isn't that more of a storage issue, which a home battery would solve?

A battery would solve it, but it can be cheaper to have additional panels oriented east and west than to add the equivalent battery capacity

The upcoming "balcony solar" legislations will allow up to a limit (iirc 1200W in Virginia) of solar to be directly be connected to the electricity outlets of a house to make our electricity costs lower without having to pay for a battery from what I understand.

Storage is one way to move time of supply to match time of demand. Offsetting the time of supply directly is simpler, although it probably doesn't offer a complete solution.