Xcel Energy offers a $10,000 rebate on home backup battery systems for customers who live in Tier 2 or Tier 3 wildfire risk zones and rely on electricity for their health. Denver7 wanted to know how far will that rebate get Colo radans during power outages.To receive the rebate, individuals need to be an Xcel customer, signed up for the companys Medical Certification Program or the Colorado Medical Exemption Program, and live in wildfire risk zones.Nate Metzler, a licensed solar electrician with Namaste Solar, said interest in backup battery systems has surged following a series of Public Safety Power Shutoffs tied to high winds and wildfire danger. How much outage protection will Xcel's $10,000 backup battery rebate get youWeve had these planned outages from Xcel because of high winds, Metzler said. Weve been getting a lot of inquiries about battery systems from that.Matt Griffin, a sales representative at Namaste Solar, told Denver7 the $10,000 rebate covers roughly 50 to 60% of the cost of one backup battery, including installation. The programs really designed to help folks who are only installing a battery without solar, lets say, find where they are going to go next, Griffin said.A single backup battery on its own will likely only last a couple of hours during an outage, even if electricity is used conservatively. Griffin said customers who can afford to go further will get significantly more protection by pairing a battery with solar panels.A typical installation of about eight to 10 solar panels and one backup battery runs, roughly, between $25,000 and $35,000 before incentives. That kind of system can power a home on its own while the sun is shining, supplemented by the battery into nighttime. The best advice that anyone can give you about a battery is that, in an outage event, conservation of your energy use is key, Griffin said. If you think of it like, you have this tank of electricity, and if you're using every single appliance in your house, that tank is going to drain very fast.If you have a medical device and are running off a battery alone, conserving as much electricity as possible is critical, and having a plan for when the battery runs out is equally important.Beyond the Xcel rebate for qualifying customers, additional incentives are available to the broader public. Those include State of Colorado tax credits, which typically amount to between $1,000 and $2,000, according to Griffin. There is also a Tesla rebate of $500 per Powerwall, capped at two units, which runs through June 30. Xcel also offers a separate program open to nearly all of its customers. The Renewable Battery Connect program gives up to $5,000 in rebates towards backup batteries in exchange for giving Xcel five years of access to a customers battery with up to 60 discharge events per year back to the grid.This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy. ...read more read less