Understanding Battery storage & system comparison

Maximising battery storage by charging at cheap rates from the grid

 Battery Storage Guide  With the right battery storage system, it's possible for a household to store enough electricity to supply the full demand of the property.   A typical low voltage battery storage system such as Givenergy will charge from the grid or solar at 2.5kWh, meaning 10kWh can be stored during the 4 hrs of Octopus Go’s low rate. And/or will charge at 2.5kWh from

 

Battery system	Availability	Type	On or Off grid	Multiple chargers	IP rating	Charge/ Discharge rate	Maximum Capacity	Typical Battery cost/kWh	Typical Kit cost/kWh	Depth of Discharge
GSL All In One 5kw Hybrid 20.48kw	Good	All In One	On & Off grid	No	55	5kWh	40.96kWh	£262	£350	90%
Libbi All In One kw Hybrid 20kw	Pre-order	All In One	On grid	No	65	5kWh	20kWh	£534	£643	90%
Alpha Smile B3 Plus AC 20kw	Good	All In One	On grid	No	65	3kWh	30kWh	£359	£411	95%
Alpha Smile 5 5kw Hybrid 20kw	Good	All In One	On grid	No	65	5kWh	60.1kWh	£717	£450	95%
Turbo Hybrid / Pylontech 19.2kw	Good	Stackable	On & Off grid	Yes	55	5kWh	76.8kWh	£308	£329	95%
Sunsynk 5kw Hybrid / Pylontech 19.2kw	Good	Stackable	On & Off grid	Yes	55	5kWh	76.8kWh	£308	£332	95%
Sunsynk 5kw Hybrid / Sunsynk 20.48kw	Good	Stackable	On & Off grid	Yes	55	5kWh	76.8kWh	£340	£417	100%
Givenergy 5kw Hybrid Gen2 19kw	Good	wall or floor mounted	On grid	No	65	5kWh	47.5kWh	£356	£434	100%
Givenergy 3kw AC 19kw	Good	wall or floor mounted	On grid	Yes	65	2.5kWh	47.5kWh	£356	£410	100%
Huawei 5kw Hybrid 20kw	Good	wall or floor mounted	On grid	No	66	5kWh	30kWh	£559	£611	100%
Solis 3kw RAI / Pylontech 19.2kw	Good	Stackable	On grid	No	55	3.3kWh	29kWh	£308	£307	95%
Solis 5kw Hybrid / Pylontech 19.2kw	Good	Stackable	On grid	No	55	5kWh	29kWh	£308	£331	95%
Fox HV Cube 5kw Hybrid 20.15kw	Good	Stackable	On grid	No	65	5kWh	28.21kWh	£344	£392	90%
Fox HV Cube 5kw AC 20.15kw	Good	Stackable	On grid	Yes	65	5kWh	28.21kWh	£344	£378	90%
Fox HV2600 5kw AC 18.2kw	Good	Stackable	On grid	Yes	55	5kWh	18.2kWh	£333	£379	90%
SolaX 5kw Hybrid 17.4kw	Good	wall or floor mounted	On grid	Yes	55	6kWh	17.4kWh	£329	£416	90%
SolaX 3.6kw AC 17.4kw	Good	wall or floor mounted	On grid	Yes	55	5kWh	17.4kWh	£338	£389	90%

your pv array. It can also discharge at 2.5kWh to the property which may meet the demand of an average/low demand property most of the time.

With a higher charge/discharge system such as GSL All In One Or Turbo, it’s possible to charge and discharge at a rate of 5kWh, translating to 20kWh can be stored during the 4 hrs with Octopus Go. And will meet the demand of a property up to 5kwh potentailly resulting in far greater savings if your demand is often more than 2.5kWh. With Turbo, Sunsynk & SolaX it is also possible to have multiple systems to potentially meet even the highest demand properties.

Sizing & selecting which battery storage system is right for you

Two key factors to take into consideration when selecting the battery storage system are the storage capacity and your peak demand.

The advisable storage capacity can be calculated by looking at your average usage over a 24hr period, and determining how much of this amount you wish to be  able store. If you don't have a smart meter this can be found on your electric bills or by contacting your supplier. Over-sizing will mean that more capital will be invested than required, but can allow for increased usage in the future. Under-sizing usually results in lost potential savings, but maximises the capital invested.

If you have solar pv then you need to look at how much spare electricity you are generating during the day time that can be stored and how much of this is worthwhile storing to for after daylight hours. This can also be combined with how much you want to charge at night time from the grid to top up the batteries.

Peak demand is the maximum electricity demand at any given time of the day. It is important to know your peak demand to ensure the system you go with will meet either all or most of your demand. A system that cannot supply this demand may mean you still need to draw significant amounts of electricity from the grid during costly peak-rate hours. For example, if you regularly have 5kW of high demand appliances running, and you only have a battery system that can discharge at 2.5kWh, you will still require 2.5kWh from the grid. Whereas If you have a system that can discharge at 5kWh then you will meet your peak demand without needing to draw from the grid.

Battery storage key comparison 

All prices for illustrative purposes only based on typical system sizes and accurate at the time of publishing. Please refer to product pages for up to date prices.