Reliable, easy to use home battery options

Tallmarc · 2026-01-14T08:18:04Z

Hi everyone, I wondered if I could ask for your thoughts on a reliable, easy to use home battery solution that will provide backup power in the event of grid failure and lower energy costs? We have a Vaillant Aerotherm Plus 7kw ASHP and a 2.9kW solar array. In December the ASHP consumed 512kWh of electricity, although obviously that varies hugely and ranges up to 50kWh on really cold days. Last year we imported 4967 kWh of energy from the grid and generated just over 3000kWh, exporting about half of that. We are currently on Ovo’s Heat Pump Plus tariff which sadly ends this month. This has prompted me to look at battery storage, along with concerns about future grid reliability. I recognise that I won’t achieve payback on the cost of battery storage. The system needs to be as idiot proof and simple to operate as possible. Neither my partner nor I have the technical skills to be tweaking settings! I’d also like it to play nicely with smart tariffs like Ocotpus Agile to maximise potential savings and lower our carbon footprint. I’ve had quote of £7124 from Octopus for a Powerwall 3, retaining my existing PV inverter. They have said that this is the only system they offer that can provide a true UPS. I don’t like Tesla as a brand and wondered if there are any other options that folks on here would suggest that would meet my criteria? I also wondered if 13.5kWh is sufficient given our consumption or if I should be looking for a larger system? Thanks very much for your thoughts.

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JohnnyB

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14/01/2026 11:58 pm

I have just had a my inverter and battery installed, about a week ago, and I think it is very similar to @batpred system. I have a Solis S6-EH3P10K02-NV-YD-L with 16.1kWh Fogstar battery pack. I have a seperate CU for 'back up load' which the inverter switches over to run from the battery if there is a power cut. It isn't full islanding, I don't have everything running through this board, but it is enough to keep the lights and some of the sockets powered in the event of a power cut. We rarely have power cuts and they don't last for long so that wasn't a big consideration, but as the inverter has the option and it is a new build I have made use of it. If I really want to I think the invert is just about large enough to run the house but I was advised not to run everything through this board. The electrician has set it up so it is fairly easy to move circuits between boards if I want to change things in the future. This was all installed as part of the solar install so I don't know an exact cost but the inverter, battery and extra wiring has cost around £4-4.5k. This is a 10kW 3 phase inverter and it was picked as it works with 48V batteries, so not the cheapest option. Most 8/10kW 3ph inverters only work with high voltage batteries and I couldn't find those at a price I was prepared to pay. I expect the battery to pay for itself within 5 years, but time will tell. With 2 EV's we can use everything we can store during the summer months so with that and being able to run mostly from the battery during the day I expect a lot lower electric bill.

I think the inverter will run without internet connection but I haven't tried it yet. It does have an AI powered setting in the app that will set the charge and discharge times according to the house needs, weather forecast and tariff, including Agile. This does need an internet connection. I used it the first night but that was it as I have been trying out different settings myself first. I like to play around with the settings to start with to find out how it works but after that I'm hoping the AI will keep things ticking over without much involvment from me.

In terms of safety the latest Fogstar Solar batteries have integrated fire suppression built in them so a lot of people must be asking about the fire risk. I bought the batteries in the black Friday sale, just before they put the latest batteries with fire supression on the website. I bought Fogstar because of the price compared to most other batteries. If it doesn't last quite as long then that is OK. From everything I have read LiFePO is very unlikely to have an issue with runaway so I am comfortable with them in the house.

All the charge and discharge rates, times etc. are controlled by the inverter. The battery pack feeds the SOC back to the inverter and the inverter uses that to stop the charge when the set SOC is reached. The battery pack has a screen with a few basic settings and the SOC and cell voltages. I like having the cell voltages as I can see that the SOC% and the cell voltages on the battery display don't match the charts I can find online showing LiFePO4 cell voltages and SOC. Fogstar are being careful with the readings and protecting the battery, both low and high. It also displays state of health, which I would love to have on my EV batteries!

I am finding that with a new build house and a 5kW heat pump we have been able to run all day from the battery charged overnight for most of the last week, but we don't use too much energy to heat the house.

This post was modified 2 hours ago by JohnnyB

This post was modified 1 hour ago by JohnnyB

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