Add a Battery to Your Existing Solar Panels
Already have panels? Stop exporting your midday surplus for pennies and keep it for the evening instead. We add home batteries to existing solar systems across the North West, upgrade batteries that have been outgrown, and handle the paperwork.
- 0% VAT on a battery added to existing panels, until 31 March 2027
- Your panels stay as they are
- Older or undersized batteries upgraded
- DNO notification handled for you
How adding a battery works
AC-coupled: alongside your inverter
The battery brings its own inverter and connects on the AC side, so your panels and existing inverter carry on as they are. It's the usual way to add storage to a working system.
Hybrid: a new inverter that does both
If your inverter is getting old, or you're adding more panels anyway, a hybrid inverter runs the panels and the battery together. We'll tell you honestly which makes more sense.
What we check first
- 1
Your inverter
Its make, model and age decide whether an AC-coupled battery joins alongside it, or whether a hybrid inverter makes more sense.
- 2
How you're paid for exports
Smart Export Guarantee or the older Feed-in Tariff. If you're on the Feed-in Tariff, tell us at the start so we design the battery around how your generation meter reads.
- 3
Where the battery goes
An inside wall near the consumer unit, a garage, or outside for batteries rated for it.
- 4
Your consumer unit
Whether there's space and protection for the new circuit, so nothing comes as a surprise on the day.
- 5
The DNO notification
Adding storage changes what your home can export, so the network operator needs to know. We handle it.
Batteries that suit existing panels
Lowest-cost route
Hanchu ESS
Works natively over AC and DC, so it slots into most existing systems. Heated cells for British winters and a 12-year warranty.
About the Hanchu ESSThe UK’s most popular
Fox ESS
AC-coupled alongside your existing inverter, with whole-home backup available through the EVO module.
About the Fox ESSOther batteries may suit your system too. See every battery we fit, compared.
While the scaffold is up
Add more panels at the same time
If your system is small or your use has grown, with an electric car or a heat pump, adding panels alongside the battery fills it faster. We design the extra panels and the battery together, so it is one visit and one set of paperwork.
What our customers say
Adding a battery: your questions
Can any solar system have a battery added?
Most can. AC-coupled batteries such as Fox ESS and Hanchu connect on the AC side, alongside your existing inverter, without touching your panels. We confirm it for your system before anything is ordered.
Can you upgrade the battery I already have?
Yes. If your battery is too small for how you use electricity now, or is getting old, we replace it or add capacity with a newer battery. We check how it connects to your inverter first, so the new battery works with the rest of your system.
Is there VAT on a battery added to existing panels?
No. A battery added to existing solar panels is 0% VAT until 31 March 2027.
Will adding a battery affect my export payments?
You keep your export arrangement. If you're on the older Feed-in Tariff, tell us at the start: we design the battery so it doesn't affect how your generation meter reads.
Can I add more solar panels at the same time?
Yes, and it is often the best time to do it: the battery fills faster, and the scaffolding is only up once. We design the extra panels and the battery together.
Solar panels and battery storageHow long does it take?
Adding a battery to an existing system is usually done in a day, often quicker than a full solar install.
Across the North West? Find battery storage in your area.
Add a battery to your solar
Send us a photo of your existing inverter and roughly how much electricity you use, and we'll tell you which battery suits your system.