Buying home battery: Everything you need to know about home batteries

Buying a home battery? You've come to the right place at Wallbox Discounter. A home battery can be a smart investment for homeowners who use solar panels or have a dynamic energy contract. With a home battery, excess solar energy can be stored for later use, making you less dependent on the grid and saving costs on your energy bills. In addition, with certain models, a dynamic energy contract also allows you to charge the battery when power is very cheap and discharge it when power is expensive. In this way, you will automatically earn back the home battery. Home batteries are available in different brands and capacities and are becoming increasingly popular among homeowners looking to reduce their energy bills.

Home battery

What exactly is a home battery? Firstly, a home battery is a device that stores electrical energy for later use and can be compared to an electric car battery. In almost all cases, batteries are made of lithium. Lithium has the advantages of being overweight, having a long lifespan and being affordable.

The home battery system basically consists of two parts:

- The inverter
- The battery itself

The inverter converts the power signal from AC to DC and the battery then stores this energy. Home batteries are usually available from a volume of 5kWh with an inverter rated at 2.5kW. This means the battery will fully charge or discharge in about 2 hours.

Home battery solar panels

A home battery can be a smart addition to solar panels because it can use the stored energy at times when there is less or no sunlight available or when you pay a high price for power. This brings great flexibility and financial benefits. 

Home battery price

The cost of a home battery depends on several factors, including capacity, features, charging speed and brand. As mentioned earlier, a battery system consists of an inverter and the battery itself. The faster the battery can be charged and discharged, the more the price goes up. The same goes for the total volume in kWh of energy the battery can hold.

The cheapest home batteries have a volume starting from 3.5 kWh and cost around 3,500 euros including VAT. Home batteries can go up to a capacity of 25 kWh with a price tag of around 20,000 euros.

Which home battery do I need?

What is the best home battery for your situation depends on three things:

1. How much power do you generate with your own solar panels?
2. How much power do you consume per day?
3. What will be the purpose of the battery?

If you want to use the battery primarily to optimise your own use of self-generated power, it is important to calculate what the surplus is during the day and how much is used in the evening. For example, if on a reasonably sunny day there is a surplus of 12 kWh, take a battery of at least 10 kWh to fully charge the battery on most days. In the evening, the electric cooker, oven and car can then discharge the battery to recharge it with sunshine the following day. 

When the battery is also used for automatic power on and off at cheap and more expensive times, it is wise to choose a larger battery. The bigger the battery gets, the cheaper the price per kWh. So when you see the purchase of a battery as a business model and want to make the payback period as short as possible, choose a battery of at least 20 kWh and 5 kW.

Payback period home battery

The payback time of a home battery depends on several factors, such as the price of the home battery, the abolition of the net-metering scheme, the price of electricity, the amount of energy you can store with it and your energy consumption.

Based on current market conditions, a home battery can be recovered in an average of 10 years. Currently, the earning model can be realised mainly by buying and selling power at different times.

Tesla home battery

When it comes to home batteries, the Tesla Powerwall is one of the best-known and most popular options on the market. The Powerwall is available in different models and capacities, ranging from 7 kWh to 14 kWh. Unfortunately, the Tesla Powerwall is currently only available in the United States. Our home batteries offer the same warranties, options and features as the Tesla Powerwall.