No, battery storage will not affect your FIT payments. Unfortunately there’s a lot of confusion and misinformation on the Internet about this topic, which I hope to put right with this article.
So let’s jump right in:
There’s a lot of misinformation on the Internet about solar battery storage systems and FIT payments.
A battery system won’t affect your FIT payments so long as it is installed correctly. This goes for both hybrid systems and AC coupled systems.
If you’re thinking of getting a hybrid system installed, all you’d have to do to avoid the issue of negatively affecting your FIT payments is to replace the current generation meter in your property with a bidirectional meter.
That being said, if you buy a hybrid system on an AC coupled system, there may be extra work required for you to do — to make sure you’ll stay within your FIT agreement.
This ‘extra work’ to do with hybrid systems is, I believe, what has caused so much confusion and misunderstanding about the relationship between hybrid systems and FIT payments.
I’ll talk more in-depth about this in the next section.
AC coupled systems are uncomplicated. With an AC coupled system, you’ll barely have to give your FIT payments a second thought. Unfortunately, some people are so worried about potentially negatively affecting their FIT payments that they’ll just go ahead and buy an AC coupled system anyway — even if what they really wanted was a hybrid system.
This is because the answer is a direct ‘no’ for AC coupled systems, because they are installed after the generation meter.
The reason an AC coupled system won’t affect your payments is due to this: in order to get FIT payments, the solar panels will produce power that will then go through the inverter, which will then go through your generation meter.
The first point of contact from the inverter is the generation meter. So as long as nothing’s installed between the inverter and generation meter, the reading cannot be affected.
So an AC coupled system installed after that meter won’t affect FIT payments at all.
If you want a hybrid system installed, then you’ll have to change your current inverter and then add a hybrid system which can then add solar panels straight into the new inverter.
This is where the problem arises, because your hybrid system will now be before the generation meter.
But all you have to do is replace this generation meter with a bidirectional meter. (A bidirectional meter, as the name suggests, records the transfer of power both ways.)
Say you have a hybrid system, but you haven’t replaced your old generation meter. You’re charging your solar batteries at night time, on a normal generation metre and then discharging it. If you do this, then the generation meter is going to think of that discharge as solar production, even when in reality it’s not — even if actually, it has come from the grid.
If this scenario happens, then absolutely your FIT payments will be affected.
If you really want or already have a hybrid system and you are worried about this, you can follow the following steps for peace of mind:
There is a persistent myth floating about online that you cannot get a hybrid system without it affecting your FIT payments. This is not true. You CAN get a hybrid system without it affecting your FIT payments. You don’t need an AC coupled system. If you want a hybrid system — get it!
In order to not impact on your FIT payments, all you need to do is ensure you don’t affect the readings on your generation metre. Because that is how the authorities will monitor your eligibility for FIT payments.
The readings from your generation meter are passed on to your energy provider — so if you don’t affect those readings you won’t affect those FIT payments, basically.
I hope by now, this question has been thoroughly answered for you. But I have one final thing I want to mention.
If you are absolutely worried to death about losing your FIT payments, at the point of sounding almost contradictory, I’d almost be tempted to just say — OK. Forget about a hybrid system and go with an AC coupled system.
With an AC coupled system you will 100% know that you’re not going to have any questions asked of you. You won’t have to speak to your energy provider, and you won’t have to change your meter to a bidirectional meter.
If you are interested in a battery storage system, what you see is what you get on our website. We can help you make sure that your hybrid system is set up properly, so that your FIT payments won’t be affected — if a hybrid system is what you want.
So if you live in England and Wales and are interested in reducing your carbon footprint, while making a bit of profit in the meantime, then please check out our battery systems, solar hybrid inverters and domestic lithium batteries here.
Director & Operations Manager
Luke has almost a decade of experience in the renewable energy industry. He started out as an approved installer of battery systems and solar panels, working for a number of different companies. Today, he oversees the sale of several key products and installations as director of Lr-Renewables.
Luke is also a qualified electrician. In his spare time he enjoys playing rugby, watching football, and spending time with his family.
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