The net metering scheme is ending. What does that mean for your panels?
As long as net metering applies, the grid is your battery: what you export during the day, you take back in the evening. That scheme is going and many suppliers already charge for exporting. That makes it worthwhile to use your own power yourself instead of giving it away.
A home battery is the answer to that, but not in every situation and not in every size. Below you can read what a battery gives you, what it does not solve and what needs doing in your meter cupboard.
Free site surveyThree packages as a starting pointTest report on completion
A home battery stores the electricity you have left over, so you can use it yourself later.
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Calculator: what does a home battery give you?
Four short steps. I use the same method of calculation as in my quotes. If you do not know something, leave it blank: I will use an average and tell you so honestly.
What a battery does
- Using your own solar power in the evening instead of exporting it
- Less impact from your energy supplier's export charges
- Charging during the cheap hours if you have a dynamic contract
- With the right setup: keeping some circuits running during a power cut
- Smoothing out peak load, which helps with a tight connection
What a battery does not do
I would rather work it out honestly than talk you into something. If a battery turns out to give you little, I will tell you.
- Enlarge a connection that is too small; that remains a matter for the grid operator
- Power your whole house for weeks
- Make up for a poorly performing installation
- Pay for itself if you already use everything yourself during the day
- Work without a sound meter cupboard; that always comes first
Three packages
Each package is a starting point, not a box you buy unseen.
Exactly what goes in depends on your roof, your usage and what the meter cupboard can handle. I determine that at the site survey, which costs nothing.
Every package includes the connection in the meter cupboard, a dedicated circuit with the right protection, the metering that controls the battery, commissioning and a test report on completion. Backup power and an extension with extra modules can be added; those are listed separately in the quote.
Small
A household using up to about 2,500 kWh a year with south-facing panels. Enough to get through the evening. Usually fits in an existing meter cupboard setup.
Medium
The most popular size: a family using 3,000 to 4,500 kWh a year, an average roof and little usage during the day. Covers the evening and the night and works with an EV charger through smart charging.
Large
A home with a heat pump, electric cooking, an EV charger or a workshop. Also for anyone who wants to keep running during a power cut. Several modules, often combined with three-phase.
What happens in the meter cupboard
If your meter cupboard is full or not all circuits have RCD protection, that comes first.
- Site survey. I look at the meter cupboard, the spot for the battery, the distance between them and your inverter. It costs nothing and takes about half an hour.
- Dedicated circuit and protection. The battery goes on its own circuit with the right circuit breaker and RCD protection, and a meter goes in the consumer unit that sees what the house is doing.
- Mounting and connecting. On a sturdy, non-combustible wall, dry and cool, with space around it as set out in the manufacturer's manual.
- Setting up. What gets priority: first the house, then the battery, then the grid. With a dynamic contract, charging during the cheap hours.
- Handover with a test report. Earth continuity, insulation resistance and the operation of the RCD, recorded on paper.
If the connection needs upgrading
If you currently have a single-phase connection and want a large package or backup power on more than a few circuits, a heavier connection is often involved. That is work for the grid operator and there are waiting times at the moment. It pays to know that beforehand rather than halfway through.
Staying on single-phase is often fine: a battery of five to ten kWh works on single-phase without any problems. It only comes into play with the larger packages and with backup power on many circuits.
Questions about the home battery
What does a home battery cost?
That depends on the size and on what needs doing in the meter cupboard. The battery itself is part of the amount; the connection, the metering and commissioning come on top. I only give a price after a site survey, which costs nothing.
Does a home battery pay for itself?
That depends on your daytime usage, your tariff and the export charges your supplier makes. For a household that uses little during the day and exports a lot, it pays back faster than for someone who works at home all day. I work it out with your own figures and tell you honestly if it gives you little.
How long does a battery last during a power cut?
Only with a backup power setup does anything keep working, and then on some of the circuits: the fridge and freezer, the central heating, some lights and a few sockets. With ten kilowatt hours that gets you through a night to a day. Keeping the whole house running is usually not possible and rarely needed.
Does my meter cupboard need renewing first?
Sometimes. There has to be room for a dedicated circuit with the right protection, and the circuits should be on an RCD. If the consumer unit is full or older than about twenty years, that comes first. At the site survey I can see that in five minutes.
Does a battery work with my existing inverter?
Not every brand works with every other brand. Sometimes an extra box does the job, sometimes the battery gets its own inverter. That is the first question I ask, before anything is ordered; that is why the form asks for the make and model.
Can a battery also go on a single-phase connection?
Yes, up to about ten kilowatt hours that is normal. With the larger packages and with backup power on many circuits, a heavier connection comes into the picture, and the grid operator has waiting times for that.
How much space does a battery need?
Allow for a sturdy, non-combustible wall with space around it, dry and out of full sun. A garage, utility room or plant room is usually the best place. The manufacturer's manual gives the exact dimensions, and they are binding for the warranty.
What happens to my solar panels when net metering ends?
They simply keep working and generate just as much as now. What changes is the value of what you export: it becomes lower than what you pay when you take it back later. That is why it becomes more worthwhile to use your own power yourself.
Read up first
From my knowledge base, in plain language.
A dynamic contract and a home battery: is it worth it
With a dynamic contract the battery can charge when electricity is cheap. That works, provided you let it be controlled automatically.
3 min readFeed-in charges: why you pay for your own electricity
More and more suppliers charge for feeding your solar power back into the grid. Your bill shows what that costs you.
3 min readThe net metering scheme is ending: what changes for my panels
Your panels keep generating just as much. What changes is the value of the electricity you feed back.
3 min readNear you too
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