Battery storage — Surrey
Battery Storage Farnham
Home batteries for Farnham homes, with or without solar panels — sized from your actual usage, with the costs, the seasons and the power-cut reality explained before you commit to anything.
Battery storage in Farnham often comes down to two things the town has plenty of: large houses and listed ones. Across Waverley, 40.4% of households live in detached homes (Census 2021), so space for a battery is rarely the problem; in the Georgian centre, where the conservation-area appraisal counted 388 listed buildings, siting needs more care. For the roof side of the decision, see solar panels in Farnham.
From Badshot Lea and Heath End in the north to Wrecclesham and Rowledge in the south, this page covers where a battery goes in Farnham homes, how SSEN’s network paperwork works, and what Waverley’s own figures say about solar, plug-in cars and homes off the gas grid. Products and sizing in general are on our main battery storage page, and if a battery would not pay its way for you, we will say that.
Quick answer
Battery storage in Farnham:
- Cost: the Energy Saving Trust puts home battery storage at £1,500 to £10,000, with a 5 kWh system at around £4,600; your own figure comes from a survey of your usage.
- Seasons: PVGIS estimates a 4 kWp south-facing array in Farnham makes about 482 kWh in June but about 137 kWh in December — size the battery for your evenings, not for summer.
- VAT: residential battery installations carry 0% VAT until 31 March 2027, then 5% from 1 April 2027.
- Grid: central Farnham is on SSEN Distribution's Southern Electric Power Distribution network; the installer notifies or applies to the operator depending on the system's size.
- Power cuts: a standard grid-tied battery shuts down when the grid does; backup needs to be designed in from the start, and we will tell you whether it is worth it.
- Who fits it: HCE is a NAPIT member (73495), MCS-certified for solar PV and battery storage via NAPIT, and a HIES Consumer Code member.
Figures: Energy Saving Trust (batteries, updated 19 August 2026) · HMRC VAT Notice 708/6 · PVGIS 5.3 (European Commission Joint Research Centre) · Ofgem RIIO-ED2 annual report 2024/25. Each is cited in full further down this page.
Where a battery fits in Farnham's homes
With 40.4% of Waverley households in detached houses and 27.5% in semis (ONS Census 2021, TS044), most Farnham homes have a garage, a utility room or a suitable external wall where a battery can sit near the consumer unit. North of the town, Hale, Heath End and Weybourne are mostly 20th-century houses where that is usually straightforward. A loft is not an automatic answer even in a big house: location is a fire-safety decision under the manufacturer’s manual and the BSI’s PAS 63100 standard, and engineers need access for servicing.
Farnham’s six conservation areas, the Town Centre, Wrecclesham, Old Church Lane, Waverley Abbey, Great Austins and Shepherd and Flock, are where planning sense matters. In Great Austins’ Arts and Crafts houses, keep any outdoor unit off the street-facing elevation and talk to Waverley first; on any of the town centre’s listed buildings, ask whether fixing a unit needs listed building consent before anyone drills. Terraces (14.2%) without side access and purpose-built flats (13.2%) are the tighter cases: flats need the freeholder’s agreement, and the 14.7% of households renting privately (Census 2021, TS054) need the landlord’s.
What a Farnham roof generates through the year
A battery earns its keep by moving daytime generation into the evening, so the shape of the year matters more than the annual total. We ran the European Commission's PVGIS 5.3 (European Commission Joint Research Centre) for Farnham itself, for a 4 kWp array at 35° facing due south with 14% system losses:
- 3,968 kWh a year in total
- 482 kWh in June and 486 kWh in July
- 137 kWh in December and 156 kWh in January
In summer a modest array fills a battery most days; in midwinter it rarely will, and the battery's job shifts to storing cheaper off-peak electricity if your tariff offers it. That is why we size storage from your evening usage and tariff, not from the sunniest month. East- or west-facing roofs and shading change these figures more than the town does — which is what the survey measures.
Method: PVGIS 5.3 (European Commission Joint Research Centre), 4 kWp, 35° tilt, due south, 14% system losses, building-mounted, PVGIS-SARAH3, 2005–2023, monthly output, run 15 October 2026.
The grid and power cuts in Farnham
Farnham is well inside SSEN Distribution’s Southern Electric Power Distribution licence area, with the town centre about 10 km from its edge, so the network operator for a Farnham battery is SSEN, not UK Power Networks. SSEN is notified of every battery: under G98, equipment up to 16 A per phase (3.68 kW) is notified by the installer before commissioning or within 28 days after; a larger system needs a G99 application approved before work starts. A 4 kW inverter draws 17.39 A, just over that line, which is why the battery inverter’s rating matters as much as its storage capacity.
Whether you are in a Wrecclesham semi or a Great Austins house, a standard grid-tied battery shuts down when the grid does. It provides nothing in a power cut unless backup was designed into the system, with a backup-capable inverter or gateway and a separate circuit for what you want kept on. We price that separately and only recommend it where you would use it. If you already have panels on a Badshot Lea or Rowledge roof, the battery is notified too, and the installer checks the property’s combined output against G98.
Ofgem's reported 2024/25 figures for Southern Electric Power Distribution show about 41.8 supply interruptions per 100 customers and about 51.2 minutes lost per customer over the year, against 39.7 and 35.1 across Great Britain. Source: Ofgem — RIIO-2 Electricity Distribution: annual report 2024 to 2025, supplementary datafile, sheet "Ch2 outputs - reliability" (CI and CML performance, planned and unplanned).
Local facts, sourced
Farnham and home batteries in numbers
Every figure below comes from a named public source.
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DESNZ records 4,325 solar PV installations of all sizes across Waverley at the end of 2025, with 22.57 MW of capacity between them.
Source: DESNZ, Renewable electricity by local authority 2014 to 2025, Solar PV sites and capacity (published 29 September 2026, end-of-2025 figures as first published)
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Waverley had 5,670 privately kept plug-in vehicles at the end of June 2026, against 4,375 a year earlier: 1,295 more, about 30% up (our arithmetic).
Source: DfT and DVLA, VEH0142 licensed plug-in vehicles by local authority, private keepers, 2026 Q2 against 2025 Q2 (published 23 September 2026)
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DESNZ estimates about 13.36% of homes in Waverley have no mains gas connection (2024).
Source: DESNZ, Subnational estimates of properties not connected to the gas network, 2024 (published 18 December 2025)
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PVGIS puts a 4 kWp south-facing array in Farnham at about 137 kWh in December and about 482 kWh in June: December is about 28% of June, roughly 4.4 kWh a day.
Source: PVGIS 5.3, European Commission Joint Research Centre (PVGIS-SARAH3), 4 kWp, 35°, due south, 14% losses, run 15 October 2026; ratios and daily figures are our arithmetic
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Farnham is in SSEN Distribution’s Southern Electric Power Distribution licence area, with the town centre about 10 km from the nearest other network.
Source: NESO GB DNO licence areas (May 2024); SSEN Distribution, Who we are
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Waverley’s 52,447 households are 40.4% detached and 27.5% semi-detached, against 14.2% terraced and 13.2% in purpose-built flats; 71.8% own their home.
Source: ONS Census 2021, TS044 and TS054 (Waverley, E07000216), via Nomis
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Farnham’s town-centre conservation-area appraisal counted 388 listed buildings, and the town has six conservation areas, from the Town Centre (1970) to Shepherd and Flock (2021).
Source: IHBC South East; The Farnham Society
Data last reviewed: October 2026
What a home battery costs in Farnham
The honest national anchor is the Energy Saving Trust's: home battery storage ranges from £1,500 to £10,000, a 5 kWh system costs around £4,600, and a typical home system might be 10 kWh. Energy Saving Trust also says there is no exact formula — sizing comes from your own consumption, that a battery's typical lifespan is about 10 to 12 years, and that fitting storage at the same time as panels costs less than a separate visit later.
Residential battery installations carry 0% VAT until 31 March 2027, reverting to 5% from 1 April 2027. Export payments under the Smart Export Guarantee are set by each supplier and must be above zero — they change on short notice, which is why we never print one. Our own price comes from a survey of your usage, tariff and wiring, and arrives itemised — the battery, the inverter or hybrid unit, the network notification, commissioning and warranties as separate lines.
When we would tell you not to: if your evening usage is low, if your tariff gives you little difference between peak and off-peak, or if a smaller solar array would already cover what you use in daylight, a battery can take a long time to pay its way — and we will say so rather than sell you one.
Sources: Energy Saving Trust — Battery storage (updated 19 August 2026) · HMRC — VAT on energy-saving materials and heating equipment (VAT Notice 708/6) · Ofgem — Smart Export Guarantee.
More for Farnham homes
Most batteries are fitted alongside panels, so start with what solar panels in Farnham would generate on your roof; for the wider picture, see how we approach homes across Surrey, or our main battery storage guide for the products and how sizing works. For a longer local read, see Planning for panels and a battery in Farnham’s old streets.
We also cover battery storage in Aldershot, home batteries in Farnborough and Fleet battery installation advice.
Farnham battery questions
Can I fit a battery in a listed Farnham house?
It can be possible, but ask the council first. Farnham’s town-centre appraisal counted 388 listed buildings, and on a listed building, fixing a unit to the fabric may need listed building consent. Inside, a battery in an outbuilding, garage or utility room is usually less sensitive than anything on an external wall; outside, keep it off the street-facing elevation, especially in the six conservation areas. Siting must also meet the manufacturer’s manual and the PAS 63100 fire-safety standard.
Will a battery keep my Farnham home running in a power cut?
Only if backup is designed in. A standard grid-tied battery shuts down when the grid does, so a battery in a Hale or Rowledge home goes off with the supply. Backup needs a backup-capable inverter or gateway and a dedicated circuit, planned from the start and priced as an extra. Ofgem’s reliability figures for SSEN’s Southern Electric Power Distribution area are on this page to help you decide whether it is worth it.
Is a battery worth it with an EV in Waverley?
It depends on your evening use more than the car. DVLA counts 5,670 privately kept plug-in vehicles across Waverley at the end of June 2026, up from 4,375 a year earlier. Most owners charge the car directly on an off-peak tariff, leaving the battery to run the house in the evening. A 7.4 kW charger draws 32 A continuously and most homes have a 60 A, 80 A or 100 A main fuse, so the supply is checked when both are fitted.
Do I need to tell SSEN about a battery in Farnham?
Your installer does it for you. Farnham is in SSEN’s Southern Electric Power Distribution area. Up to 16 A per phase (3.68 kW) the installer sends a G98 notification, before commissioning or within 28 days after; above that, a G99 application must be approved before work starts. A 4 kW inverter, at 17.39 A, is already over the G98 line, so ask any installer which route your system needs.