Battery storage
Home batteries, with or without new solar
Keep your daytime solar for the evening, charge overnight on a cheap tariff, or both. Including batteries for the panels you already have.
Already have solar?
Add a battery to your existing panels
Thousands of Wirral homes had panels fitted in the last fifteen years and export most of what they make for a few pence a unit, then buy it back in the evening at full price. A battery changes that: it stores the spare daytime power and runs the house after dark.
Two ways to do it. An AC-coupled battery sits alongside your existing inverter and leaves your old system untouched, which matters if you're on an older feed-in tariff. A hybrid inverter replaces your inverter and manages panels and battery together, which is the neater option when your inverter is near the end of its life anyway.
Battery retrofits are 0% VAT until 31 March 2027, the same as new solar.
What we check at the survey
- Your inverter's age and model, and whether it's worth keeping
- Your usage pattern, to size the battery to your evenings, not to a brochure
- Where the battery can go: garage, utility, loft or an outside wall
- Your fuse board and earthing
- Whether your old feed-in tariff is affected (usually it isn't, with AC coupling)
Sizing
How big a battery?
Match your evening
Most homes use 8 to 12 kWh a day and most of it after 4pm. A 5 to 10 kWh battery covers a typical evening and night. Bigger is rarely better value.
Cheap overnight tariffs
On a time-of-use tariff, the battery charges at the cheap rate overnight and runs the house during the expensive hours, on dull winter days as well as sunny ones.
Power cuts
Standard batteries switch off in a power cut for safety. If backup matters to you, say so: some systems can keep selected circuits running, at extra cost.
FAQ
Battery questions
Can I add a battery to solar panels I already have?
Yes, in most cases. It's one of the most common jobs we do. The battery sits alongside your existing inverter (AC-coupled) or replaces it with a hybrid inverter. It's 0% VAT until March 2027 whether or not it's fitted with new panels.
What size battery do I need?
Big enough to cover your evening and overnight use, not bigger. A typical home uses 8 to 12 kWh a day, and most households land on a 5 to 10 kWh battery. We size it from your usage and whether you plan to charge on a cheap overnight tariff.
Where does the battery go?
A garage, utility room, loft or a dry outside wall. Batteries need a sensible temperature and clear space around them, and the regulations on where they can be installed are getting stricter, so we'll agree the location at the survey.
Is a battery worth it without solar?
It can be if you're on a time-of-use tariff: charge it overnight on cheap electricity and run the house from it during the day. Whether the sums work depends on your tariff and usage, and we'll be honest if they don't.
Free quote
Get a free design and quote
Tell us about your home and what you're hoping to do. A recent electricity bill and a photo of your roof or fuse board help us size it properly before we visit.
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What happens next
- We look at your roof on satellite imagery and your usage, and give you a rough system size and price.
- We visit to check the roof, loft, fuse board and where a battery would go.
- You get a written design and quote with the expected generation and savings, and the MCS paperwork.