Plug in house batteries
Discussion
I don't think they're legal in the UK yet but I know there are a fair few non UK on here.
Does anyone have one of these plug and play house batteries? On the face of it seems a reasonable idea, allowing you to buy electricity at lower rates and use it when the rates are high on a viable tariff. Massively cheaper and simpler than a house battery to install, but the 800w output sounds low. Without checking our exact usage I'd guess that would probably cover lights, router, laptop, extractor fans etc and maybe the fridge freezer, but certainly not any cooking or laundry.
Long term I'd like to get solar and a proper battery setup but the Dutch are changing the net metering fees at the end of this year so its probably better to wait and see what the new rules are and how the energy/solar/battery companies respond to it, but I find the idea of a simple plug in systems intriguing.
Does anyone have one of these plug and play house batteries? On the face of it seems a reasonable idea, allowing you to buy electricity at lower rates and use it when the rates are high on a viable tariff. Massively cheaper and simpler than a house battery to install, but the 800w output sounds low. Without checking our exact usage I'd guess that would probably cover lights, router, laptop, extractor fans etc and maybe the fridge freezer, but certainly not any cooking or laundry.
Long term I'd like to get solar and a proper battery setup but the Dutch are changing the net metering fees at the end of this year so its probably better to wait and see what the new rules are and how the energy/solar/battery companies respond to it, but I find the idea of a simple plug in systems intriguing.
From what I've read, 800w is the limit if you actually plug it in via a socket (when it becomes legal).
The bigger/better units can be hardwired, and can then supply 2KW+.
Hardwiring could be as simple as a fused connection unit spurred from an existing ring AFAIK.
A job for a sparky really, but not too expensive. Easy to disconnect if you move house..
The bigger/better units can be hardwired, and can then supply 2KW+.
Hardwiring could be as simple as a fused connection unit spurred from an existing ring AFAIK.
A job for a sparky really, but not too expensive. Easy to disconnect if you move house..
From an initial half a days data logging my electricity use it looks like 800W is actually plenty for lights/ventilation/TV/etc, with only the expected high users like the oven, kettle etc taking more.
Our tariff next year will be about 13c cheaper during the day in summer than peak rates, so a 5kWh house battery charging at cheap rate and used at high rate would save me about....50c/day. So pay itself off in about 17 years at current prices
Maybe leave it until there's a bigger disparity between peak and off peak rates, or look at full solar and battery setups.
Our tariff next year will be about 13c cheaper during the day in summer than peak rates, so a 5kWh house battery charging at cheap rate and used at high rate would save me about....50c/day. So pay itself off in about 17 years at current prices
Maybe leave it until there's a bigger disparity between peak and off peak rates, or look at full solar and battery setups.
Been looking at exactly this sort of thing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K80xeZAd2js
Worth a watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K80xeZAd2js
Worth a watch.
nordboy said:
Been looking at exactly this sort of thing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K80xeZAd2js
Worth a watch.
I'm contemplating something like this, stuck out in the garage:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K80xeZAd2js
Worth a watch.
https://uk.eco-worthy.com/collections/lithium-batt...
I agree with Clockworks - makes more sense to me if I can feed in more than 800w. We get through anywhere between 15-20kwh per day.
However, I'm holding off for a bit longer - if v2h works well I'd arguably not bother with a battery when I could use a car to provide the battery instead. Could be a reason to finally change the missus's S1.
ukwill said:
nordboy said:
Been looking at exactly this sort of thing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K80xeZAd2js
Worth a watch.
I'm contemplating something like this, stuck out in the garage:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K80xeZAd2js
Worth a watch.
https://uk.eco-worthy.com/collections/lithium-batt...
I agree with Clockworks - makes more sense to me if I can feed in more than 800w. We get through anywhere between 15-20kwh per day.
However, I'm holding off for a bit longer - if v2h works well I'd arguably not bother with a battery when I could use a car to provide the battery instead. Could be a reason to finally change the missus's S1.
Do we think the energy suppliers will pull the cheap overnight deals as not interested in solar really?
heisthegaffer said:
Im really tempted to get a battery for my cheap overnight deal.
Do we think the energy suppliers will pull the cheap overnight deals as not interested in solar really?
Possibly, here in NL our day rate it's cheaper than the night rate due to how much solar there is now. Do we think the energy suppliers will pull the cheap overnight deals as not interested in solar really?
RizzoTheRat said:
heisthegaffer said:
Im really tempted to get a battery for my cheap overnight deal.
Do we think the energy suppliers will pull the cheap overnight deals as not interested in solar really?
Possibly, here in NL our day rate it's cheaper than the night rate due to how much solar there is now. Do we think the energy suppliers will pull the cheap overnight deals as not interested in solar really?
This is basically what Octopus are doing with the EV part of Intelligent Go - cheap rate during the day, when it's beneficial for Octopus.
Fixed time of use tarrifs may disappear, but they will be replaced with Smart tarrifs, and having a house battery makes you ideally placed to take advantage - as long as your battery is "smart".
This is why Octopus are getting into the house battery market - everybody wins.
On the other hand, I can see solar feed-in payments decreasing further, so domestic solar will become more about using the power yourself - another plus for house batteries.
Since the payback time on batteries is a lot shorter than solar, it's not that much of a gamble.
Doesn't the average gas heated home in the U.K. use between 8-12kw of electricity a day?
If you're going to lay out for a battery to try and arb the night rate then you need a battery that can cover all of the elevated day rate and be filled completely by the cheap night rate window. Even then the arb is tiny and beholden to the utility provider who will close it the moment it is actually profitable to capture that arb for themselves. Plus, cheaper cell chemistry is already scheduled within a shorter time horizon than that of capex recovery at current numbers. Buy nothing, use less is still the best play until they allow your house to use the car battery already being paid for and just sitting there doing nowt.
If you're going to lay out for a battery to try and arb the night rate then you need a battery that can cover all of the elevated day rate and be filled completely by the cheap night rate window. Even then the arb is tiny and beholden to the utility provider who will close it the moment it is actually profitable to capture that arb for themselves. Plus, cheaper cell chemistry is already scheduled within a shorter time horizon than that of capex recovery at current numbers. Buy nothing, use less is still the best play until they allow your house to use the car battery already being paid for and just sitting there doing nowt.
I have been running a battery for a month now. I got an electrician to install a fused spur and a power monitor in the consumer unit for £150. My daily usage is around 10kwh a day. I have an e-on tariff with peak rate between 4pm-7pm around 40p which the battery covers . It charges between 2am and 5am @ 15p. The battery was £690 on eBay from ecoflow. I also got eBay discount too. If you have a fused spur install by an electrician you can legally remove the 800w limit as it’s not plug-in anymore it’s hardwired. Works perfectly well.
The dishwasher and washing machine are set for overnight so it’s really only the oven that uses noticeable grid energy. Even with the TV on and lights the usage is around 350w well under 800w anyway. Considering an ev tariff to save more. I have 4 solar
Panels too.
The dishwasher and washing machine are set for overnight so it’s really only the oven that uses noticeable grid energy. Even with the TV on and lights the usage is around 350w well under 800w anyway. Considering an ev tariff to save more. I have 4 solar
Panels too.
RizzoTheRat said:
How much impact do the extra charge cycles have on a car battery? Is that an issue or not a problem with modern batteries?
https://www.sourceful.energy/blog/how-does-v2x-affect-your-ev-battery-the-complete-guide-to-battery-health-with-bidirectional-chargingFwiw, we've already made savings simply by moving to Octopus Agile tariff (no solar / no battery), and not using much electric between 4-7pm. We won't be going solar as we've got too many trees, but fully intend to utilise a battery - I'm just deliberating whether to go v2h or stick a battery in the garage. The car battery route seems ideal for us.
RizzoTheRat said:
DonkeyApple said:
until they allow your house to use the car battery already being paid for and just sitting there doing nowt.
How much impact do the extra charge cycles have on a car battery? Is that an issue or not a problem with modern batteries? RizzoTheRat said:
DonkeyApple said:
until they allow your house to use the car battery already being paid for and just sitting there doing nowt.
How much impact do the extra charge cycles have on a car battery? Is that an issue or not a problem with modern batteries? Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff