Embracing Efficiency: How Mike Metcalf's Innovative Battery-Only System Revolutionises Home Energy Usage.
- Q: Can you tell us about your battery storage system?
- Q: When did you have your battery installed?
- Q: What motivated you to invest in battery storage?
- Q: How has your experience been since buying battery storage?
- Q: Could you describe the process of purchasing and installing the battery?
- Q: How often do you need to rely on grid electricity now?
- Q: Can you share the financial benefits you've seen since installation?
- Q: Have you noticed a change in your electricity bills?
- Q: Are you participating in the Smart Export Guarantee scheme?
- Q: How long do you expect it will take to recover the cost of your battery?
- Q: Have you encountered any maintenance issues with your battery?
- Q: Are you considering any other types of renewable technology?
- Q: Would you recommend battery storage to others, and why?
- Q: Looking back, is there anything you wish you'd known before the purchase?
Welcome to the future of energy efficiency and sustainability! Today, we dive into an enlightening case study featuring Mike Metcalf from Helsby, Cheshire, who's taken a unique leap into the world of renewable energy.
Unlike the typical solar panel narrative, Mike's journey illuminates the path of battery-only systems, showcasing how innovation and smart decisions can lead to significant cost savings and environmental contributions.
In this Q&A session, we unpack the intricacies of Mike's GE All In One 13.5KW Battery installation, his motivations for veering away from traditional energy sources, and the financial and ecological impacts he's observed.
Join us as we explore how Mike's proactive approach towards retirement planning led him to harness the power of cutting-edge technology, turning his home into a beacon of efficiency and a testament to the potential of smart energy solutions.
Whether you're a renewable energy enthusiast, a curious homeowner, or someone interested in reducing their carbon footprint, this case study promises valuable insights and inspiring takeaways.
So, let's delve into the world of domestic solar panels and batteries with Mike Metcalf, and discover how making the switch can light up your life in more ways than one!
PS We offer MCS-certified battery installation nationwide. Simply answer these questions, get your fixed price and arrange your free design.
Q: Can you tell us about your battery storage system?
A: "I have a GE All In One 13.5KW Battery and Gateway-only installation."
Q: When did you have your battery installed?
A: "Following the site survey for solar it was identified my roof configuration was restrictive to giving me the full potential of solar and my installer Heatable offered an alternative battery-only system as above. It was installed on 16th December 2023 and my SMART meter followed on 22nd December 2023."
Q: What motivated you to invest in battery storage?
A: "I am heading towards retirement and wanted to get the running costs of the house down to protect retirement outgoings and electricity was a natural target for such costs."
"When I looked at the return on investment, ie the reduced projection in monthly energy bill I simply equated this against what interest I would need to earn to save this similar amount had I put the capital away in the bank."
"It was no brainer and exceeded any interest rates had I put the capital away somewhere safe. I accepted that the capital is spent money and no longer available but the long-term plan was maximising reductions in energy costs as heading into retirement.
Q: How has your experience been since buying battery storage?
A: "My experience with Heatable and the GivEnergy AIO can only be described as excellent and outstanding service from the installer and had I known about it I would have acted sooner."
"My Installer Heatable have responded to every email and query with meticulous detail and offered advice when setting up my trial period to get the best out of my battery-only system. The installation engineer was very professional and the handover was superb."
"So, in the first week of use, I entered the Christmas period and benefited from Price Plunge rates with Octopus Agile and was running the house all day for over a week on less than £1 average. Christmas Eve was only 31 pence for the full day with every appliance in normal and full use."
"I accept I got lucky with the first live week with excessive grid supply due to winds and industry shutdown but by tweaking my charge settings each day via the App and portal I managed to pick some excellent and at times negative price rates."
"Even now just a couple weeks on with rates not so low I am managing to charge at night for between 3 and 4 hours and run the whole day ahead using the best rate."
"This has only been possible because of three factors, 1. Battery size is just perfect for lasting my demand out and on most days have about 30% battery reserve. 2."
"The charge rate of 6kw and discharge rate on all occasions meets my house peak demands with a little management of when appliances are switched on. Eg Dishwasher, washing machine and dryer never at the same time."
Image showing Mike's battery storage installation carried by the battery storage team at Heatable, featuring the GivEnergy All-In-One battery system.
Q: Could you describe the process of purchasing and installing the battery?
A: "Once I decided to invest I did my research and wanted a) a reputable company with some standing and history. b) good customer service and c) clear and concise information in plain English on what I am buying and can expect."
"I looked at 4 to 5 companies and had formal quotes from 3 in all, Heatable being one. My reviews online and through Trustpilot clearly steered me towards Heatable. They have simply been outstanding and I have passed on their contact to at least 2 friends and family."
"The detail of the quote was very clear and concise and very much in plain English. The online process for deposits and payments was so simple and even offered payment by Credit Card for added protection. Some companies did not."
"I also checked all companies out for their financial standing at Company House. Well worth doing given the number of installers new to the market and volatility of the economy right now."
Q: How often do you need to rely on grid electricity now?
A: "Only for 4 hours at night rate selected manually each day. I want to look at an automated programmable interface in the future but for now, learning how it performs, manually has served a purpose."
"I am in a dilemma if to go fully automatic (API) and forget about it or to stay manual as takes less than a minute each day to check the charge period and keeps energy usage at the forefront of my mind on a day-to-day basis."
Q: Can you share the financial benefits you've seen since installation?
A: "It is only my third week but I have reduced usage easily by over half already and whereas was costing me £6 to £7 per day it is under £2 per day on average. I need a couple of months to confirm this trend but see no reason why this will be the case going forward."
"For your information, I was trying to explain how the system works to my wife and I said “ Imagine that the local petrol station at night only sold petrol at 50 pence per litre but the rest of the day at 150 pence per litre wouldn’t you go down with your car and fill up all the petrol containers you need every night. It would be worth getting out of bed for”.
"She gets it now and with this GE system neither of us need not get out of bed, it just happens."
Q: Have you noticed a change in your electricity bills?
A: Yes early days but a massive reduction in the first week or so, either way, the tariff I am on will beat by far the fixed variable tariff I was using before.
Q: Are you participating in the Smart Export Guarantee scheme?
A: "I have signed up for the Axle programme if this is what this means but have not heard anything back at all and have not yet had a notification of an event. I want to explore exporting at peak period as well and as soon as I get my MCS certificate will be signing up for an Export MPAN to sell back any surplus."
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Q: How long do you expect it will take to recover the cost of your battery?
A: "Battery-only system should easily pay back in 6/7 years but I hope to beat that with careful management and once any export income further helps reduce this period."
Q: Have you encountered any maintenance issues with your battery?
A: Again, battery system only and no, there have been no maintenance issues and just software interface learning for myself and used the GE forum for a lot of my learning.
Q: Are you considering any other types of renewable technology?
A: "Yes, I want to explore the addition of what solar I can get on my roof to see if I can still reduce my night rate charge period."
Q: Would you recommend battery storage to others, and why?
A: "Yes, long-term return and contribute to a Grid solution in transferring demand away from the peak. If I can get income from exporting, then again it's a no-brainer. The battery-only system is an ideal solution where locating enough solar is restrictive."
The image above features another battery storage installation, this time the Tesla Powerwall 3 installation performed by our team of Tesla-certified installers at Heatable.
Q: Looking back, is there anything you wish you'd known before the purchase?
A: "I would have wanted to explore tariffs a bit more before installing, but for me, Octopus Agile seems to fit for now. Maybe I will move to Octopus GO in the future."
"I hadn’t really thought about the need to move energy away from 4 pm and 7 pm before now and previously just carried on using it oblivious to the country's peak period issues."
"This is an important factor and has brought to my attention a bigger problem and I hope my investment is contributing in a small way to moving my usage away from this peak period and I gain at the same time. It's a win-win situation."
"Also, as above not sure how or which automated system to go with to try it out and see if it beats manual by any significant amount. It would be useful if some advice was available out there in supporting system set-up and API schemes."
"Maybe it is a service factor you could incorporate with the sales promotion to provide a support line for technical queries outside of warranty matters."
"I did not know about Smart Plugs and the 2 I have purchased since have been set up to switch off appliances not required to run at night. Perhaps you should give a couple free with every install. I use one to turn off the Qooker Instant hot water tap after 10 pm as it has some storage."
If you are still learning about battery storage, make sure to check out our advice section.
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Next Steps For Your Battery Journey:
When planning to install battery storage for your home, there are several important factors to consider. Make sure to refer to the following guides to help you make informed decisions:
To dive deeper into these topics, head over to our advice section, check out our YouTube channel for informative videos, or read a customer case study to see how others have benefited from their battery installation.
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