Powering an all-electric house with battery and solar panels, installed by Brimstone Energy
Should I install solar panels, battery storage, or both?
The right answer to this question will always depend on your own situation, your energy needs and your house. A battery and solar panels will save you money but you need to give it thought and you need to plan.
Brimstone Energy have now helped lots of customers make the right decision for them, their home and their family. To help you do the same, we’ll take you back to our very first battery installation.
In August 2023, we worked with Andrew Halket, from the village of Caxton in Cambridgeshire.
Caxton has no gas supply and Andrew’s house is on an all-electric residential estate.
No gas. No oil. Rising electricity costs. Decisions to be made.
Andrew chose Brimstone Energy to install his GivEnergy battery and start his low-cost energy journey.
Spoiler alert: Andrew was happy enough with Brimstone to come back to us six-months later for his solar panel installation, before recommending us for a large commercial project at the start of 2025.
Thinking of solar? There’s lots to learn by reading on…
Tell us about how your project started.
Our house is fully electric, and we’d seen our bills double over the last few years.
With no gas or oil, our electricity bill is always going to be higher than others. Doubling a bill is never good. Doubling one that’s larger to start with needs some attention.
Electricity costs might come down again, though we were always going to be at the mercy of the market until we did something. We reached that point and decided to increase our energy security and future-proof our home.
It was a question of battery storage, solar panels, or both?
And then, a question of which equipment and who we’d trust to install it?
Did you begin with solar panels or battery storage?
We started with a battery installation and went for the GivEnergy All in One 13.5kWh.
The Octopus Economy 7 tariff worked well for our house, as we knew we could charge up our battery during the night at a cheap price and use this to run our house during the day.
Why did you choose not to install solar panels at the same time?
Good question.
We have a loft extension, meaning our dormer windows reduce the roof space available. We weren’t sure if the space would work for panels, so we went with just the battery storage first.
Six months later, we installed our solar panels after speaking with Matt and Brimstone Energy about Eurener 400kWh panels. You see, they’re slightly smaller – we found they’d work well with the space we had if we had them landscape and were creative with how we used our available roof space.
Were you able to add the solar panels to your GivEnergy All in One battery system?
Yes, no problem.
The planning we did with Brimstone for the battery meant we could add solar panels into the system. I enjoyed working with Matt on this side of things and his Army background clearly helps with the technical part of his work.
We even took the opportunity to install a GivEnergy EV Charger. Matt did this for us quickly and at a good price, meaning we’re also set for our hybrid car now, and any electric vehicles in the future.
How did you make the solar panels work?
The front of our house faces the sun, so we needed to install on this side.
The Eurener panels fit nicely underneath our loft windows when they’re landscape. Even though they’re smaller, they still give 400kWh each. We were also able to do the same with our porch roof, giving us eight panels in total and a 3.2kWh system.
Is your battery and solar doing what you hoped?
Yes! Our battery and the car can be fully charged from the grid during the night at a cheap price (currently 13.5 pence per kWh).
We use the stored electricity from the battery during the day when we would have been paying much more at peak prices. We’ve reduced our bill back down to where it was before the price rises.
You can see all this data on the GivEnergy app, which has been updated to make it more user-friendly over the last year. On our tariff, we’re able to export to the grid at 15 pence per kWh, showing how the numbers work well – I am an engineer, after all!
What about the cost of installing your battery and solar?
Battery storage and solar panels will pay you back. We’re looking at a full return from our savings in seven or eight years, which gives us much more than a decade of future returns.
The challenge is having the money available at a certain time for the upfront installation costs.
But don’t forget. Once the payment is made, you’ll see the savings on your bill coming back to you each month from the moment you switch on. You know you’ll make more money from the investment in the future, but right now you’ll get more money in your pocket from monthly savings.
We decided it was a great way to make our money work for us.
Are you pleased with the result?
Absolutely.
We’re less reliant on the grid and external factors that affect pricing, while having a feeling of doing the right thing. We’re doing our bit for the environment but also, by being able to feed back into the grid and use the battery at peak times, we’re helping smooth out demand in the UK.
Tell us about working with Matt and Brimstone Energy
We found Matt through the GivEnergy website, so we asked him to look at the job and quote. He was local and his price was good.
His background in the British Army came through in the way he assessed our needs and followed through on everything he said. He was personable, friendly and responsive.
That’s why we got him back in for the solar panels!
I also recommended him to the Parish Council, who were planning to install a large system on their building. I had no doubt that Brimstone would do a great job here, just like at our home.
What advice would you give anyone thinking about solar panels and battery storage?
If you can, I think it’s a good time to do something about your energy needs. Solar panels and battery storage are definitely worth it – now and over the following years of payback.
We’re looking forward to some free energy days over the spring and summer, even as energy prices rise.
Looking back, we could have done solar and battery in one go but our system was set up to let us add to it. So, my advice would be to work with a company like Brimstone who will look at the big picture and prepare you for the steps beyond your first steps… even if you do your installation in phases like we did.
From Matt, Founder of Brimstone Energy
Andrew, thanks for sharing your experience of working with Brimstone!
Recommendations and repeat custom are signs of doing a good job. We’re pleased Andrew has done both for us, and we don’t underestimate his role in the beginning of Brimstone’s story. We’ve come a long way since.
Watch this space for updates on the Parish Council’s solar panel and battery installation.
Want to read a bit more?
Take a look at a battery retrofitting project we recently completed, this time when panels were already in place.
Or, if you’re a business, see how solar panels and battery storage can increase your profits.
For any advice or for a quote, get in touch. We’d love to hear from you.
