Is a solar battery worth it in Scotland?

The honest answer: it depends on your home. Whether a battery is worth it comes down to how and when you use electricity, the tariff you are on, what you are paid for exported electricity, and the size of your solar system. We do not publish general cost or saving figures, because they vary too much from one home to the next. Figures for your home are given on your written quote after a survey. For more on how batteries work, see our battery storage guide.

The common mistake

Many online battery calculators treat stored energy as if it were only worth what you would have been paid to export it. That misses the point. The value of stored energy is the electricity you no longer have to buy from the grid later in the day. How much that matters depends on your own tariff and usage.

What determines whether a battery is worth it

Five things matter most:

• 1. Your usage pattern: If you use most of your electricity in the evening and overnight, when solar is not generating, a battery lets you use more of your own solar energy. If you are at home during the day and already use most of what your panels produce, a battery adds less.
• 2. Your tariff: On a time-of-use tariff, a battery can charge when grid electricity is cheaper and discharge when it is dearer. On a flat-rate tariff there is less to gain from this. Tariffs change, so we look at yours at the survey.
• 3. Export rates: Surplus electricity you do not store can be exported to the grid. Smart Export Guarantee payments, with rates set by each supplier. The gap between what you pay for grid electricity and what you are paid to export affects how useful storage is.
• 4. Battery size: The battery should be sized to your solar output and your consumption, not the other way round. A small array may not fill a large battery, and an undersized battery may run out before the evening is over.
• 5. Your property: Where the battery and inverter can be fitted, your roof, and your existing electrics all shape the right system. These are checked in person at the survey.

What we look at during the survey

At your no-obligation survey we look at your annual electricity use, when in the day you use it, your current tariff, your roof and likely solar output, and where a battery and inverter could be fitted. From that we recommend whether a battery makes sense for you and what size. The equipment, price and any figures for your home are then set out on your written quote.

Confirmed on your written quote. Actual results vary by property, roof orientation, consumption, weather, and tariff.

Why Scotland is different

Scotland gets less sunshine than southern England, and winter days are short. That means a battery that only stores solar may be less useful in the darker months, while a battery that can also charge from the grid on a time-of-use tariff can be useful all year. See our solar with vs without battery comparison for the side-by-side.

The bottom line

A battery is worth considering if you use a lot of electricity in the evening, are on or willing to move to a time-of-use tariff, and have enough solar to fill it. It is less likely to suit you if you already use most of your solar during the day. Figures for your home are given on your written quote after survey. Warranty and guarantee terms are confirmed in writing on your quotation. Interest-free credit up to £30,000, subject to status.