Retrofitting a solar battery for your home

Chris Lovatt, Chief Operating Officer of E.ON Energy Infrastructure Services, discusses retrofitting a solar battery and how you could benefit.

If you’ve installed solar panels on your roof, you already know the benefits of generating your own clean, renewable electricity. But did you know that with a battery storage system, the solar power your panels produce can go even further, giving you renewable electricity, both day and night.

Given the electricity from solar panels can't always be used immediately, a battery storage system helps ensure the electricity your panels produce won't be wasted. A battery lets you store excess electricity produced during the day to power your home in the evening or overnight, even to charge an electric vehicle.

If you’re considering adding a battery to your solar system, here I’ll answer some of the questions you might have about solar battery retrofit. 

Although solar panels work without solar batteries, you can only use the power generated immediately if you don't have a battery. So you can’t keep the renewable power you’ve generated for later use – instead it’s exported back to the grid.

A solar battery fitted in your home can increase the amount of clean energy your family uses and can help you to save money – you can install one retrospectively or at the same time as your solar panels.  You won't need to import as much electricity from the grid and during peak times, you'll have your own renewable source.

And if your solar panels produce more renewable electricity than you need or can store in your battery, you can even get paid for exporting excess energy back to the grid using our Smart Export Guarantee.

Yes, it’s easy to retrofit a solar battery to an existing solar panel system. Depending on the specifications of your existing system and how much storage capacity you require, we offer four sizes of batteries. And if you’re not sure which size of battery is best for you and your home we can discuss this with you at your consultation with one of our solar experts. And you don’t need to have bought your solar system from E.ON to get one of our batteries.

Adding a battery for solar panels used to be very expensive but as solar batteries have become more common, costs have fallen. Costs vary depending on the storage capacity of the battery you need - we can retrofit a solar battery to a storage system from £3,635.

Technical advances mean solar batteries are now lighter and smaller, creating more options for home battery storage. In fact, on average, a battery is similar in size to carry-on hand luggage which you might take on holiday.

They can be stored in a loft, garage, utility room, under the stairs or even outside – as long as it won’t be too exposed. Our solar experts can advise you on the best position in your home to store a solar battery .

Our solar batteries are made of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery chemistry, one of the safest types of battery. They can achieve more charge/discharge cycles than other solar batteries and generate fewer environmental concerns than cobalt-based batteries. And for extra peace of mind, your battery is protected with a 10 year warranty, if you choose a battery from us.

If you’re interested in finding out more, check out our blog on everything you need to know about solar battery storage. Or if you’d like to install a solar battery with us, simply complete our online contact form and one of our battery storage experts will be in touch to provide information and advice to help you choose the right solar battery for you.