As electricity prices remain volatile, homeowners across the South East are increasingly focusing on one question: how can I use more of my free electricity my panels produce? The answer, in most cases, is battery storage.
A solar battery fundamentally changes how a solar system works day to day, dramatically increasing self-consumption and reducing reliance on the grid.
What Is Solar Self-Consumption?
Solar self-consumption refers to the percentage of electricity generated by your solar panels that you use directly within your home.
Without a battery:
- Solar panels generate electricity mainly during daylight hours
- Much of this power is exported to the grid while you are at work
- You buy electricity back from the grid in the evening at full retail rates
With a battery:
- Excess daytime solar is stored
- That stored energy is used later when demand is higher
- Grid imports are significantly reduced
In practical terms, battery storage allows you to keep and use more of your own free electricity, generated on your rooftop.
How Battery Storage Unlocks Free Electricity
A typical household without battery storage may only self-consume 25-35% of the electricity generated by their solar PV system. The rest is exported.
By adding battery storage, self-consumption can increase to 60-80%, depending on usage patterns and system size.
This means:
- More appliances powered by solar energy
- Less electricity purchased from the grid
- Greater protection from rising unit rates
Every kilowatt hour stored and used later is a kilowatt hour you don’t need to import from the grid during peak periods.
Solar Panels and Battery Storage: How the System Works
Daytime Generation
Your solar panels generate electricity during daylight hours.
Home Usage First
Your solar system prioritises powering your home, directing your solar power to your lighting, appliances and devices.
Excess Energy Stored
Surplus electricity is sent to be stored in your battery instead of being exported back to the grid.
Evening and Night Usage
Stored energy is discharged from your battery when you need it in the evenings and night time, before electricity is drawn from the grid.
This process maximises self-consumption automatically, with no change required to how you use electricity.
Why Battery Storage Is Especially Valuable in the South East
Homes in the South East benefit from some of the highest sunlight levels in the UK. However, higher sunlight results in higher solar generation meaning more surplus energy during the middle of the day.
Battery storage ensures that summer generation is not wasted. Battery storage also gives you access to off-peak tariffs allowing you to fill your battery during winter months with cheaper grid electricity for use during peak tariff periods.
For households with electric vehicles, heat pumps or higher evening usage, the benefits of battery storage are even greater.
Battery Storage vs Exporting to the Grid
Export payments can provide an additional income, but they rarely match the cost of buying electricity from the grid. Currently the highest export tariff is paying around 15p per kWh of energy exported. Daytime peak rates are around 27.6p-32.3p per kWh, with some suppliers offering overnight cheap rates of around 7-10p per kWh.
Getting the right balance between exporting surplus energy and importing from the grid is key to making the most of your solar panel and battery system. Self-consumption improves the long term return on investment. Every kWh of your free solar electricity you use is a kWh you don’t need to purchase from the grid.
Additional Benefits Beyond Savings
Battery storage does more than increase free electricity usage:
- Energy Security – reduced reliance on the grid
- Load shifting – avoid peak time electricity costs without having to change your lifestyle
- Future flexibility – ready for smart tariffs, EV charging and a heat pump
- Carbon reduction – maximise use of renewable energy
When combined with a well designed solar PV system, batteries provide control as well as savings.
Is Battery Storage Right for Your Solar System?
Battery storage is particularly effective if:
- You are away from your property during the day
- You use more electricity in the evenings
- You want to reduce grid dependency
- You are planning or already own solar panels
Battery systems can be installed alongside new solar panels or retrofitted to many existing solar PV systems.
Increase Your Solar Self-Consumption with SolarTherm UK
At SolarTherm UK, we design solar and battery storage systems tailored to real household usage across the South East. Our focus is simple: help you use more of your own free electricity and less from the grid, giving you bigger savings and more energy independence.
If you want to maximise the performance of your solar panels and get more from your solar system, battery storage is one of the most effective upgrades available. Whether you are starting out or looking to upgrade your system, SolarTherm UK can help.
Contact SolarTherm UK today for a free, no obligation quote and design, tailored to your property, usage and future energy needs. No hard sell, just honest, expert advice.
Your home. Your energy. Your future.
