What a home battery does
A home battery stores electricity so you can use it later. There are two common reasons to have one:
- With solar panels, to keep the electricity your panels make during the day and use it in the evening, instead of exporting it for a low price and buying it back for more.
- With a time-of-use tariff, to charge from the grid when electricity is cheaper, often overnight, and use it at more expensive times. This works with or without solar panels.
Whether a battery saves you money depends on your electricity use, your tariff, the battery’s size and what it costs to install. We do not publish savings figures, because they vary so much between homes. A good installer should base a quote on your own usage.
The support available
| Support | Where | What it gives | Who can use it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0% VAT on installation | UK | 0% VAT until 31 March 2027 | Anyone having a battery installed |
| Warm Homes: Local Grant | England | A battery alongside solar panels, as part of council-delivered upgrades | Eligible lower-income households |
| Warm Homes loans | Not yet confirmed | Government-backed loans, capped at £15,000 for batteries | Being rolled out through participating lenders |
| Smart Export Guarantee | Great Britain | Payments for exported solar electricity, at rates suppliers set | Solar panel owners with a suitable installation |
| Green Homes Wales | Wales | Interest-free loans that can include battery storage | Homeowners in Wales, subject to credit checks |
0% VAT on installed batteries
Since 1 February 2024, electrical storage batteries installed in homes have been treated as energy-saving materials, which currently carry 0% VAT until 31 March 2027. The relief covers three situations:
- a battery installed as part of a new solar panel system;
- a battery added to solar panels you already have;
- a standalone battery that stores electricity from the grid.
From 1 April 2027 the rate is due to return to 5%. Buying a battery without installation is standard-rated, so the saving only applies when it is installed for you.
The Warm Homes: Local Grant
In England, the Warm Homes: Local Grant can fund domestic batteries for eligible lower-income households, but only where the battery complements existing or new solar panels. Battery installations were paused in November 2025 while a product standard was put in place, and resumed from 2 February 2026. See our Warm Homes: Local Grant page for who qualifies.
Warm Homes loans
The government’s Warm Homes Loan Scheme is designed to make borrowing for home energy upgrades cheaper, including solar panels and battery storage, standalone or with solar. Its rules set a cap of £15,000 for battery storage and the same for solar panels, and describe a first consumer launch phase from September 2026 through participating lenders. No list of lenders had been published when we checked, so we cannot yet point you to one. We do not offer finance ourselves.
Selling electricity back: the Smart Export Guarantee
The Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) requires larger electricity suppliers to pay small-scale generators, including solar panel owners, for electricity they export. Each supplier sets its own rate and terms, which must always be above zero, and you do not have to use the same company as your electricity supplier. It is worth shopping around.
Batteries are not an eligible technology on their own. If your battery also stores electricity charged from the grid, a supplier does not have to pay for that exported electricity. It may ask you to fit extra meters, pay for part of it, or pay nothing for it.
Plug-in solar and batteries
Small plug-in solar kits of up to 800W became legal to use in Great Britain on 27 August 2026. They plug into a normal socket and are designed without batteries: the government’s interim product rules cover plug-in solar only, not plug-in batteries.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
- Scotland: the Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan does not list solar panels or batteries among the measures it funds. See our guide to grants in Scotland.
- Wales: Green Homes Wales offers interest-free loans for homeowners that can include battery storage, after advice from Nest. See our guide to grants in Wales.
- Northern Ireland: there is currently no financial support for generating your own electricity at home. See our Northern Ireland guide.
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme does not fund batteries or solar panels anywhere: it only covers heat pumps and, in limited cases, biomass boilers.
Before you buy
Questions to ask an installer
- Is the battery an MCS-certified product, and is the installer MCS certified for batteries?
- How was the battery size chosen: from your actual electricity use, or a standard package?
- Where will it go? Batteries have rules on location and ventilation.
- What warranty covers the battery, and for how many years or charge cycles?
- If you plan to export, which SEG tariffs will accept export from your set-up?
Thinking about solar panels as well?
Our solar panels page explains what panels can realistically do for a UK home, and what to check about your roof before you get a quote.
Check what support could apply to you
Tell us what heats your home and whether you own it. We will take you to our eligibility check with those answers filled in. It is free, and nothing is sent until you choose to send it.
