Battery Storage helps you make the most of renewable electricity from a solar PV system For example, your solar PV system will generate electricity during the day, which can then be stored in your batteries for you to use for cooking, heating or watching TV in the evening.

The capacity of a typical home battery storage system could be up to 16kWh, but there are also other ‘stackable’ or bespoke systems if more capacity is required.

A typical 4kWh system would be able to power the kettle 37 times.

What are the benefits of electricity batteries?

If your home is connected to the grid, an electricity battery will help you make the most of your renewable electricity, meaning your electricity bills will be cheaper and your carbon emissions will be lower. In an off grid home, battery storage can reduce your reliance on an alternative fossil fuel electricity generator.

Maximize Solar Usage

‍Excess solar production is stored on a battery, for use when needed, day or night

Lower Electricity Bills

Use battery storage to help power the home and purchase less or cheaper electricity from the grid

Increase Energy Independence

Reduce grid reliance and protect homeowners from rising electricity costs

Feed-in tariff payments

The feed-in tariff (FIT) scheme closed to new applications on 31 March 2019.

If you currently receive FIT payments for an existing renewable electricity system, and you add an electricity storage system, then your generation payments should be unaffected. Before you go ahead, check with your FIT supplier that the storage installation does not affect your eligibility.

Your export payments are probably currently deemed at 50% of generation, and this will not change with the addition of storage, even though actual exports will be reduced. However, when you get a smart meter fitted this will operate as an export meter. All your export payments from then on should be based on actual metered export, and these payments will reduce if you fit storage.

Payments under the domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) are expected to be unaffected by using home energy storage.

Storing grid electricity

Most energy storage systems offer smart operation, allowing users to track energy usage online.

As well as storing renewable energy generation, energy storage technology can also be used to store electricity bought from the grid at cheaper times of the day, such as Economy 7 tariffs.

As Economy 7 electricity is supplied overnight, you can charge your battery with it and benefit from its power during the day.

How much do electricity batteries cost?

The cost of electricity batteries currently ranges from £4,000 to £6,000 for a fully integrated 4kWh system.