Battery storage is beneficial for electric cars because it allows you to charge your electric car with 100% renewable energy (when combined with solar). With sufficient battery storage and solar panels, you can be almost completely independent of the grid. Certain batteries can also power your home, or part of your home, during a power-cut.
You can charge your home battery storage with off-peak electricity. There are still Economy 7 tariffs available with a cheap night rate. Additionally, there are many other modern tariffs designed for customers with solar panels, electric cars, and batteries. For more details, please visit our Smart Meter Tariffs page.
Discharging allows electricity to flow out of your solar panel system's battery into your home (via the fuse board), powering any devices turned on or charging your electric vehicle through its charging point. Charging can also be from electricity coming from your solar panel system.
Charging your car at home will mean higher electricity bills. The solution is to invest in solar panels, sometimes referred to as solar PV, which generate electricity from a free and limitless energy source: the sun.
Solar battery storage captures your surplus solar electricity that would otherwise be lost to the grid. It allows you to use this stored solar electricity when the sun isn’t shining or at night. A battery can store cheap off-peak electricity and discharge it when prices are high.
Battery storage is typically mounted either on the floor or on the wall, usually indoors. Some battery products can also be installed outside. The battery is then connected up to your fuse board. If you look at your fuse board, you will see a new trip switch labelled something like ‘Battery’ or ‘Battery Storage’.