How to Install Battery Storage at Home

Battery storage can be very helpful for a home looking to utilize more of its own generated energy, or to utilize very low cost, low carbon electricity, from the grid. When combined with solar or wind, it can reduce reliance on the grid. But it can’t be forgotten that the best way to use the majority of electricity produced is to feed this energy into your hot water tank and/or into a heat pump. Meaning, often batteries get installed unnecessarily. There are also some other real considerations in installing a battery. The first of which is the pay back period. Batteries usually carry a 10 year warranty, which when compared to solar and heat pumps, which carry a 25 year guarantee makes purchasers nervous. The second consideration is the amount of mined minerals in batteries. The environmental cost of extracting those minerals is considerable, particularly in carbon. This means that batteries will take around 7 years to pay back the carbon from their production.