Most addresses
Dominion Energy South Carolina
- Average home rate (2024)
- 14.59¢/kWh
- Paid for exported solar
- about 2.8–4.1¢ per kWh
- Net-metered home solar, utility-wide
- 16,090
Battery & backup · Aiken, SC
Solar battery installation in Aiken, SC
Solar battery installation in Aiken pays when it stores power Dominion Energy would otherwise credit at about 2.8–4.1¢ per kWh, and 70% of homes here are owner-occupied.
Why this changed in 2026 · as of July 2026
In Aiken, Dominion Energy South Carolina credits exported solar at roughly 2.8–4.1¢ per kWh while retail power costs about 14.4¢ per kWh. That means a kilowatt-hour you store and use yourself is worth roughly three to five times one you export. Storage in Aiken is now an economic decision as much as an outage-protection one.
Looking for a solar company in Aiken? See solar companies in Aiken: our local team, costs and a free assessment.
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Local storage case
Why storage does or does not fit in Aiken
Storage in Aiken answers two different questions depending on your meter. On a Dominion Energy South Carolina address, exported power earns roughly 2.8 to 4.1 cents against a retail rate near 14.4 cents, so a battery that holds afternoon production for evening use is capturing several times what exporting it would have paid. That is a self-consumption argument, and it stands on arithmetic rather than on fear of outages.
On an Aiken Electric Cooperative address the reasoning is similar but the numbers are the cooperative’s own, set under its distributed-generation rider rather than by statute. We read the current schedule before advising, because the gap between the retail rate and the export credit is precisely what a battery monetises, and quoting storage against the wrong gap produces a confident number that is wrong.
The resilience case is real but should be sized honestly. Summer thunderstorm outages happen here, and rural cooperative circuits further out from town can take longer to restore than in-town circuits. We size for essentials across a couple of days, refrigeration, lighting, internet, well pumps where relevant, rather than for running central air through a multi-day event, which is a far larger and more expensive system than most people picture when they ask for whole-house backup.
Written for Aiken specifically.
The maths changed
Storing a kilowatt-hour now beats exporting one
One-for-one net metering closed to new applicants on 1 June 2021, and new Dominion Energy South Carolina systems are credited under Solar Choice instead, at roughly 2.8–4.1¢ per kWh for exports.
You still buy power at about 14.4¢ per kWh, with a rider of about $14 a month. Each kWh stored instead of exported is worth that rate rather than about 2.8–4.1¢ per kWh.
In Aiken, a 9.5 kW system makes up to about 1,315 kWh in May; most of the afternoon surplus is what a battery would hold.
We model your Dominion Energy South Carolina usage at the assessment and show whether storage earns its cost.
How it works
How battery installation runs in Aiken
Critical-load mapping, an extra electrical permit through Aiken County, installation with a critical-loads subpanel, then Dominion Energy approval and commissioning.
Cost
What drives battery cost in Aiken
Midlands-edge summers run hot and long, so cooling load peaks in the same hours a roof produces hardest. Capacity and the number of Aiken County circuits you back up set the price.
Aiken specifics
What storage involves here
Aiken has its own constraints. Getting these right is most of the job.
- 01
A separate electrical permit
Aiken County requires one for storage on top of the solar permits, with its own inspection. We pull it and meet it.
- 02
Your outage profile
Midlands-edge summers run hot and long, so cooling load peaks in the same hours a roof produces hardest. Summer thunderstorm outages do occur, and rural cooperative circuits further out of town can take longer to restore than in-town Dominion circuits.
- 03
Where the battery goes
Placement matters mostly for heat. Garage-interior siting usually beats an unconditioned attic here.
- 04
Service panel capacity
Older services often need attention before storage can be added cleanly. We run the load calculation before quoting, not after.
- 05
Battery or generator?
For very long outages a standby generator can be the better answer, and we will say so if it is. Compare the two.
- 06
Retrofit or new build
Pairing storage with a new system is cleaner than retrofitting to an inverter that was never specified for it. We check yours first.
Permits and approvals
What approval takes in Aiken
6 approvals for a Aiken system. We file every one.
- 01A building permit and a separate electrical permit for a rooftop system
- 02Permits from the City of Aiken if you are inside city limits, from the City of North Augusta if you are inside its limits, or from Aiken County Planning & Development if you are in the unincorporated county, which are three different processes
- 03A Certificate of Appropriateness from the City of Aiken Design Review Board where the property sits in the Historic Overlay or Old Aiken Overlay district
- 04A zoning review as well for any ground-mounted array
- 05An additional electrical permit where battery storage is included
- 06Interconnection approval from whichever utility serves your meter, Dominion Energy South Carolina or Aiken Electric Cooperative
Standing monthly charge:about $14 a month, included in our payback figures.
Your utility decides payback
Battery storage in Aiken depends on what your utility pays
Dominion Energy South Carolina and Aiken Electric Cooperative split Aiken street by street. We read yours off your bill first.
Some addresses
Aiken Electric Cooperative
- Average home rate (2024)
- 15.53¢/kWh
- Paid for exported solar
- Set by the co-op; we confirm it per account
- Net-metered home solar, utility-wide
- 447
For comparison: South Carolina average 14.23¢ · U.S. average 16.48¢. South Carolina had 40,055 net-metered home solar systems at the end of 2024.
Rates: US EIA Form EIA-861, 2024 averages incl. fixed charges, not tariffs. Export terms as of July 2026.
Homes in Aiken
Aiken homes and solar battery backup
- 9,032owner-occupied homes (70% of 12,961)
- 1987median year homes were built
- 74%of homes are single-family detached
- $262kmedian owner-occupied home value
- Half of Aiken homes are more than 39 years old, so the roof check matters here: a roof with under ten years left should be replaced before solar goes on, or at the same time.
- 74% of homes are single-family detached, the usual rooftop candidate, and HOA review is the main approval to plan for.
- 9,032 Aiken households own their home, the ones who can install and claim the state credit.
- A 9.5 kW system at about $24,605 is roughly 9% of the median $262k Aiken home value.
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2023 5-year estimates for Aiken city. Estimates, rounded.
Our work
Real systems our crews have installed
Our own job photos, not stock or renders. Inland, so salt exposure is not a factor and wind loading is well below the coast.
ResidentialMulti-facet metal roofWooded aerial view
Off-GridCabin porch viewFull-slope roof array
Off-GridOff-grid lake cabinGround-tilt metal roof array
ResidentialFull black-on-blackPoolside single-story home
CommercialCommercial rooftopTilt-mounted rooftop system
ResidentialStanding-seam metal roofLakeside multi-facet install
Photo locations are not published.
Free assessment · Aiken, SC
Get a straight answer for your Aiken roof
We read your bill, confirm your Dominion Energy South Carolina export terms, and tell you what your roof in Aiken County will actually carry, and say so if it will not pay.
- Most addresses here are on Dominion Energy South Carolina, but Aiken Electric Cooperative serves a substantial share of Aiken County, including addresses inside city limits. We confirm yours from your bill before we quote anything
- A building permit and a separate electrical permit for a rooftop system: we pull it and manage the inspections
- Inside the city, the Design Review Board reviews work in the Historic Overlay and Old Aiken Overlay districts and issues the Certificate of Appropriateness.
Prefer to talk? (843) 310-1128
Aiken battery FAQ
Battery questions from Aiken homeowners
Is a home battery worth it in Aiken in 2026?
The economics improved when net metering changed. Dominion Energy South Carolina credits exported power at roughly 2.8–4.1¢ per kWh while you buy power at about 14.4¢ per kWh, so a kilowatt-hour you store and use yourself is worth roughly three to five times one you export. That is a stronger case than under the old one-for-one net metering, on top of the outage protection.
Does battery storage need a separate permit in Aiken County?
Yes. Battery storage requires an additional electrical permit alongside the permits for the solar system itself in Aiken County, and the installation must satisfy the National Electrical Code as adopted in South Carolina. We pull the permits and handle the inspection sequence as part of the project.
Does a battery qualify for South Carolina’s 25% state tax credit?
Battery storage paired with solar may qualify for South Carolina’s 25% state tax credit, subject to the same annual cap and eligibility rules as the rest of the system. The expired federal credit no longer applies. Confirm your own position with a tax professional.
What does solar battery installation in Aiken save on Dominion Energy?
One-for-one net metering closed to new applicants on 1 June 2021, and new Dominion Energy South Carolina systems are credited under Solar Choice instead, at roughly 2.8–4.1¢ per kWh for exports. Dominion Energy households paid about 14.6¢ per kWh on average in 2024.
Is solar battery installation in Aiken worth it for outages?
Midlands-edge summers run hot and long, so cooling load peaks in the same hours a roof produces hardest. Summer thunderstorm outages do occur, and rural cooperative circuits further out of town can take longer to restore than in-town Dominion circuits. We size backup to the circuits that matter rather than the whole house.
How big should solar battery installation in Aiken be?
Sized to the circuits that matter, not the whole house. A 9.5 kW solar system here makes up to about 1,315 kWh in its best month, and the afternoon surplus is what a battery stores. Dominion Energy households paid about 14.6¢ per kWh on average in 2024.
Keep reading
Battery storage guides
- Battery Storage
AC-Coupled vs DC-Coupled Solar Batteries
Compare AC-coupled vs DC-coupled solar batteries for retrofits, new systems, backup behavior, compatibility, expansion, and quote scope in South Carolina.
28 min read - Battery Storage
The Home Battery Installation Process in South Carolina
Follow a South Carolina home-battery project from outage brief and site review through design, approvals, installation, commissioning, and handoff.
22 min read - Battery Storage
Install Solar and Battery Together or Add Storage Later?
Choose solar-only, battery-ready solar, or integrated solar-plus-storage using outage goals, architecture, site work, approvals, and commissioning.
23 min read
Free, no-pressure assessment
See whether storage earns its cost at your Aiken address
We will map your critical loads, model your usage against your actual rate, and tell you honestly whether a battery pays for itself here or whether it is purely backup insurance.
Mon–Sat, 10am–6:30pm ET · We typically follow up within the hour.