A battery does two different jobs: backup during outages, and shifting your own production into expensive evening hours. Which one you care about should drive the decision.
Reasons to add storage
Frequent or long outages, medical equipment, well or septic pumps, remote work that cannot stop, or a usage pattern concentrated in the evening under a time-of-use rate.
Reasons to wait
Stable grid service, low evening usage and a tight budget. Solar can be installed now and storage retrofitted later, provided the system is designed with that path in mind — which is worth asking for up front.
Related services
Solar production, bill offset and payment comparisons vary by home, usage, roof, shading, utility rate schedule and financing terms. Nothing on this site is a guarantee of savings. Pricing comparisons depend on system size, equipment, financing structure and contract terms. Any comparison is only meaningful between comparable systems and comparable financing.