The majority of customers installing a new solar panel system in 2024 get battery storage installed at the same time. But there are a million homes in the UK that have solar panels without battery storage. Now is the time to change that. Now is the time to add battery storage.

Now is the time to add battery storage

Back in the days of the solar boom in the UK, when customers were paid a handsome Feed in Tariff for any electricity that they generated, storing that electricity wasn’t possible. Battery technology didn’t exist in the same way that it does in 2024. Electric vehicles have changed all that, and now large capacity lithium iron phosphate batteries (LiFePO 4 battery) are commonplace.

So, for these early adopters, their electricity is either consumed in the moment, or exported to the grid.

And when they need to turn the oven on in the evening, they import electricity at expensive peak rates.

Furthermore, the older systems do not offer the range of app-based monitoring functionality that is now standard on modern systems.

Imagine that you have a solar system installed in 2010.

Your panels are working just fine, but the inverter is now at the end of its expected lifespan. Your inverter is located in your loft space. Once a quarter you submit a reading to your energy supplier telling them how much electricity you have generated. You submitted the March reading OK, it was lower than expected, but then 2024 has been a very wet year.

Your next reading is due in June 2024, but you were away on holiday, so miss the submission window.

In September, you’ll submit your next reading, and this will cover the 6-month period from April to September. But what a surprise to find out that the generation meter hasn’t ticked up at all since you last read it in March.

So it seems likely that your Inverter probably stopped working sometime in February. You have not generated any electricity for 7 months. And by the time you get it replaced, that will be 9-10 months.

A modern system will alert you to any problems in real time and will simultaneously alert the installer and the manufacturer. It simply wouldn’t be possible to go for 7 months without knowing there was a problem.

Furthermore, the app-based monitoring systems give great insight into your energy consumption and generation patterns, to allow you to maximise the benefits offered by your system – reducing your reliance on the grid and maximising your savings.

So, our advice to these early adopters is to consider upgrading to a modern inverter and battery system. You won’t regret it.

Brimstone Energy UK – For the Green Energy Transition.