Solar Storage Battery Cost (Guide)

In our big guide to solar battery storage costs we’ll cover:

• A quick overview of everything you need to know
• Battery prices for 5kWh and 10kWh units
• The price difference between lithium-ion and lead-acid batteries
• The cost of solar panels with a battery
• Maintenance and replacement costs
• Are solar batteries really worth the money?

Overview: What You Need To Know About Solar Panel Battery Costs

This guide to solar panel battery costs is a 10-minute read. So if you’re stuck for time, bookmark this page for later and read this quick summary instead…

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Expect your solar panel battery price to be in the region of £3,500-£6,500. You’ll want a lithium-ion battery rather than lead-acid, as they are much more efficient and overall, more cost effective.

A typical 3-bedroom semi-detached using most of the electricity generated by solar panels, as it’s produced, will need a 5kWh battery; expect this to cost £3,500 on top of the solar system or £5,000 as a stand alone investment where you need to purchase both the inverter and the battery.

For the same property, where most electricity isn’t used as it’s generated (it’s used during the evenings instead), would need a battery up to a capacity of 10kWh; expect this to cost £5,000. 

Overall, this results in a total price for 5kW solar panel installation, with a 10kWh battery of £10,000-£13,000. 

This includes an automatic discount applied by your installer thanks to the government’s 0% VAT rate on green energy products.

Maintenance costs are minimal, but expect to replace your battery 10-15 years. 

You can get prices for your solar panel system including a battery by jumping over to our solar panel installation page here. 

Guide: Solar Storage Battery Costs

Solar panel batteries aren’t cheap. Expect to pay anywhere between £3,500-£6,500 for the average UK property, for between a 5kWh and 15kWh battery. If you are not adding a battery to an existing solar system, but buying it as a stand alone product to charge from the grid, then expect a price closer to £5,000 - £8,000.

Remember, the prices mentioned above are an average, the price you’ll pay for a solar battery will vary based on: 

• Manufacturer’s warranty (the longer the better)
• Brand reputation
• Size (kWh) of the battery you purchase (the bigger the battery, the more expensive they are)
• Battery type (lithium-ion batteries are more expensive than lead-acid)
• Installation cost

You’ll want a battery from a leading manufacturer with a long (10 plus year) warranty. And typically, it’s cheaper to have your battery installed alongside your panels (when your installer is already on site), rather than fitting it at a later date. 

Get your system designed with the correct sized battery and get fixed prices on-screen using our solar panel page here. 

5kW Solar Storage Battery Cost

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Prices for 5kW solar storage batteries typically sit in the range of £3,500 including installation. This will get you a battery from a leading brand such as Sunsynk.

Typically, this will be a suitably sized battery for a 3-bedroom semi-detached property that is able to utilise the majority of solar panel’s electricity production during the daytime. 

Solar panels produce most of their electricity between 10am-4pm. So, if you work at home, it’s likely you can make the most out of this energy production. And any excess electricity produced can be sold back to the grid via the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG). 

10kW Solar Storage Battery Cost

If you’re not hooked up to the grid and you don’t work at home, it’s likely you’ll need a larger battery, up to 10kWh. A 10kWh battery will supply electricity to a typical 3-bedroom property for approximately 12 hours, during hours of low consumption (overnight). 

The bigger the battery you buy, the more expensive it’s going to be. Whilst a battery up to 5kW will cost £3,500 including installation, expect costs to spiral to £5,000 for a unit that’s up to 10kWh. 

Still confused as to what size solar battery you need? One thing you don’t want to do, is buy a battery that’s too big, as that’s simply extra expense for the sake of it.

Jump over to our solar panel page here; we’ll suggest the right sized solar panel system and battery, with prices on-screen. 

Lithium-Ion v Lead-Acid

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Ideally, you’ll want to purchase a lithium-ion solar battery rather than a lead-acid battery. 

Expect every kWh hour of energy stored and used with a lead-acid battery to be approximately twice the cost compared with a lithium solar battery.

Although the cost of lithium batteries means an upfront cost of nearly twice the price, they’re actually much more cost efficient due to the fact they:

• Don’t have to be charged as often
• Can manage over twice the amount of charge cycles during their lifespan (so they last much longer)
• Won’t need to replaced as often (each replacement is going to be subject to a hefty installation cost)

Get prices for your solar panel system with a lithium battery by jumping over to our solar panel page here. 

Solar Panels & Battery Cost

We’ve written a detailed guide here covering solar panel installation costs.

The average UK property uses approximately 2,700kWh of electricity. This relates to needing a 3.5kW solar panel system as a minimum. 

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For those using electricity as and when solar panels produce it, a 5kWh will likely suffice. 

However, a typical household uses more electricity during the evening, whereas solar panels generate the majority of their electricity in the daytime. Put simply, a 10kWh battery is likely to be needed. 

Expect prices for solar panel installation to be:

• 3kW solar panel system (no battery): £5,500
• 3kW solar panel system with a 5kWh battery: £9,000
• 3kW solar panel system with a 10kWh battery: £10,500

These estimates are exactly that…estimates. The exact price you’ll pay depends on the brand of components, their warranty, complexity of your installation (roof access and type of inverter) and so on. 

Get a fixed price for your solar panel system including a suitable solar storage battery by clicking over to our solar panel page here. 

How Much Does A Solar Battery Cost To Maintain?

Apart from keeping terminals clean, there's little maintenance involved with incorporating a solar battery into your system. 

However, operationally you should ensure:

• You never deplete the battery's charge fully (this can reduce its lifespan)
• Monitor it's efficiency using the app provided by the manufacturer (big drops in efficiency could suggest a replacement is needed)

What’s The Cost To Replace A Solar Battery?

The cost of a replacement battery is likely to be slightly higher than that of a battery installed alongside a full solar panel system installation. 

Put simply, your MCS installer doesn’t need an extra site visit or assessment when initially installing your battery. However, for a replacement, they may want to check your energy and battery usage to determine exactly what size battery you need (this might be different to the one you have). 

Expect a replacement 5kWh-10kWh to cost in the region of £4,000-£5,500 to replace.

Does The Government Offer Grants For Solar Panel Batteries?

As of 1 April 2022, all households in England, Scotland and Wales can benefit from the 0% VAT relief on green energy products. The current scheme is due to expire 31 March 2027, with purchases on and after 1 April 2027 being subject to a 5% VAT rate. 

This government scheme means you'll save 20% on the cost of your solar storage battery. For example, if the RRP of the solar storage battery you're buying is £5,000, you'll actually pay £4,166.67; total savings of £833.33. 

You won't need to do anything to benefit from the 0% VAT relief scheme when using a qualified MCS installer; they'll apply the 0% VAT relief on your behalf. 

Is A Solar Battery Worth The Money?

Solar batteries are worth the cost if you’re generating more electricity at any point in the day, than you can use at that specific point. 

This is most likely the case if you’re out (at work, for instance) during the parts of the day where solar panels are producing the most electricity. Typically, solar panels produce the most electricity during the hours of 10am-4pm:

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Without a storage battery, any excess will go to waste if you don’t sell it back to the grid via the Smart Export Guarantee. However, even if you are able to sell it back to the grid, you’ll get paid much less than you’ll have to fork out if you need to buy electricity back. 

Put simply, it makes financial sense to store any excess electricity, rather than sell it back to the grid. And the only way you can do this, is by using a solar storage battery. 

And as a side note, installing a solar storage battery ensures you’re self-sufficient when it comes to electricity. This protects your household from the ongoing increasing costs (per kWh) of energy. As prices rise, the payback period for your solar panels and battery will reduce dramatically. 

Our clickable tool here will determine exactly what size solar panel system and storage battery you need and give you fixed prices on-screen.