Battery storage — North London
Battery Storage Hendon
Home batteries for Hendon 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 Hendon starts with a question about permission rather than kit. In Hendon ward, 47.2% of households rent privately and 42.6% own their home, against 32.7% and 52.7% across Barnet borough (Census 2021), so a large share of Hendon homes need a landlord or freeholder to say yes before a battery goes anywhere. The owners who can decide for themselves are mostly in the ward's houses: 20.4% of households live in semis and 12.8% in detached homes. If you own one of those and are weighing up panels too, see solar panels in Hendon.
Further north the picture changes again. 74.5% of households in Colindale South ward and 64.9% in Colindale North live in purpose-built flats, many in newer blocks where the walls, risers and plant rooms belong to a management company. This page sets out where a battery can realistically go across NW4 and NW9, how the network side works for the town centre, and what a battery does and does not do in a power cut. Our battery storage guide covers the products and how sizing works.
Quick answer
Battery storage in Hendon:
- 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 Hendon makes about 475 kWh in June but about 141 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 Hendon is on UK Power Networks's Eastern Power Networks network (parts of the town near the boundary may be on London 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 Hendon's homes
Hendon's houses give a battery the most options. In a NW4 semi or detached house with an integral or attached garage, the garage wall is usually the first place we look, with a utility room as the alternative; both keep the unit indoors, which matters because the EnSmart wall-mounted battery we fit is rated IP50 and is indoor only. A loft can work only where temperature, access and the unit's rating allow, and the survey checks rather than assumes. Terraces are scarce here, 6.8% of Hendon ward households and 15.1% in West Hendon (Census 2021), but where a terrace has no side access, an understairs cupboard or a rear room near the consumer unit is the usual answer.
Flats are the majority: 44.6% of Hendon ward households live in purpose-built flats and 13.3% in converted houses (Census 2021). A battery in a flat sits on that flat's own circuits and inside its own space, usually needs the freeholder's consent under the lease, and in a rented flat is the landlord's decision, not the tenant's. The managed blocks of Colindale often have their own rules on fixed equipment, so the managing agent is the first call. In Hendon The Burroughs, Barnet's Article 4 records name the solar class, not batteries; an indoor battery has no effect on the street there, and any outdoor unit belongs on a rear wall. Hendon Church End has no direction recorded, and a listed building needs Barnet's view before anything is fixed to it.
What a Hendon 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 Hendon itself, for a 4 kWp array at 35° facing due south with 14% system losses:
- 3,961 kWh a year in total
- 475 kWh in June and 479 kWh in July
- 141 kWh in December and 160 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 Hendon
The Hendon town centre is on UK Power Networks' Eastern Power Networks licence area. If you live away from the centre, check your own postcode with UK Power Networks' postcode checker rather than assuming which area your street is on. The installer handles the paperwork whichever it is: under ENA EREC G98, a type-tested system up to and including 16 A per phase (3.68 kW) is notified before commissioning or within 28 days after, and above that a G99 application must be approved before work starts. UK Power Networks says it approves home solar and storage automatically where the maximum export, after any export limit, is under 5 kW.
In a power cut, a standard grid-tied battery shuts down with the grid. That rule protects engineers working on the lines, and it means an ordinary battery in a Hendon flat or house will not keep the lights on. Backup has to be designed in: the system must be able to cut the home off from the grid before it powers chosen circuits, and in a Colindale or West Hendon block any extra switchgear also needs the freeholder's agreement. If outage cover is the main reason you want a battery, tell us at the survey and we will say plainly whether it is worth the extra cost for your home.
Ofgem's reported 2024/25 figures for Eastern Power Networks show about 44.6 supply interruptions per 100 customers and about 32.5 minutes lost per customer over the year, against 39.7 and 35.1 across Great Britain (central Hendon 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
Hendon and home batteries in numbers
Every figure below comes from a named public source.
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Across the London Borough of Barnet, DESNZ counts 3,477 solar PV installations of every size, rooftop to field-scale, totalling 15.95 MW at the end of 2025.
Source: DESNZ — Renewable electricity by local authority, 2014 to 2025 (Regional Renewable Statistics, published 29 September 2026), Solar PV sites and capacity, end of 2025, as first published
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Barnet borough had 12,097 privately kept plug-in vehicles at the end of June 2026, against 10,089 a year before, about a fifth more.
Source: DfT and DVLA — VEH0142 licensed plug-in vehicles by keepership and local authority, 2026 Q2 and 2025 Q2 (published 23 September 2026); percentage change is our arithmetic
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About 17.9% of homes in the London Borough of Barnet have no mains gas connection, on DESNZ's 2024 estimate.
Source: DESNZ — Subnational estimates of properties not connected to the gas network, 2015 to 2024 (published 18 December 2025), 2024 sheet
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For Hendon, PVGIS estimates about 141 kWh from a 4 kWp south-facing array in December and 475 kWh in June: roughly 4.5 kWh a day in December and 15.8 kWh a day in June, so winter output alone will not fill a 5 kWh battery on an average day.
Source: European Commission JRC — PVGIS 5.3 (PVGIS-SARAH3, 2005–2023), 4 kWp, 35°, due south, 14% losses, building-mounted, town-centre point, run 15 October 2026; daily averages are our arithmetic; Energy Saving Trust — Battery storage (updated 19 August 2026) for the 5 kWh size
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The Hendon town centre is in UK Power Networks' Eastern Power Networks licence area; addresses away from the centre should be checked on UK Power Networks' postcode checker.
Source: UK Power Networks Open Data — licence boundaries (December 2024) and NESO — GIS boundaries for GB DNO licence areas (May 2024), town-centre point check; licence name per Ofgem RIIO-2 Electricity Distribution annual report 2024/25
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In Hendon ward, 47.2% of households rent privately and 42.6% own their home, against 32.7% and 52.7% across Barnet borough; 44.6% live in purpose-built flats.
Source: ONS Census 2021, TS044 and TS054, Hendon ward (E05013643) and Barnet (E09000003), via the Nomis API
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Purpose-built flats house 74.5% of households in Colindale South ward and 64.9% in Colindale North.
Source: ONS Census 2021, TS044 accommodation type, Colindale South (E05013633) and Colindale North (E05013632), via the Nomis API
Data last reviewed: October 2026
What a home battery costs in Hendon
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 Hendon homes
Most batteries are fitted alongside panels, so start with what solar panels in Hendon would generate on your roof; for the wider picture, see how we approach homes across North London, or our main battery storage guide for the products and how sizing works. For a longer local read, see Where does a home battery go in a Hendon flat or house?.
We also cover battery storage in Finchley, home batteries in Edgware and Muswell Hill battery installation advice.
Hendon battery questions
I rent my flat in Hendon. Can I have a battery?
Only with your landlord's agreement, and in Hendon that is the most common situation: 47.2% of Hendon ward households and 43.1% in West Hendon rent privately (Census 2021). A battery is fixed electrical work on your landlord's property, and in a flat the freeholder usually has a say too. If your landlord is interested, the Warm Homes: Local Grant can cover privately rented homes at EPC D to G where the household meets the income tests, but it funds a battery only alongside existing or newly installed solar panels. Otherwise the landlord pays for and owns the system, and we are happy to talk to them directly.
Can a battery go in a Colindale new-build flat?
Sometimes, but the building decides. 74.5% of households in Colindale South ward and 64.9% in Colindale North live in purpose-built flats (Census 2021), and in a managed block the freeholder or management company controls the walls, the risers and any shared plant space. A battery would have to sit inside your own flat, on your own circuits, and the EnSmart wall-mounted unit we fit is rated IP50, indoor only, so a balcony is not an option for it. Blocks often have their own fire-safety rules for fixed equipment as well. Ask the managing agent first; if the answer is no, we will not try to work around it.
Which network operator covers my Hendon home?
The Hendon town centre is on UK Power Networks' Eastern Power Networks licence area. If you live away from the centre, check your postcode with UK Power Networks' postcode checker rather than assuming. Either way the installer handles it: a type-tested system up to and including 16 A per phase (3.68 kW) is notified under ENA EREC G98, a larger one needs a G99 application approved before work starts, and the network operator is not your energy supplier, so nothing changes with whoever sends your bills.
Is a battery worth it with an EV in Barnet?
It can help, but it is not a car charger. DVLA records 12,097 privately kept plug-in vehicles across Barnet borough at the end of June 2026, up from 10,089 a year earlier. A home battery does a different job from a chargepoint: the Energy Saving Trust gives 10 kWh as a typical home system, sized to cover household use in the evening rather than to charge a car. Where it helps an EV household is on a time-of-use tariff, filling both cheaply overnight, or by storing daytime solar for the evening. The tax differs too: a home chargepoint is standard-rated for VAT at 20%, while a residential battery is zero-rated until 31 March 2027.