Ava SmartHome Battery Installers
Program information for installers and aggregators, including training sessions, eligibility requirements, and more.
Overview
SmartHome Battery is designed to reduce costs for customers living within Ava’s service territory to add solar photovoltaic (PV) and battery systems to their homes. This program can help increase sales by providing generous incentives for your customers. Customers who are eligible for SmartHome Battery can choose to have the installation rebate paid directly to qualified installers.
Become a qualified installer by attending an in-person training session that covers eligibility, enrollment, and program details.
Program Details
There are two incentive offers for residential customers: the installation rebate and ongoing participation payments.
Installation Rebate
The installation rebate helps residents lower the initial cost of owning a new solar and battery system or adding a battery to an existing solar setup. The rebate amount depends on the size of the battery and the capacity selected to contribute to the program. This installation rebate can be paid directly to a qualified installer or to the customer.
The amount of the installation rebate is based on the nominated capacity of the battery and customer’s income qualification. Market-rate customers can choose to receive the installation rebate directly or assign it to their installer. Income qualification is based on participation in the California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) and Family Electric Rate Assistance (FERA) programs. Income-qualified customers must assign the installation rebate to their installer.
There are specific program terms for CARE/FERA customers and Tesla Powerwall customers. See Special Program Terms below for details.
| Customer Type | Installation Rebate Amount |
|---|---|
| Market-Rate | $90/kWh |
| Income-Qualified | $500/kWh |
As part of the equipment eligibility for program participation, batteries must be sized no larger than what can be charged by the onsite solar system. To ensure a site’s panels can fully charge the system, the maximum incentivized battery size is 2.5 times the solar capacity. For example, a 5kW-DC solar system can have a maximum of a 12.5kWh battery.
Participation Payments
Participation payments are delivered to customers once their battery is connected to the Gridshare platform and has successfully gone through a test dispatch to confirm connectivity and nominated capacity. During the enrollment process, customers choose to share, or nominate, a portion of their battery’s energy with Ava. Customers nominate 40%, 60%, or 80% of their battery’s energy to share with Ava. Grid events happen during moments when the grid is strained, wholesale prices are high, or Ava’s load is higher than forecasted. When this happens, and depending on the battery type and customer’s solar program (Net Energy Metering (NEM), NEM2, or Solar Billing Plan (SBP)), Ava will call on the customer’s battery to share the percentage of stored energy that was nominated during enrollment. Customers have access to the remaining capacity during these events and its full capacity during all other times.
Participation payments are $3 per nominated kilowatt-hour (kWh) based on the nominated percentage. Payments are made every three months over the course of five years.
Special Program Terms
Tesla Powerwall Customers
Due to OEM requirements, Tesla customers are required to share 80% of the stored energy from their Powerwall batteries to Ava’s virtual power plant.
Income-Qualified Customers
Income-qualified customers who receive CARE/FERA benefits have specific program parameters that differ from market-rate customers. This includes:
| Income-Qualified Customers | Market-Rate Customers | |
|---|---|---|
| Must work with qualified installer | ✅ | – |
| Must assign installation rebate to qualified installer | ✅ | – |
| Must participate in the ongoing program (share energy to Ava’s VPP) | – | ✅ |
Become a Qualified Installer
Ava will host at least three in-person training sessions between February 2026 and June 2027. Attendees will receive key details and program elements to give installers the tools to clearly communicate the benefits of participating to their customers, including marketing materials to support trained installers during the sales process.
Benefits of being a qualified installer:
- Ability to receive the installation rebate directly
- Your company’s name and logo are displayed on the program webpage to generate customer interest
Requirements to become a qualified installer:
- Be actively operating in Ava’s service territory
- Accurately represent this program and Ava and maintain positive customer satisfaction
- Agree to not retain the grid service rights to the equipment installed
- Accurately size the battery and enter required data into the SmartHome Battery enrollment portal
- Complete an in-person or virtual installer training session
Training ensures that all participating installers understand program rules, enrollment procedures, incentive structures, and the technical requirements - Sign and submit installer agreement
Join the Next Training Session
The next in-person training session will be hosted on Wednesday, February 25, 2026 from 11am–1pm. Complete the form to be added to the mailing list to receive in-person training information including location, parking, and more.
Aggregators: Interested in joining SmartHome Battery?
Email SHB-aggregators@AvaEnergy.org to learn how to qualify.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to have completed the training and signed an installer agreement to offer SmartHome Battery to customers?
No, but our trainings will help you be successful using SmartHome Battery to sell more solar and battery systems. You will be able to accept incentives on your customer’s behalf and will have your company name and logo listed on Ava’s site as a qualified installer, which may generate customer interest.
Is there any cost to participating in the training?
No.
How do I sign up for a training session?
In-person training sessions will be announced 1 month before the date. If you’re interested in attending an in-person training session, sign up using the form above to be notified of the next date.
My customer assigned their SmartHome Battery’s installation rebate to my company. How long does it take to receive the installation rebate?
Incentives are processed once the battery:
- receives Permission to Operate (PTO) from the utility (estimated to be a 6-week process)
- is connected to our DERMS
- is confirmed for export during monthly test events (up to a 4-week process)
Including payment processing, we estimate installation rebates are issued within 12 weeks of enrollment, provided all requirements are met. However, actual timing may vary based on utility PTO processing, the monthly testing schedule, and your enrollment date.
What happens if the program runs out of funding before my installation is complete?
We will show the remaining available funds on the website (coming soon) and will provide warnings in Gridshare and the enrollment portal when funding is running low. We will also communicate via email as we reach funding limits. It is the installer’s responsibility to assess project completion.
Can I retain the grid service rights to the battery I install?
Only aggregators and end-use customers participating in our program can retain the grid service rights. If you are interested in becoming an aggregator for our program, contact SHB-aggregators@AvaEnergy.org.