Battery Storage
Use your own power, day and night.
Solar only generates when the sun is up — but your home uses most of its electricity in the evening. A battery closes that gap. We design and install home battery systems that charge from solar, discharge when you need them, and can even top up from suitable time-of-use tariffs.
Why it’s worth it
What you get
Use more of your solar
A correctly sized battery can store daytime surplus for later use. We model the expected benefit from your actual consumption data.
Cheap-rate charging
Pair with a suitable time-of-use tariff — charge the battery during cheaper off-peak periods and use that power during peak-rate hours.
Power-cut backup
Specified with a backup-capable inverter, your essentials stay on when the street goes dark. We design the backup circuits around your home at quote stage.
Sized around your home
Typical home systems run from around 5 kWh up to 20+ kWh. Start with what your household actually uses, add capacity later as your needs grow.
How we size a battery — from your data, not a brochure
The right battery size is the gap between what your roof makes in the day and what your house uses in the evening — not a round number off a price list. We ask for your half-hourly consumption data (your smart meter has it) and, if you already have solar, your generation history. From that we can see how many kilowatt-hours a day you would actually shift, and size to that.
For most Fife homes that lands between 5 and 10 kWh. Bigger is not better: every kilowatt-hour you never cycle is money spent on capacity that sits idle. If your evenings are light and you are out all day, we may tell you a smaller unit — or no battery yet — is the honest answer.
Charging cheaply overnight, even without solar
On a time-of-use tariff, electricity overnight can cost around 7p a unit against 25p or more in the day. A battery charges at the cheap rate and runs the house through the expensive hours, so it pays back whether or not there are panels on the roof. Combine the two and you are storing free solar in summer and cheap grid power in winter.
We set the charge schedule to your tariff at commissioning and check it again at the free 30-day follow-up. Change tariff later and the schedule changes with it — most systems do this in the app.
Backup in a power cut — if you specify it
A standard battery shuts down with the grid, for the safety of the engineers fixing it. If you want the lights, the fridge, the broadband and the boiler to stay on, we fit a backup-capable inverter and wire selected circuits to it. Whole-house backup is possible but rarely worth the cost; a handful of essential circuits usually is. We design this with you at quote stage, not after.
Adding a battery to solar you already have
Most existing systems can take a battery. Two routes: an AC-coupled battery with its own inverter works alongside any existing solar inverter; or, if your inverter is due for replacement anyway, we swap it for a hybrid unit and DC-couple the battery for slightly better efficiency. We tell you which makes financial sense at the survey — and if your existing inverter has years left in it, AC-coupled wins.
Looked after once it is fitted
A battery works every day for ten years or more, and if its manufacturer stops honouring warranties you want someone who knows the system. DUAL Care Solar & Battery is £18 a month for an annual service, a battery health check from the portal with the firmware kept current, a twice-yearly look at your monitoring, priority booking and our member rates. Every new install from us includes its first twelve months.
See the DUAL Care plans →What it costs
Solar and a 5–10 kWh battery installed together on a typical Fife home come to £10,000–£14,000, against £6,000–£9,000 for solar alone. A battery added to an existing system is quoted after we have seen your inverter, your consumer unit and your data — the kit and the labour vary too much to put a fair number on a website. Batteries and their installation are zero-rated for VAT until 31 March 2027. There is no grant.
Worked payback examples, with and without a battery →The process
How we work
- 01
Energy audit
We look at your half-hourly consumption data and solar generation (if fitted). This tells us the right battery size — too small and you waste solar, too big and you're paying for capacity you'll never use.
- 02
Design & quote
Battery capacity, inverter (if needed), location, cabling route. All written up with projected annual savings and a breakdown of the kit.
- 03
Install & commission
Typically 1 day. We mount the battery, wire into your consumer unit, commission the system and walk you through the monitoring app.
- 04
Monitor & optimise
Free 30-day check-in. We tune the charge/discharge schedule to your tariff and consumption pattern.
Local coverage
Battery Storage across Fife
Based in Glenrothes and working throughout Fife. See local coverage and request a survey in your nearest area.
FAQ
Frequently asked
Do I need solar to have a battery?
No. A standalone battery can shift electricity use to lower-cost periods on a suitable time-of-use tariff. We check the current tariff rules and your consumption data before estimating any saving.
How long do batteries last?
Most batteries we install carry a 10–12 year manufacturer warranty that guarantees a minimum share of the original capacity at the end of it (typically 60–70%). Many will keep working beyond the warranty, but at reduced capacity. We quote the specific warranty terms for the battery we recommend.
Where does it get installed?
Where a battery can go is decided at the survey, not picked for convenience. We follow the manufacturer's requirements and PAS 63100, the fire-safety specification for home batteries. That rules out lofts and roof spaces, bedrooms, and anywhere on an escape route such as hallways, landings and stairs. Garages, outbuildings, suitable utility spaces and external walls are the usual choices, with fire detection provided where required. We'll show you the proposed location and the reasoning before you commit.
Will it power my whole house in a power cut?
If fitted with a backup-capable inverter, yes — but typically on selected essential circuits rather than the whole property. We design the backup circuits with you at quote stage.
What size battery do I need?
For most Fife homes, 5–10 kWh. We size it from your half-hourly consumption data and your solar generation, not from a price list — capacity you never cycle is wasted money.
Can I add a battery later?
Yes. An AC-coupled battery works alongside any existing inverter; or we replace the inverter with a hybrid unit and DC-couple the battery when the old one is due for replacement anyway.
How much does a home battery cost?
Installed with solar on a typical home, £10,000–£14,000 for the pair against £6,000–£9,000 for solar alone. A retrofit battery is quoted after the survey. Zero-rated for VAT until 31 March 2027.
Next step
Ready to talk battery storage?
Free site survey. Fixed-price quote. No pressure, no jargon — just a clear plan for what we'd do and what it'd cost.