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Home battery storage is moving from an exotic feature of the homes of the wealthy to a more mainstream option for any home with solar panels, incentivized by a new 30% federal tax credit. But If you think of batteries primarily as a backup technology, you’re missing the main way to justify their cost: saving money on energy every day.

Hands-on with home batteries

ZDNet’s recent roundup of the best home battery systems inspired me to visit a home battery installation in the San Francisco Bay Area where a Generac PWRcell system was being mounted inside the garage by northern California installer Rob Heckendorn of Future Energy Savers. The system was fed by the home’s existing rooftop solar panelssomething you can’t do with Tesla Powerwall home batterieswhich must be combined with its specific solar roof tech.

The Generac system is modular, allowing the homeowner to add batteries in 3kWh increments up to 18kWh in a single battery cabinet housing. In this case, they chose three modules for a total of 12kWh of capacity, a number Rob Heckedorn says is as close to an average as he sees

Want some nostalgia with your cheeseburger? After rumors that McDonald’s Halloween pails could come back, the fast-food chain officially announced their return on Thursday. The pails will be available at participating McDonald’s locations nationwide in the US starting Oct. 18.

On Thursday, the fast-food chain’s Twitter account posted a GIF of three buckets — pumpkin orange, slime green and ghostly white — with the words “Halloween Happy Meal” in a spooky font and a “10.18.”

“Guess who’s coming back,” McDonald’s wrote in the caption. McDonald’s didn’t immediately respond to a request for confirmation.

What are McDonald’s Halloween Boo Buckets?

Back in 1986, McDonald’s started offering its Happy Meal kids meal in cute little Halloween-themed buckets, which can double as a kid’s trick-or-treat pail — if they’re not out for maximum candy, that is. Happy Meals usually come in cardboard boxes shaped kind of like little houses, so the buckets were a spook-tacular treat.

What do the 2022 Halloween Boo Buckets look like?

McDonald’s is offering three different colors — the white ghost, orange pumpkin, and green witch, aka McBoo, McPunk’n and McGoblin. One notable difference from past years: The lids are unusual. Looks like there’s a raised decoration for each lid — a witch’s hat for McGoblin, a pumpkin top for McPunk’n, and what appears to be a white pumpkin top for McBoo. But it’s not clear from the photo if that decoration is part of a lid that covers the top, or just a separate piece of plastic, and

As expected, the sun has set on Amazon’s Prime Early Access sale, along with the litany of counter sales running elsewhere. Despite this, however, there are still plenty of solid deals to check out at Amazon and Best Buy, many of which are holdouts from earlier in the week. Some of these products may not be available for their lowest prices ever, true, but they’re still worth a look if you missed them earlier this week.

Google recently introduced the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Probut you can still pick up an unlocked, 128GB Pixel 6 in black at Amazon and Best Buy for $399, just $20 shy of its Prime Day price. Unlike the Pixel 6A, this one has a 90Hz refresh rate display and better rear-facing cameras, along with a vivid 6.4-inch OLED screen. It was an impressive phone at $599 thanks to its great performance and battery life, but today’s $200 discount makes it an even better option for anyone who is in need of an inexpensive phone with a lot to offer. If you’re considering the newer Pixel 7 over the Pixel 6, know that the newer model features a slightly smaller display, a few camera improvements, and Google’s second-gen Tensor CPU. Read our Pixel 6 review.

The latest Apple TV 4K is down to $109.99 (about $70 off) in its 32GB configuration at Amazon and Best Buy. Apple’s futureproof streaming device provides access to all your favorite content, along with services like Apple

A variety of significant mortgage rates inch up over the last week. The average interest rates for both 15-year fixed and 30-year fixed mortgages both crept higher. We also saw an increase in the average rate of 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgages.

Mortgage rates have been increasing consistently since the start of 2022, following in the wake of a series of interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. Interest rates are dynamic and unpredictable — at least on a daily or weekly basis — and they respond to a wide variety of economic factors. But the Fed’s actions, designed to mitigate the high rate of inflationare having an unmistakable impact on mortgage rates.

If you’re looking to buy a home, trying to time the market may not play to your favor. If inflation continues to increase and rates continue to climb, it will likely translate to higher interest rates — and steeper monthly mortgage payments. As such, you may have better luck locking in a lower mortgage interest rate sooner rather than later. No matter when you decide to shop for a home, it’s always a good idea to seek out multiple lenders to compare rates and fees to find the best mortgage for your specific situation.

30-year fixed-rate mortgages

The average interest rate for a standard 30-year fixed mortgage is 6.97%, which is an increase of 14 basis points from one week ago. (A basis point is equivalent to 0.01%.) Thirty-year fixed mortgages are the most frequently used loan

Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi came to Disney Plus on Wednesday, giving us six CGI animated shorts in the style of The Clone Wars. Half of the stories are dedicated to the legendary Jedi Ahsoka Tano (years before her alliance with The Mandalorian), while the others focus on future Sith Lord Dooku during his time as a Jedi.

They’re written by Clone Wars executive producer Dave Filoni, who’s currently working on the live-action Ahsoka series that’s scheduled to hit Disney Plus next year.

These are all set in the prequel era, decades before the events of the original Star Wars movie A New Hope (and current live-action show Andor). Let’s use the Force to dive into each episode’s SPOILERS.

Life and Death

On her homeworld Shili, prior to the events of The Phantom Menace, an infant Ahsoka (Ashley Eckstein) is taken by saber tooth and seems doomed. When she instinctively tames it with the Force and rides it back home, the village elder recognizes her power and declares her a Jedi.

We know from The Clone Wars that she’s brought into the Jedi Order by Master Plo Koon, and becomes Padawan to Anakin Skywalker.

Justice

Jedi Master Dooku (Corey Burton) comes close to killing a corrupt Republic senator after witnessing the suffering of his people. His Padawan Qui-Gon Jinn (Michael Richardsonson of live-action Qui-Gon actor Liam Neeson), manages to save the senator by releasing