"Since I set the thermostat higher while I'm gone during the day" Aren't you looking for a way to store excess solar power generated during the day? Use it to

"Since I set the thermostat higher while I'm gone during the day" Aren't you looking for a way to store excess solar power generated during the day? Use it to cool your house! If your house is at 68 when the sun goes down and power generation stops, you may very well be fine without AC until the morning. Use the power when its generated and you don't need as big of a battery to store it for later use.