Ask a group of people about what keeps them awake at night and chances are at least one will mention power shortages, brownouts and the escalating electricity needs of data centers – especially if they live in a location that’s suffered from frequent power disruption.
A 2026 report from the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) warns that demand is anticipated to outpace energy supply growth. Demand growth is expected to be 69% higher than the projection from the organization’s 2025 report. States served by the Midcontinent Independent System Operator could be at high risk of electrical supply shortfalls starting in 2028, while areas in Texas, the Northwestern U.S., the Mid-Atlantic and the Midwest could be at high risk starting in 2029, according to the report.
In the past, homeowners would snap up generators when storms were forecast, hoping to generate enough power to keep some lights on and their refrigerator running. Today, homeowners are turning to other options such as batteries from companies such as Renon Power, a Texas-based energy storage manufacturer.
“Renon Power focuses on making energy storage practical and scalable across residential, commercial and industrial, and utility markets,” says Joe Frodsham, senior strategic accounts and distribution manager for Renon Power. “For homeowners, we see batteries evolving from backup devices into energy assets—helping manage solar, reduce grid reliance, and support smarter energy use.”
Energy storage in homes is equally important for new construction and for homeowners interested in retrofitting their homes.
“Storage is more flexible than many people think,” Frodsham says. “It can often be retrofitted to existing solar and expanded over time. That modular approach lowers the barrier to entry and allows homeowners to scale as their needs evolve.”
Energy storage is becoming essential for several reasons, including more incidents of grid instability and power outages, Frodsham says.
“There’s more growth in solar adoption, electrification of homes and vehicles, rising electricity costs, federal and state electrification initiatives, and increased demand from builders and buyers for energy resilience,” he says.
While battery storage is becoming standard infrastructure for modern homes, there’s also growing interest in the concept of a “virtual power plant.”
A Virtual Power Plant (VPP) connects distributed resources like home batteries and solar into a coordinated network that supports the grid, Frodsham explains.
“As demand grows and the grid faces more pressure, VPPs help utilities manage peaks more efficiently while giving homeowners more value from their systems,” he says. “Homeowners can unlock more value from their systems, utilities gain flexibility and stability, and communities become more resilient.”
For builders, Frodsham suggests they think of VPP readiness as part of a high-performance home.
“It’s not just backup—it’s about energy flexibility, future participation, and long-term value,” he says. “The specifics vary by utility, but the direction is clear.”
The homeowners can store excess energy in their battery to use as backup power at night or during power outages. Then, if the utility grid is under pressure from something like high air conditioning usage on a hot day, the utility can trigger the VPP instead of turning on expensive plants.
The VPP sends a signal to all 100 homes, each of which exports a small amount of energy back to the grid, behaving like a small power plant. (100 homes × 5 kWh = 500 kWh dispatched instantly.)
With a VPP, homeowners can earn incentives or bill credits, lower their electricity bills through optimized energy use, access backup power during outages – and it’s all fully automated.
“Builders can differentiate their community as grid-interactive or energy-resilient, and market their homes as future-ready, smart-energy homes with lower operating costs,” Frodsham says. “There’s a potential to partner with utilities for incentives.”
Utility companies can avoid building new power plants or expanding their grid infrastructure by using distributed batteries across homes so they can dispatch energy when needed.
“A VPP turns hundreds of individual home batteries into one coordinated energy asset that supports the grid—while generating value for both homeowners and builders,” Frodsham says. “This is the shift from energy storage as backup to energy storage as an active grid asset.”
Electric demand is rising, and that concern about grid resilience is valid, Frodsham says.
“Storage helps by shifting load, storing local generation, and reducing peak demand,” he says. “When aggregated, it becomes a meaningful grid resource.”
Today’s homebuyers of every generation increasingly focus on long-term operating costs and resilience rather than the upfront cost of a home. Their decisions are driven by priorities such as safety, resilience and durability, as well as energy bills and savings, according to Green Builder Media’s COGNITION Smart Data surveys.
Storage contributes to affordability and resilience for long-term benefits.
“Storage improves affordability by optimizing when and how energy is used—especially in time-of-use markets,” Frodsham says. “The financial impact depends on local utility rules, incentives, and programs, but the value stack continues to grow.”
A time-of-use market refers to places where electricity rates fluctuate based on peak demand at different times of day and various seasons.
Batteries provide immediate resilience by keeping critical loads powered during outages, Frodsham says.
“But more broadly, they represent a shift toward distributed production and storage—generating and storing energy closer to where it’s used instead of relying on ‘shipping power’ over long distances,” he says. “That localized approach reduces strain on the grid and makes both homes and communities more resilient.”
Unfortunately, many builders, consumers and communities worry about the cost and complexity of adopting battery storage.
“Once storage is positioned clearly—as resilience, savings, and future grid participation—adoption becomes much easier,” Frodsham says. “We’re moving toward a world where homes don’t just consume energy—they store it, optimize it, and contribute back to the grid. That shift is both technological and cultural, and it’s happening quickly.”