Solar batteries may soon light up US homes

Rockville, United States

THE future of home energy sits in Josh and Susan Fried's basement near shelves of old tools and canned soup, an unadorned box the size of a wine cooler filled with a dozen silent batteries.

Annoyed by blackouts, the retired dentist and his wife paid US$50,000 for the batteries and other technology that could keep their suburban home supercharged. Now, if their cul-de-sac loses power, they can run the air conditioning, the treadmill, even the espresso machine for three days before breaking a sweat.