Now that the subsidy is about to expire: for whom is the home battery a useful investment? | MyGuide

Dirk Van Evercooren gives a rather nuanced answer. “In order to make new solar panels profitable, a home battery is certainly not necessary. A sensibly dimensioned home battery can help to increase the efficiency of solar panels. That is also the main reason why people install home batteries.”

Koen Vanthournout: “The most important revenue model consists of boosting self-consumption. After all, you don’t have to put the power that you store via the battery on the grid. But for the electricity you place on the grid, you will otherwise receive an injection fee from your energy supplier. The profit of a home battery therefore lies in the difference between the price you pay for the energy you consume and the compensation from the energy supplier for the power you place on the grid.”

Reimbursement for electricity from solar panels up to four times lower in one year: read more about the current injection fees here.

The question is to what extent volatile energy prices affect that return. “Consumer prices went up last year, but injection fees also followed that trend. You can assume that you save about 0.30 to 0.40 euros for every kilowatt hour of energy that you do not put on the grid, but store via the home battery and use later yourself. That figure is not high enough for most families to earn back the battery within the lifespan of about fifteen years,” explains Koen Vanthournout.

“The need for correct sizing and control of the home battery increases with lower energy prices, since the financial return of the battery decreases in that case,” adds Dirk Van Evercooren.

Suppliers and installation companies like to refer to the capacity rate as an extra argument for choosing a home battery. “The home battery can save on grid costs. You must set your home battery specifically for this, so that you avoid a consumption peak. This is called in technical terms peak shaving”, says Dirk Van Evercooren.

Koen Vanthournout points out that it is best not to overestimate the effect on the energy bill. “If you manage to consistently reduce the monthly peak by one kilowatt, you save about forty euros per year. That monthly peak is standard between 4 and 5 kilowatts in most families, so you already have to skim the monthly peak by twenty percent to save barely forty euros. In addition, the quarter hour with the highest average power determines the full monthly peak. So if you have insufficiently charged the home battery once or used the battery capacity too quickly, you still risk falling back on a higher monthly peak.”

Both gentlemen find the home battery especially useful on roofs with many solar panels. “The more solar panels you have installed, the more profitable a home battery can be,” says Dirk Van Evercooren.

“A home battery must quickly yield 500 euros per year to earn itself back, and that is quite a lot. Ideally, you fully charge the home battery every day, only to drain it completely in the evening. In this way, you can make maximum use of them during their fifteen-year lifespan. This works best for those who already generate a large power surplus. Although in that case it is best to also have a home battery with a fairly large capacity, which in turn increases the price tag,” says Koen Vanthournout.

“With older solar panel installations, a home battery is often more useful. In addition, it offers advantages with a dynamic energy rate, the price of which fluctuates per hour,” Dirk Van Evercooren points out.

Koen Vanthournout estimates the price range for home batteries with a current capacity at 3,000 to 6,000 euros. “A lot depends on the brand you prefer,” explains Koen Vanthournout.

“After years of price drops in 2022, the home battery has not become cheaper due to a shortage of chips. Anyone who installed an inverter that also supports the home battery when installing the solar panels has an advantage. Another important fact is the complete disappearance of government subsidies. Since 1 January, the Flemish government has halved the premium amount. She now provides a premium of up to 850 euros for home batteries that you use before 1 April. After that, government support will no longer apply.”

Meeting that deadline of April 1 seems almost impossible. “There are still problems with delivery times, both for home batteries and inverters. Count on a waiting period of six months, depending on available stock and brand,” concludes Dirk Van Evercooren.

Wondering how much a home battery would cost you? Request a quote here without obligation.

Read also on Mijnenergie.be:

Injection tariffs 2023: how much will prosumers receive for excess electricity produced?

756 families share energy with family or friends: what is it? And for whom is it beneficial?

If you switch on three of these devices at the same time for a quarter of an hour, your capacity rate will increase