The lifetime cost of small scale battery storage is now around 13p per kWh . This is the cost ‘per cycle’ of charging and discharging 1 kWh (excluding the cost of the electricity used to charge the battery). In the residential arena, battery storage is starting to make sense in two applications:
A typical 5 kilowatt hour (kWh) solar battery, suitable for a three-bedroom house, costs £5,000, on average. The amount you pay will depend on the amount of electricity the battery can store, also known as its capacity. Prices start at around £2,500 for the smallest storage systems, those under 4kWh.
The battery's life cycle and discharge rate can actually make or break the cost of your solar system. Here's the scoop: A long-life battery might pinch a bit more at first - but in the long haul, it can be better bang for your buck. The overall cost changes once you get a reliable battery in there. Sources:
Developer premiums and development expenses - depending on the project's attractiveness, these can range from £50k/MW to £100k/MW. Financing and transaction costs - at current interest rates, these can be around 20% of total project costs. 68% of battery project costs range between £400k/MW and £700k/MW.
Assuming a standard 28.1p/kWh electricity tariff, for this situation, the battery storage system would reduce the electricity bills by about £267 a year. This figure is based on simulation results and cannot be used as evidence for the actual economic benefits of a battery storage system.
As the name suggests, solar battery storage, also referred to as an energy storage system allows you to store electricity generated by your solar panels during the sunlight hours. This makes the electricity readily available for use in the evenings or on dull days, allowing you to become more self-reliant and reduce your reliance on the grid.