Dearborn particulars
Dearborn's Residential Solar Checklist, updated January 23, 2025, requires both a building permit and an electrical permit. The electrical application has no PV line, so the checklist is where the fees are printed. Building administrative and plan review fees are "$100 administrative fee + $5 per $1,000 of construction cost with a maximum of $250," and the permit itself is "$100 + $15 for each additional $1,000 of construction value over $2,000." The electrical side reads "$100 + at least $80 depending on scope of work." Turnaround is 10 business days.
There's paperwork for the contractor, too. The electrical contractor needs a State of Michigan electrical license and must be registered with the city, and the building contractor needs a residential builder or maintenance and alteration license. Dearborn sits in DTE Electric territory on the MPSC map (confirm your address with DTE), and the checklist says DTE application fees range from $50 to $500, though most residential projects cost $50. The building and trade permits desk answers at 311 or 313-943-2150, per the city's page. If an installer suggests you pull the permits yourself, the checklist's own words are that the city "strongly discourages homeowners from applying directly."
Solar battery storage in Dearborn: what to know
The same checklist notes that a home with panels but no battery still loses power in a blackout. No storage permit is named. Ask Building & Trade at 311 or 313-943-2150 (per the city's page) whether a battery needs one.
DTE, the utility for Dearborn on the state's map (confirm it for your address), doesn't count a battery as a generator, so storage kWh stay out of its 110 percent sizing limit.
Permits for solar battery storage in Dearborn
The 2023 National Electrical Code has been Michigan's electrical code since March 12, 2024, and LARA sends residential requirements to the Michigan Residential Code.
When to call 911 and when it can wait
- Smoke, a burning smell or fire at a battery, inverter, panels or wiring is a 911 call. Leave the equipment alone.
- The neighborhood is out of power and your panels with no battery are off, which is how grid-tied inverters are built to behave.
What to settle before you buy
Try this first: ask the installer whether the battery is part of the Dearborn permit application or a separate filing.
- Decide what you want backup power for: a few circuits or the whole house.
- Ask whether the battery is priced inside or on top of the solar quote.
- Get the capacity in kWh, the warranty and the make and model in writing.
- Look up the company's electrical contractor license number with LARA.
What solar battery storage costs
The estimate below is the Michigan-wide one, adjusted for Michigan wages and not for Dearborn in particular. The same table is on the solar battery storage page. How we estimate costs. Prices as of Oct 23, 2026.
| Item | Figure | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Estimated range, not a quote | $6,550 to $14,800 per home battery (about 10 to 13.5 kWh) installed, before any incentive | Built from 2 national published ranges, adjusted by the Michigan solar installer wage ratio (0.87). Before any incentive: there is no federal credit for a system installed in 2026. |
| Solar photovoltaic installer wage, Michigan mean | $24.29 an hour | What installers are paid (BLS OEWS May 2025), not what you are charged. Only 310 people are in the Michigan estimate. |
How we estimate costs: the Estimated range row comes out of a model, so treat it as a planning figure and never as a quote. It takes 2 published national ranges for this job (cost guides from third-party sites that we haven't verified and don't cite) and multiplies them by Michigan's solar installer wage ratio to the US (0.87, BLS May 2025). The range is before any incentive: the federal residential clean energy credit does not apply to systems installed after December 31, 2025. The wage and permit rows are what installers are paid and what the city charges, and neither is a price. We have not collected quotes, and too few Michigan installers publish prices to show a range. Full method.
Questions about solar battery storage
Will my solar panels work in a Michigan power outage?
Not without a battery, because grid-tied inverters shut off in an outage. The MPSC's consumer tips say backup power needs a battery.
Is there a tax credit or rebate for a home battery in Michigan?
Not a federal one for a battery finished in 2026. The Residential Clean Energy Credit ended for expenditures made after December 31, 2025, and installation completion is what counts.
Does a battery let me go off the grid?
Consumers Energy warns against claims that you can be independent of the grid, and says customers still have a bill for fixed charges.