Our expert explains what to look for when installing a home battery

You’ve probably already heard why a home battery is a good idea – it allows you to temporarily store the solar energy you don't use during the day and then use it to run your washing machine at night, for instance. A home battery also means that sunlight hours and the capacity rate have less of an impact on when you can use your energy-guzzling appliances. But which type of battery should you buy? According to our expert, you need to consider three criteria. We’ve summarised them for you below.

The capacity refers to how much electricity your home battery can store. You should choose a battery that’s suitable for the power output of your solar panel installation, your family’s average consumption between sunset and sunrise, and your expected energy consumption in future.

If your annual energy production and consumption are roughly even, you should have 1 to 1.5 kilowatt-hours of battery capacity per kilowatt-peak of solar panels in order to balance the storage capacity and power output of your solar panel installation.

Keep in mind that the technical data sheet for a home battery sometimes refers to the ‘usable energy’ capacity (or ‘depth of discharge’) as well as the ‘total’ capacity. The ‘usable’ capacity is the actual amount stored by your battery (expressed as a percentage relative to total energy capacity).

Power indicates the maximum amount of electricity your home battery can provide at any given time. The battery you choose should be able to supply the amount of electricity you need to power the various household appliances you want to switch on at the same time. If your home battery can’t supply enough power, your appliances will have to draw on electricity from the grid.

The number of charge cycles determines how many times a battery can be recharged, so you should choose a device where this number is high. The higher the number, the longer the expected life of the home battery and the greater the potential return on your investment.

There are lots of things to consider when choosing the right home battery, but don't get discouraged – an experienced installer can help you decide. Thanks to our partner ‘Impact us today’, you can get in touch with one by using the additional ‘Solar panels and battery' service in KBC Mobile.

This information is provided without obligation and for information purposes only. It applies exclusively to Flanders. KBC Bank NV does not provide any guarantee as to whether this information is up to date, accurate, correct, complete and/or suitable for a particular purpose. You remain fully responsible for any and all consequences of any use you make of it.