Battery storage
A home battery stores electricity — from your solar panels or from a cheap overnight tariff — to use later when power is expensive. It suits some homes very well and others barely at all. We help you tell which you are.
Who this suits
- Solar homes exporting a lot of unused daytime generation
- Households with high evening electricity use
- Homes on a time-of-use tariff with a cheap overnight rate
- People who want some backup during a power cut
- Households planning an EV or heat pump that will raise demand
Who it may not suit
- Low overall electricity use, where the savings won't cover the cost
- Homes with modest solar and little evening demand
- Anyone being told 'every solar home needs a battery' — that isn't true
Should you add a battery to your solar system?
Not: every solar home needs a battery. That’s a sales line, not a fact. A battery is worth having when it will move enough electricity from cheap-or-free to expensive to pay for itself over a sensible period — and that depends on your household, not on a brochure.
When storage tends to make sense
- you have solar and export a lot of unused generation each day
- your electricity use is concentrated in the evening
- you’re on, or can move to, a tariff with a cheap overnight rate
- you’re about to add an EV or heat pump that will raise demand
- keeping essential circuits alive in a power cut matters to you
When it’s weaker
Low total consumption, a small solar array, little evening demand, or a flat-rate tariff with poor export options — in those cases a battery can take a long time to pay back, and we’ll say so plainly.
Getting the size right
Too small and you’re importing again by mid-evening. Too big and you’ve paid for capacity that never cycles. We size the battery to your real generation and demand, and show you the trade-off between payback, self-consumption and backup before you decide.
Start your home assessment and we’ll model whether a battery is worth it for you — including if the answer is no.
How it works
A home battery is a lithium (usually LFP) unit wired into your electrical system, often alongside a solar inverter. It charges when electricity is cheap or plentiful — midday solar, or a low overnight tariff rate — and discharges when it's expensive, typically the evening peak. A compatible inverter and a dedicated circuit can also keep essential items running during a grid outage.
Meaningful benefits
- Use more of your own solar instead of exporting it cheaply
- Shift your evening usage off the peak-price period
- Charge cheaply overnight on the right tariff and run the house on it by day
- Optional backup for essential circuits during an outage
- Can usually be added to an existing solar system later
What to understand
- It's a significant cost, and the payback depends entirely on your usage
- Usable capacity is smaller than the headline figure
- Backup capability depends on the inverter and how it's wired
- Sizing matters — too big and the last few kWh never get used
A clear path from question to decision
- 01
A look at your electricity bills and, if you have solar, your generation data
- 02
Modelling of what a battery would actually shift for your household
- 03
A clear recommendation on size — or a recommendation not to fit one
- 04
Your decision
- 05
Installation alongside new or existing solar, and monitoring set-up
What it costs
from £3,500 fitted, depending on capacity
The right size — and whether a battery is worth it at all — depends on your consumption pattern and tariff. We model it before quoting.
Recent battery storage work
Solar and battery, Victorian terrace in York
A work-from-home household in a Victorian terrace with high evening use fitted a compact solar array and a right-sized battery so daytime generation carries…
Read moreQuestions
Do I need a battery with my solar?
Not necessarily. It depends on how much you export, your evening usage and your tariff. For some homes it's clearly worth it; for others the economics are weak. We'll show you which.
Can I add a battery later?
Usually yes. Many systems are wired ready, and most existing solar setups can take a battery retrofit.
Will it power my house in a blackout?
With a compatible inverter and a backup circuit, it can keep essential items — lights, broadband, a fridge — running. We'll tell you exactly what a given system supports.
How long do batteries last?
Typically a 10-year warranty, often quoted as a number of full cycles or a total energy throughput.
Is it noisy or a fire risk?
Home batteries are quiet and, using LFP chemistry with proper protection and installation, safe. Siting and ventilation are part of the design.
