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 rateMaximum 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%
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.