Battery Storage Technology, Makes & Models

What are the Benefits of Battery Storage?

A home battery allows you to store electricity for later use. Here are the two main scenarios where battery storage comes in handy:

If you have solar panels, you don’t normally use all of the solar electricity at the moment it’s generated. With a battery, you can capture a good chunk of that excess solar electricity. Without a battery, all of the excess escapes to the national grid.
A battery can also be charged with cheap, off-peak electricity from the grid, assuming you have signed up to an appropriate tariff with your energy supplier. This allows you to discharge that cheap, stored electricity to your home during the day, rather than pay high peak prices.

HOW DOES BATTERY STORAGE COMBINED WITH SOLAR PANELS ACTUALLY WORK?

Battery Charging

When your panels are producing more electricity than the property needs at any given time, a sensor will alert your battery’s management system, which will divert the excess solar electricity and store it in the battery.

Battery Discharging

If the sensor notices that the property requires electricity from the grid to meet its energy needs, then the battery management system will automatically discharge stored electricity from the battery. This avoids paying for grid electricity unnecessarily.

During the day, energy generated by solar panels can be stored in your solar battery in addition to powering your home.
You can benefit from stored electricity from the solar battery, any time day or night, instead of using the National Grid and paying for it.

Battery Storage Key Features

What To Look For

We install all battery storage brands and models currently available in the UK. However, some are better than others. What do we look for in an ideal battery?

Good manufacturer support in the UK
Solid warranty
Low cost per kWh (unit) of storage
Batteries that ‘just work’ as they should, day after day

Makes and Models we Install

In our opinion and experience, one of the best and most reliable battery products at the moment is the Tesla Powerwall 3. It’s tried and tested, manufacturer support is fast and responsive, and it’s very rare for anything to go wrong. The Powerwall comes in only one size, 13.5 kWh, but you can add additional 13.5 kWh expansion packs.

If you want a smaller capacity battery there are other very good makes available, such as the Sigenergy SigenStor and the Fox battery range. Sigenergy products are very sophisticated and can beat the Powerwall on certain features. Fox batteries are very well priced if you want to keep your costs down.

Most Sigenergy and Fox batteries are modular which means you can tailor the overall battery size to your exact situation.

Here is a table showing the batteries we install most:

MAKE & MODEL	STORAGE CAPACITY	STANDARD MONITORING	WIRING	EMERGENCY POWER?	WARRANTY
Tesla Powerwall 3	13.5 to 54 kWh	Add New	AC- or DC-coupled	Optional	10 years
Sigenergy SigenStor	5.84 to 52.56 kWh	Add New	AC- or DC-coupled	Optional	10 years
Fox EP	4.66 to 41.48 kWh	Yes	AC- or DC-coupled	Optional	10 years
Fox EQ	10.37 to 41.48 kWh	10.36 kWh	AC- or DC-coupled	Optional	10 years
SolarEdge Home	9.7 to 29.1 kWh	Yes	DC-coupled	Optional	10 years
Anker Solix X1	5 to 30 kWh	10.36 kWh	AC- or DC-coupled	Optional	10 years
Anker Solix XE	7 to 126 kWh	10.36 kWh	AC- or DC-coupled	Optional	10 years
Enphase IQ 5P	5 to 75 kWh	10.36 kWh	AC-coupled	Optional	15 years

Affordable finance for Battery Technology

Infinity Energy Services Limited is an Introducer Appointed Representative of Phoenix Financial Consultants Limited (“Phoenix”). Phoenix is a credit broker, not a lender. Phoenix is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Financial Services Register No. 539195), and offers finance from its panel of lenders. All finance subject to status and credit checks.