MGD 003
Solar PV self-consumption
Estimates how much of a solar system's output a household uses and how much it exports, with and without a battery.
Batteries
What storage does for a house that already generates, and what it does not.
Calculators
Reading
Guide
Batteries
Self-consumption, export and whether a battery earns its keep
What a solar system is worth depends far more on how much of its output the house uses than on how much it generates. MCS publishes tables for working that out, and this is how to read them for your household.
7 min read
Questions
Batteries
Batteries: common questions
Short answers on what a battery does for a house with solar, how big is big enough, whether it keeps the lights on, and whether the sums work.
10 questions
Article
Batteries
Solar, batteries and power cuts
A house with solar panels and a battery usually goes dark in a power cut like everybody else. It is not a fault, and it is fixable, but only if you ask before it is installed.
4 min read
Article
Batteries
Is silicon-carbon suited to home batteries?
The anode chemistry that let phone makers pack more capacity into the same case is being talked about for home storage. What it gives up in return, and why that matters in a battery meant to last fifteen years.
5 min read