Charging, discharging and self-consumption: what a home battery actually does and what it does not.
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Before you invest in storage, you want to understand how a home battery works. At its core it is simple: the battery stores electricity when you do not need it straight away, and gives it back at the moment you are actually consuming. That way you use more of your own generated energy.
We walk through how it works step by step: charging and discharging, the role of the inverter and how self-consumption works in practice. We also explain honestly what a home battery does not do, because misconceptions exist about that, especially when it comes to a power cut.
During the day, when your solar panels produce more than you consume, the battery charges with that surplus. In the evening or at night, when your panels generate nothing but you are still consuming, the battery discharges and supplies that stored energy to your home.
This happens automatically, controlled by the system that monitors your consumption and generation. You do not need to switch anything manually. The battery fills up when there is a surplus and supplies when you need it.
A battery stores direct current, while your home runs on alternating current. The inverter converts that current, in both directions, so that stored energy is usable in your home. The inverter is therefore the link between your panels, your battery and your installation.
The result is a higher level of self-consumption: you use a larger share of what you generate yourself instead of feeding it into the grid. Now that the reversing meter has been phased out, this has become more important. How much your self-consumption rises depends on your consumption, generation and the capacity of the battery.
A common misconception is that a home battery automatically supplies your home with power during a power cut. That is not a given. Many systems switch off during a grid failure for safety reasons, so that no power flows back to the grid while work is being carried out on it.
If you want your battery to supply part of your home during a power cut, this requires a specific function and connection, a so called emergency power supply. Whether that is possible and worthwhile in your situation is something we assess during a site visit. We do not promise emergency power that the system does not provide as standard.
The battery stores energy you generate during the day but do not use.
In the evening and at night, the battery gives back that stored energy.
The inverter makes the stored electricity usable in your home.
During a power cut, the battery does not power your home without a separate provision.
The surplus from your solar panels goes into the battery.
The battery supplies the stored energy when you use power.
When the battery is empty, you draw power from the grid as usual.
Request a site visit. We explain how a home battery works in your situation and what it can concretely mean for your consumption.
