triggering a plummet in demand and an 80% decrease in rooftop solar installation volume. The California Solar & Storage Association reports that the fallout includes thousands of stalled projects, over 17,000 industry layoffs, and a wave of high-profile bankruptcies.”

Recently Closed: Major Solar Contractors That Went Out of Business

Major Solar Bankruptcies as of August 2026:

Sunnova – Multiple States
SunPower – Multiple States
Pink Energy – Multiple States
MC Solar – Modern Concepts – Florida
Harness Power – California
NM Solar Group – New Mexico
ASA – American Solar Advantage – California
Kuubix Energy – California
Erus Energy – Arizona
Infinity Energy – California
Suntuity Renewables – Per Sunova – NJ, CA , TX
ADT Solar – Multiple States
Vision Solar – Multiple States
Solcius – CA, NM, AZ, NV
Sunworks, Inc. – CA
Kayo Energy – AZ, CA, TX, FL
iSun – CT
Titan Solar Power – Multiple States
Lumio Solar – Utah
Expert Solar – Florida, Texas
Shine Solar – LA, AK
Posigen – Multiple States
Pure Light Power – Multiple States
Freedom Forever – Multiple States

California Company Closures:

Altair Solar
ASA – American Solar Advantage – CA
Bratton Solar- CA
Canapoy Energy – CA
Charged Up Energy – CA
Enver Solar – CA
Harness Power – CA
GCI Solar – CA
Green Nrg – CA
Kuubix Energy – CA
Peak Power USA – CA
Penguin Home- CA
Polar Solar – CA
Professional Roofing and Solar – CA
Renova Energy – CA
Sigora Home Solar – CA
Solsun USA – CA
Solar 360
Solar Advantage – CA
Sullivan Solar Power – CA
Sungrade Solar – CA
SunPower – CA
Sunstor Solar – CA
RGS Energy – CA
Solar Spectrum – CA
Sunworks, Inc. – CA
Swell Energy – CA
United Solar Inc. – CA

Texas Company Closures:

Alternative Solar
American Sun
Daybreak Solar Power
Cosmo Solaris – DBA WNK Associates , Under Investigation
Envirosolar
Hitech Solar
Integrity Solar
Next Energy
Nivo Solar
Speir Innovations
TES Home Solar
Texas Solar Broker LLC
Texas Solar Integrated LLC
Verisolar
Vulcan Solar

Other States:

3D Solar – Florida
Accept Solar – MA
ACE Solar Systems – AZ
Arizona Solar Concepts – AZ
Brimma Solar – WA
Code Green Solar – NJ
EcoMark Solar – CO
Elan Solar – UT
Electriq Power – FL
Encor Solar – UT
Fusion Power – AZ
G3 Solar – UT
Gulf South Solar – LA
Moxie Solar – IA
Refresh Energy Group – CO
Saveco Solar – UT
Solar Is Freedom – OH
Solar Direct – FL
Solar Titan USA – TN
SolarDot – FL
Solarworks – AZ
Solular, LLC – NJ
Utah Solar Group – UT
Voltage Solar Power – FL
Zenernet – AZ

~~~~~~~~~

More details at article linked above.

Panic Early, Beat the Rush!
- Shane
 
WTSR said:
That's not during an outage but when they need extra capacity during peak hours.
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So...what happens if an event creates unprecedented demand, and after they've drawn down all the batteries, they still end up with a widespread outage?

Looks like the homeowners are SOL...
Sacajawea said:
I don't think I could trust this, even IF it was put in writing.
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Absolutely!

Summerthyme
 
I had to cut over to a sub panel recently. My puny 5ah battery for the security alarm died in the 4 hours it took to get things switched over to the new circuit (I upgraded to one gauge bigger wire) I switched to a replacement 7ah battery.
 
summerthyme said:
So...what happens if an event creates unprecedented demand, and after they've drawn down all the batteries, they still end up with a widespread outage?

Looks like the homeowners are SOL...

Absolutely!

Summerthyme
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With the grid down you should be able to charge the battery with your solar.
 
WTSR said:
With the grid down you should be able to charge the battery with your solar.
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True...IF its not cloudy!

My biggest issue with the system being proposed is the electric company having access to your stored energy. In my mind, battery storage is your insurance for all the hours solar can't produce power. Letting the power company potentially draw down 90% of your stored energy and then having the grid power go down in late evening would sort of defeat the purpose!

Summerthyme
 
summerthyme said:
True...IF its not cloudy!

My biggest issue with the system being proposed is the electric company having access to your stored energy. In my mind, battery storage is your insurance for all the hours solar can't produce power. Letting the power company potentially draw down 90% of your stored energy and then having the grid power go down in late evening would sort of defeat the purpose!

Summerthyme
Click to expand...
We all have to make choices. If you do not have or do not wish to spend thousands on that big battery bank so you completely own it, then you have to come to a compromise.
Not everyone has tens of thousands to spend on solar and a large battery bank.
 
summerthyme said:
True...IF its not cloudy!

My biggest issue with the system being proposed is the electric company having access to your stored energy. In my mind, battery storage is your insurance for all the hours solar can't produce power. Letting the power company potentially draw down 90% of your stored energy and then having the grid power go down in late evening would sort of defeat the purpose!

Summerthyme
Click to expand...
This is Central South Texas there are rumors here that clouds exist but very little in any actual evidence they exist...
 
hiwall said:
We all have to make choices. If you do not have or do not wish to spend thousands on that big battery bank so you completely own it, then you have to come to a compromise.
Not everyone has tens of thousands to spend on solar and a large battery bank.
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Oh, absolutely! My contributions are mostly to point out potential pitfalls or unforseen problems...I *completely* understand the difficulties of limited finances!

I would hate to see older couple paying a few hundred dollars a month, thinking they are going to be safe in the event of power problems, finding out they don't have sufficient stored power to run an oxygen concentrator, CPAP machine and refrigerator and freezer.

I'm only pointing out issues not everyone is paranoid enough to think about.

Summerthyme
 
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