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A home battery stores electricity, from solar panels or from the grid, and gives it back in the evening or during a blackout. In New York City the first question is not which battery to buy but which kind of home you have. The city’s rules are written for one- and two-family houses, and they are strict about where a battery may sit. Here is what an owner should know before a renovation closes up the walls.
What a battery does
The city’s own description is a fair summary: a battery system can reduce the power a building draws during peak periods, store solar power for later use when the sun is not shining, and provide back-up power in a blackout (NYC fact sheet). Solar panels alone make nothing at night. A battery is what carries a house through the evening.
How long it lasts depends on the size of the battery and on what you ask it to run. Most owners choose a short list of circuits to keep alive: the refrigerator, some lights, the boiler controls, the internet. An installer sizes the system to that list.
Where the city lets you put one
The Department of Buildings has a rule for these systems. For one- and two-family homes it allows a battery only above grade, and only in these places unless the Department and the Fire Department approve otherwise (1 RCNY 3616-07):
- In an attached garage, separated from the house by a fire-rated barrier.
- In a detached garage.
- Outdoors, mounted on a non-combustible exterior wall, at least 3 feet from doors and windows.
- Outdoors, on the ground within 3 feet of a non-combustible exterior wall, again at least 3 feet from doors and windows.
The rule says a system shall not be installed in the living area of a dwelling unit or in a sleeping unit. It also caps the size: up to 20 kilowatt-hours in an attached garage behind a one-hour barrier or 40 behind a two-hour barrier, up to 40 in a detached garage or outdoors, and up to 80 for the whole lot. Permanently wired equipment over 1 kilowatt-hour has to be listed to the UL 9540 standard, and the Fire Department’s approval of a given product can lower those limits.
For a row house with no garage, that usually points to the rear wall facing the yard.
If you live in an apartment
For an apartment, storage is a question for the building and not for the unit. Roofs and outdoor spaces, where the Fire Code governs these systems, belong to the building, and so does the decision. If your co-op or condo is studying solar or storage, the tax abatement described below applies to the building’s project. Inside the apartment, the useful step is to draw less: efficient appliances, LED lighting and, where the wiring allows, induction cooking.
What helps pay for it
We do not quote battery prices, and the figures in the first version of this article, written in 2017, are long out of date. Two facts about incentives are worth knowing, because they have changed.
- The federal credit has ended. The IRS says the residential clean energy credit, which covered battery storage, is not allowed for any expenditures made after December 31, 2025, and that an expenditure counts as made when the installation is completed.
- The city abatement continues. New York City’s Solar and Electric Storage System Property Tax Abatement equals 30 percent of the installation cost or $250,000, whichever is lower, applied over four years, for systems placed in service before January 1, 2035. The Department of Buildings approves the application and the Department of Finance applies it to the tax bill. Your installer files it with the permit.
Rules of this kind change. Confirm both with your installer and your accountant before you count on them.
Plan for it while the walls are open
You do not have to buy a battery to get a house ready for one. If you are renovating a townhouse or a house, four inexpensive decisions keep the option open:
- Reserve a place for it: a stretch of masonry wall in the yard or a spot in the garage, clear of doors and windows.
- Run empty conduit from that place to the electrical panel before the walls and ceilings are closed.
- Ask the electrician to group the circuits you would want backed up in one subpanel.
- If solar may follow, have the roof looked at now, while other trades are on site.
All of the wiring is work for a licensed electrician under an electrical permit. The rest belongs to the general planning of the job, which we describe on our pages on townhouse renovation in NYC, house renovation and home renovation. For other ways to cut what a home uses, see our article on sustainable construction practices.
Renovating a house and thinking about solar or storage later? Tell us at the first meeting, and the plan will leave room for it.
Questions people ask
Can I install a home battery in a New York City apartment?
We would not plan on it. The city’s rule for homes is written for one- and two-family houses and keeps batteries out of living areas. In an apartment building, storage is a project for the building, which the board or owner decides and files with the city.
Is there still a federal tax credit for a home battery?
The IRS says the residential clean energy credit is not allowed for expenditures made after December 31, 2025. New York City’s property tax abatement for solar and storage systems is still available for systems placed in service before 2035.