Family home out by day
4.5 kWp + 5 kWh battery
11 to 16 yearsto pay back
Dark marker on the bar: a battery lasts about 10 to 12 years.
- Installed price
- £8,500 to £12,500
- Saves a year
- £640 to £960
What it costs for a Herne Bay house
Bigger home, car or heat pump
4.5 kWp + 10 kWh battery
12 to 18 yearsto pay back
Dark marker on the bar: a battery lasts about 10 to 12 years.
- Installed price
- £10,500 to £16,250
- Saves a year
- £730 to £1,090
Estimates, not quotes. Each bar shows the payback range on a 0 to 45 year scale, with the dark marker at how long the equipment lasts, so a bar that runs past it is a warning. Prices assume 0% VAT (ends 31 March 2027, then 5%). The plug-in payback is our arithmetic on the Energy Saving Trust figures. Full table and method.
Who it suits
- Nobody is home in the day and your power use peaks in the morning and evening
- You drive an electric car, or a heat pump is on your list
- You can move to a smart meter and a cheap overnight tariff
- You would like chosen circuits to carry on through a power cut (usually extra, so ask)
How it works
- Send your address and a year of electricity use, from your bill or your supplier's app.
- We look at your roof on maps and photos, then arrange a survey visit.
- You receive a written quote that shows system size, price and expected saving side by side.
- Our MCS-certified installation partner fits it, normally within one to two days for solar.
- The network operator is told, you receive your certificates, and you can apply for export payments.
Local notes for Herne Bay
- Why buy both at once. A battery installed alongside new panels shares the scaffold, the electrician and the network paperwork, and it brings the battery inside the 0% VAT window that closes on 31 March 2027.
- Where the battery goes. Herne Bay had its worst flood in 1953, and sea defences, groynes and the Neptune's Arm breakwater followed. We do not treat that as a reason to avoid a battery, but we ask for it to be fixed on a wall, off the floor, and never in a spot that has been wet. Any installer should be able to explain their own rule.
- Big roofs on the east side. About 40% of households in six Herne Bay wards live in a detached house (Census 2021), and over half in Beltinge and Reculver. Those roofs often take 5 kWp or more, and a 10 kWh battery is easier to justify with a car on the drive.
- Network approval. UK Power Networks runs the local network. A larger system can need approval before work starts, so we begin that early.
- Sizing. A bigger battery is not automatically better. A house using 3,000 kWh a year often needs only 5 kWh. Read the sizing guide.
Questions about this
What does solar and battery cost in Herne Bay?
As of October 2026, about £8,500 to £12,500 for 4.5 kWp with a 5 kWh battery, and about £10,500 to £16,250 with 10 kWh. These are estimates, not quotes.
Will it work in a power cut?
Not always. Many home batteries shut down when the grid does. Some can run chosen circuits with extra equipment. Ask for the answer in writing.
Is a battery worth adding?
It often buys flexibility more than it saves money. Run your own numbers in the estimator first.
Can I get export payments?
Yes, from a supplier that offers the Smart Export Guarantee, usually with an MCS-certified install. Rates on the pages we read on 7 October 2026 ran from 3p to 18p per kWh.
Last reviewed 7 October 2026.
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