Battery storage — Surrey
Battery Storage Godalming
Home batteries for Godalming 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 Godalming starts with the gap between summer and winter. At the town-centre point, PVGIS gives a 4 kWp south-facing array about 135 kWh in December against 487 kWh in June, much the same pattern as the other towns on our battery pages. So a battery here is sized for summer evenings and off-peak charging, not for winter self-sufficiency. If the roof is still undecided, start with solar panels in Godalming; this page is about the battery.
Godalming has form with clean electricity: on 26 September 1881 it became the first town with a public electricity supply, driven by a waterwheel at Westbrook Mill on the Wey. Today Waverley Borough Council has solar on around 450 of its council homes, and DVLA records 5,670 privately kept plug-in vehicles across Waverley at the end of June 2026, up from 4,375 a year earlier. Our battery storage guide covers products and sizing; below is the Godalming detail.
Quick answer
Battery storage in Godalming:
- 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 Godalming makes about 487 kWh in June but about 135 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 Godalming is on SSEN Distribution's Southern Electric Power Distribution network (parts of the town near the boundary may be on South Eastern Power Networks); 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 Godalming's homes
Summing ONS Census 2021 figures for Godalming's five wards gives 9,654 households: 30.7% in semis, 29.1% detached, 18.4% terraced and 15.8% in purpose-built flats, with 66.9% owning their home. In the semis and detached houses of Farncombe, Ockford Ridge, Aaron's Hill and Catteshall, a garage, utility room or side wall by the meter is the usual home for a battery. On Godalming's hillier streets the garage can sit at a different level to the meter, so the survey checks the cable route. Lofts are a fallback only, because of heat, cold and access.
The town centre is a different job. Its buildings date mainly from the 17th to 19th centuries, 125 of them are listed within the Town Centre Conservation Area, and five more conservation areas sit in and around the town, from Ockford Road to Crown Pits. There, an indoor unit or one on a rear wall is the sensible approach, and for a listed building speak to Waverley Borough Council before anything is fixed to the fabric. Flats, 15.8% purpose-built plus 3.3% in converted houses across the five wards, need the freeholder's agreement, and the 18.6% of households renting privately need the landlord's.
What a Godalming 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 Godalming itself, for a 4 kWp array at 35° facing due south with 14% system losses:
- 3,990 kWh a year in total
- 487 kWh in June and 491 kWh in July
- 135 kWh in December and 154 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 Godalming
The town centre sits in SSEN Distribution's Southern Electric Power Distribution licence area, but Godalming is close to the boundary with UK Power Networks, so some addresses may be on a different network and a different operator. Check yours with the Energy Networks Association's postcode lookup before assuming either. Whichever it is, a battery system rated up to 16 A per phase (3.68 kW) is notified under G98, before commissioning or within 28 days after, and anything larger needs a G99 application approved before work starts; SSEN aims to answer small fast-track applications within 10 working days.
In a power cut a standard grid-tied battery shuts down with the grid, by design, so it does not feed a network engineers expect to be dead. Backup has to be designed in from the start, with a backup-capable inverter or gateway and a separate circuit for the essentials, and it costs extra. In one of the 125 listed buildings in the Town Centre Conservation Area, that extra switchgear also needs a sensible home inside, which is part of the planning conversation. If backup matters to you, raise it at the survey and we will price it as a separate line.
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 (central Godalming only — check your postcode with the network operator if you live near the edge of the area). 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
Godalming and home batteries in numbers
Every figure below comes from a named public source.
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DESNZ records about 4,325 solar PV installations of all sizes across Waverley borough at the end of 2025, with 22.57 MW of capacity.
Source: DESNZ, Renewable electricity by local authority 2014 to 2025 (published 29 September 2026), solar PV sites and capacity at the end of 2025, as first published
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DVLA records 5,670 privately kept plug-in vehicles across Waverley at the end of June 2026, up from 4,375 a year earlier (about 30% more).
Source: DfT and DVLA, VEH0142 licensed plug-in vehicles by local authority, privately kept, end of June 2026 against end of June 2025 (published 23 September 2026); percentage change is our arithmetic
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DESNZ estimates that 13.36% of homes in Waverley borough 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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At Godalming's town-centre point, PVGIS gives a 4 kWp south-facing array about 135 kWh in December against 487 kWh in June: December is about 28% of June, roughly 4.4 kWh a day.
Source: European Commission JRC, PVGIS 5.3 (4 kWp, 35°, due south, 14% losses, building-mounted, PVGIS-SARAH3 2005–2023), run 15 October 2026; ratio and daily averages are our arithmetic
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The town centre is in SSEN Distribution's Southern Electric Power Distribution licence area, close to the boundary with UK Power Networks; check your address with the network operator postcode lookup.
Source: NESO, GIS boundaries for GB DNO licence areas (May 2024); SSEN Distribution, Who we are
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Census 2021, our sum of Godalming's five wards: 9,654 households, 30.7% semi-detached, 29.1% detached, 18.4% terraced and 15.8% in purpose-built flats; 66.9% own their home.
Source: ONS Census 2021, tables TS044 (accommodation type) and TS054 (tenure), 2022 wards, via Nomis (read 16 October 2026): Godalming Binscombe, Central and Ockford, Charterhouse, Farncombe and Catteshall, Holloway (Waverley)
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Waverley Borough Council has fitted solar PV to around 450 of its council homes, with generation monitored remotely.
Source: Waverley Borough Council, Solar panels on council homes
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125 listed buildings stand within the Godalming Town Centre Conservation Area, whose buildings date mainly from the 17th to 19th centuries.
Source: Godalming Town Council, About Godalming; Godalming Town Centre Conservation Area Appraisal (Waverley Borough Council)
Data last reviewed: October 2026
What a home battery costs in Godalming
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 Godalming homes
Most batteries are fitted alongside panels, so start with what solar panels in Godalming 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 Home battery costs in Godalming: a worked example.
We also cover battery storage in Guildford, home batteries in Cranleigh and Aldershot battery installation advice.
Godalming battery questions
How much solar does a Godalming roof make in December?
Far less than in summer. At the town-centre point, PVGIS estimates about 135 kWh in December for a 4 kWp south-facing array against 487 kWh in June, so December is about 28% of June (our arithmetic). It does not stop a battery being useful, but it means a Godalming battery is sized for summer evenings and for storing off-peak electricity in winter, not for running the house on winter sunshine.
Can I fit a battery in a listed Godalming house?
Often, if it stays inside and out of sight. Within the Town Centre Conservation Area alone 125 buildings are listed. A battery is not a roof job, so it usually goes in a cellar, outbuilding or utility room, with cables run as discreetly as the building allows. Anything fixed to the historic fabric of a listed building may need listed building consent, so speak to Waverley Borough Council's planners before work starts. We would rather design something that does not need the argument.
Will a battery keep my Godalming home running in a power cut?
Not unless backup is designed in. A standard grid-tied battery switches off when the grid fails. Backup needs a backup-capable inverter or gateway and a separate circuit for the essentials, at extra cost, chosen before installation. Which operator you call about a power cut depends on your address: the town centre is on SSEN's Southern Electric Power Distribution network, but parts of Godalming may be on UK Power Networks, so check your postcode with the network operator lookup.
Is a battery worth it with an EV in Waverley?
It can be, but treat them as two jobs. DVLA counts 5,670 privately kept plug-in vehicles across Waverley (end of June 2026), up from 4,375 a year earlier. Most cars charge overnight on a cheaper rate where the tariff offers one; the battery covers the house's evening use. In winter a Godalming roof makes little to spare, so off-peak charging does most of the work. A home charger installation carries 20% VAT, unlike the battery's lower rate set out above.