Connecting your Home battery: how do you do it?
You connect a home battery through an ordinary socket, through a dedicated circuit in the meter box, or by connecting solar panels directly to the battery. In this article you'll read what you can do yourself, which connection suits your situation, what to check beforehand and how connecting it works step by step.
Can you connect a home battery yourself?
You may connect a home battery yourself if it's a plug-in model that supplies a maximum of 800 watts through the socket. Many home batteries are designed for this: you set them up, plug them into the socket and link them via an app. An installer or a modification to your meter box isn't needed for that.
If work needs to be done in the meter box, things are different. You should have a dedicated circuit, a fixed connection or a changeover switch for backup power installed by a certified installer, who works according to NEN 1010, the Dutch standard for low-voltage installations.
Which connection suits your home battery?
Which connection suits your home battery depends on the power you want to use and on the way the battery takes in solar power. You can also combine the options below, for example a model with a solar panel input that you later have placed on its own circuit.
Plug-in battery in an ordinary socket
A plug-in battery in an ordinary socket is the simplest connection and the basis of every plug-in home battery. The battery charges and discharges through the same socket, which is on a circuit you share with other devices.
That's why manufacturers limit the power the battery delivers to your home to 800 watts. That figure doesn't come from a legal statute, but is an industry guideline that matches what an ordinary circuit can handle in terms of extra load.
When does a home battery need its own circuit?
A home battery needs its own circuit as soon as you want to discharge more than 800 watts. The circuit breaker in your meter box only measures the current that runs through it. If the battery supplies power to a device on the same circuit, the breaker doesn't see that current, even though the wiring still has to carry it.
Only the battery sits on its own circuit. With many models you then scale up to several kilowatts in the app, so even heavy consumers can largely run on stored power.
Solar panels directly to the home battery
You connect solar panels directly to the home battery if the model has a solar panel input. The battery then has its own MPPT controller, which draws the maximum power from your panels, and a built-in inverter, so you don't need a separate inverter.
You connect a few balcony panels with a low voltage yourself using the plugs attached to the panels. A rooftop installation with panels wired in series works with a higher DC voltage and is a job for an installer.
If you already have solar panels with their own inverter, that installation stays as it is. In that case you choose an AC-coupled battery, which charges via the wall socket with the surplus from your solar panels.
What do you check before connecting a home battery?
Before you connect a home battery, you check whether your wall sockets and your meter cabinet are ready for the battery. These points keep you from getting stuck on the day itself:
- Grounded wall socket: the battery has a plug with grounding and belongs in a grounded wall socket.
- The right circuit: choose a circuit without heavy consumers like a cooktop, tumble dryer or charging station.
- P1 port: the meter that controls the battery goes into the P1 port of your smart meter. If that port is already in use, you'll need a P1 splitter.
- Wireless range: the battery, the meter and the app communicate wirelessly, so check that the signal reaches into the meter cabinet and the spot where the battery goes.
- Space in the fuse box: if you want to put the battery on its own circuit later, there needs to be room for an extra group.
If everything checks out, you're good to go. If something is missing, such as space in the fuse box, you'll know in advance that you need an installer.
How do you connect a plug-in home battery step by step?
You connect a plug-in home battery step by step in seven actions, from placing to registering. The order differs a little per brand, but with Zendure and Anker SOLIX the setup is broadly the same:
- Place the battery: set the battery on a flat, sturdy surface and stack any extra battery modules. Some models weigh more than 70 kilos, so do this with two people.
- Connect your solar panels: if your battery has a solar panel input and you're using balcony panels, connect the panels to that input now.
- Place the P1 meter: plug the meter into the P1 port of your smart meter. If that port doesn't supply enough power, you give some P1 meters extra power via USB-C.
- Plug it into the wall socket: use the grounded wall socket you chose during the check.
- Pair everything in the app: add the battery and the meter in the manufacturer's app so they recognize each other.
- Set the charging strategy: choose whether the battery steers on your own consumption or, with a dynamic contract, on the electricity price. On a shared circuit, you leave the maximum discharge power at 800 watts.
- Register the battery: register the battery with your grid operator via energieleveren.nl. This is mandatory and free. To learn how it works, read the article on registering your home battery.
After the final step, the battery charges and discharges automatically. The registration requirement also applies when an installer connects the battery to a dedicated circuit.
How does an installer connect your home battery in the meter cupboard?
An installer connects your home battery in the meter cupboard by setting up a dedicated circuit with earth leakage protection, to which only the battery is connected. After installation, you increase the maximum power in the app to what your battery can handle on that circuit.
Connection options for your home battery on a dedicated circuit
For your home battery there are three connection options on a dedicated circuit: a socket, a Wieland wall socket or fixed wiring. Which one it becomes depends on what the manufacturer allows. A Wieland plug locks and only comes loose with tools, and with fixed wiring the cable runs straight from the battery to the circuit.
Which connection materials you need differs per brand. Among the accessories for your home battery, you'll find the Wieland socket with counter plug and the AC connection for fixed wiring from Anker SOLIX.
Backup power switch for your home battery
A backup power switch makes sure your whole house keeps running on your home battery during a power outage. The installer places it in the meter cupboard. One example is the Anker SOLIX Backup Auto-Switch, which automatically switches your home over to the Solarbank Max AC or Solarbank Max.
Without a switch, a grid-connected battery stops supplying your home network during an outage. Only a backup power socket on the battery itself keeps working then, if the model has one.
Need help connecting your home battery?
When connecting your home battery, TechPunt is happy to think along with you. By phone, email or WhatsApp, we'll look together at which connection suits your battery and meter cupboard. With us you'll find the home batteries from Zendure and Anker SOLIX along with the matching meters and connection materials, shipped from our own warehouse in Barneveld.
