Own or privately rent your home? You could qualify for a free home battery and receive up to £500 per year towards your electricity bills.
The battery is owned, insured, maintained and serviced by the scheme owner.
Free application · Home survey · Subject to eligibility. Private tenants can apply — landlord approval is required before installation.
Eligible households can have a home battery supplied and installed through the scheme at no cost.
Participating households can receive up to £500 per year towards their electricity bills, subject to scheme terms.
The scheme owner owns, maintains, services and insures the battery, and is responsible for replacement and end-of-life recycling where required.
Four simple stages take you from application to a working battery. Want the detail? Read how the scheme works, step by step.
Answer a few questions about your property.
If your home may be suitable, book a home battery survey.
An approved installer completes the battery installation.
Your battery joins the programme and you receive the applicable household benefit.
The Free Home Battery Scheme installs smart, connected batteries in private homes across the UK. Eligible households get a battery supplied and installed at no cost, and the programme is looking to provide participating households with up to £500 per year towards their electricity bills, subject to eligibility and scheme terms.
It is open to private households — whether you own your home or rent privately. See who can get a free home battery for the detail.
The scheme has three connected aims:
It is a fair question. The programme isn’t simply about installing batteries in individual homes. By creating a network of connected home batteries, electricity can be stored and managed in ways that help support the wider electricity system.
The programme is designed to create a shared benefit:
Access to home battery technology and help towards electricity costs.
Distributed battery capacity that can help support a more flexible and resilient grid.
A greater ability to store and intelligently manage electricity, supporting long-term energy security.
The scheme owner therefore funds, owns and manages the battery, while your household receives the applicable benefits for taking part.
Your battery is supplied and installed through the scheme, while the scheme owner remains responsible for the equipment. That means the scheme owner takes responsibility for maintaining, servicing and insuring the battery, replacing it where required and arranging its safe disposal or recycling at the appropriate time.
You get the benefit of battery technology at your home without being responsible for owning and maintaining the equipment yourself. Read more about who owns and maintains the battery.
A home battery stores electricity so it can be used later. Smart controls decide when it charges and discharges — typically charging when demand on the network is lower and releasing energy when demand is higher. Our plain-English guide explains how home batteries work in more depth.
How a smart home battery might run over a day. The battery charges overnight when demand is typically lower, holds its charge through the day, and discharges during the early-evening peak when demand is typically highest.
You can still apply. A battery doesn’t need solar panels — it can charge from the electricity network. Find out more about having a home battery without solar panels.
Tell us in your application. How a battery would work alongside your existing system is assessed during the home survey.
Wondering whether your energy supplier matters? See our home battery guides by energy supplier. Thinking about solar in general? Our practical guide to solar panels covers the basics.
Could your home qualify for a free battery?
It only takes a few minutes to start your application.
If you own your home or rent privately, you can apply. But being able to apply doesn’t mean every property is technically suitable for an installation — that depends on things like where the battery could go, your electrical installation and connectivity.
That’s why every application includes a property survey. Renting? Read about getting a battery in a rented home.
Book My Free Home Battery SurveyThe programme is looking to provide participating households with up to £500 per year towards their electricity bills, subject to eligibility and scheme terms. This is not a guaranteed saving, and the amount any household receives can vary.
For a wider look at how batteries interact with tariffs and bills, read can a home battery reduce electricity bills? and our guide to the benefits of home battery storage.
Once your survey confirms your home is suitable, an approved installer fits the battery, connects it to your electrical installation, commissions it and connects it to the programme. You’ll be shown how it works before the installer leaves.
See what happens during a home battery installation for each stage.
Great Britain’s electricity system operator has to make sure supply meets demand every second of every day. As more electricity comes from wind and solar — whose output varies with the weather — the ability to store electricity and shift when it’s used becomes more valuable.
Government and Ofgem describe smart technologies and flexibility as essential to bringing more low-carbon power onto the system. Thousands of connected home batteries, managed together, can act as distributed energy storage — helping to lower household bills, support the grid and strengthen energy security.
Explore more on renewable energy and home energy storage.
The scheme is separate from your electricity supplier. Find what your supplier offers on home batteries, and how it fits with the scheme.
Yes. For eligible households, the battery is supplied and installed through the scheme at no cost. The battery remains owned by the scheme owner, who is responsible for maintaining, servicing and insuring it.
No. Homeowners and private tenants can both apply. If you rent privately, your landlord’s approval will be required before installation can go ahead.
Battery storage does not need solar panels — a battery can charge from the electricity network. Whether your home is suitable is confirmed during the property survey.
No. The programme is looking to provide participating households with up to £500 per year towards their electricity bills, subject to eligibility and scheme terms. “Up to” means some households may receive less.
Looking for other help with energy costs?
See the home energy grants you can still get and ways to improve your home’s energy efficiency.
Apply for the Free Home Battery Scheme
Homeowners and private tenants can apply. Answer a few questions about your home and request your free battery survey.