HOW TO HIRE · ELECTRICAL

How to hire a battery storage installer in the UK
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.

MCS certifies battery installers, installation is zero-rated for VAT until March 2027, and the wiring is notifiable when it adds a circuit. The checks and the paperwork.

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  • One score from Google, Trustpilot and Locufy reviews

THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring a battery storage installer in five steps

  1. Check MCS and the electrical registerMCS's installer search for batteries; in England and Wales the Registered Competent Person Electrical register too.
  2. Size it to your useYour evening use, any solar, and an off-peak tariff decide the capacity — not the biggest unit on offer.
  3. Agree where it goesGarage, utility or outside wall: the maker's siting rules and ventilation come first.
  4. Check the VAT line0% on an installed home battery until 31 March 2027.
  5. Collect the certificatesMCS certificate, Electrical Installation Certificate and any compliance certificate.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

MCS certification

MCS is not a licence to trade, but it is what the government schemes and export payments are built on: an MCS certified installer uses certified products and issues the MCS certificate for the battery installation, and gov.uk says MCS installers must also belong to an approved consumer protection scheme.

Find the installer on MCS's own installer search before you accept a quote. mcscertified.com →

Building regulations sign-off

Microgeneration and renewable technologies are on gov.uk's list of work a competent person scheme installer can self-certify in England, and the wiring for the battery installation is electrical work that is notifiable when it adds a circuit or alters the consumer unit.

Ask which scheme the installer self-certifies through, and for the compliance certificate and an Electrical Installation Certificate afterwards. gov.uk →

Registered Competent Person Electrical

In England and Wales, a new circuit from the consumer unit for the battery installation is notifiable electrical work: an electrician on a competent person scheme self-certifies it, or building control is notified before it starts.

Search the business on the Registered Competent Person Electrical register as well as MCS. electricalcompetentperson.co.uk →

Insurance and trader status

For the battery installation, a trader should hold public liability insurance; check the insurer and the cover. Trader status matters: it brings the Consumer Rights Act 2015 into play, and under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 an off-premises or online booking usually has 14 days' cancellation, with any work you asked to start early charged for and personalised goods outside the right.

Ask for the insurance certificate before the battery installation is booked, and look for the trader and ID-checked badges on the Locufy profile.

VAT

Installing an electrical storage battery in a home is zero-rated (0%) until 31 March 2027, then 5% from 1 April 2027; the same kit bought without installation, or fitted in a hotel or other commercial building, is standard-rated, and an installer over the £90,000 threshold must still register and show the VAT, at 0%, as its own line.

Ask for the VAT number and check the battery quote shows 0% VAT on the fitted system and that nothing on it is charged at the standard rate. gov.uk →

“Are you MCS certified for battery storage?”

A good answer: Yes, with the certification you can check on MCS's search and an MCS certificate at handover.

“What battery capacity fits my use?”

A good answer: A size worked from your evening use, your solar output and your tariff, with the reasoning shown.

“Where will the battery go, and why there?”

A good answer: A location that meets the maker's siting rules — temperature, ventilation and clearances — explained.

“Does my inverter work with the battery?”

A good answer: A clear answer: an AC-coupled battery with its own inverter, or a hybrid inverter, and the cost of each.

“Will the battery keep the house running in a power cut?”

A good answer: Only if the system has a backup function and the wiring for it; ask, because many do not.

“Will the battery installation show 0% VAT?”

A good answer: Yes, on the installed battery until 31 March 2027.

“Which certificates will I get?”

A good answer: MCS certificate, Electrical Installation Certificate, and a compliance certificate if a new circuit was notified.

Getting the quote right

  • Battery make, model and usable capacity in kWh
  • Inverter: existing, hybrid or separate battery inverter
  • Location, mounting and any consumer unit work
  • Who actually attends — the MCS installer and the electrician who connects the battery, employed or subcontracted — and the business's VAT number, with VAT at 0% on the installation shown as its own line
  • MCS and electrical certificates included
  • Warranty length and the capacity it guarantees

Walk away if

  • Not on MCS's installer search
  • Sizes the battery without asking about your use
  • Mounts it where the maker's instructions say not to
  • Promises backup power without a backup-capable system
  • Adds standard-rate VAT to a battery fitted in your home
LOW
£2,500
TYPICAL
£5,500
HIGH
£12,000

What a battery storage installer costs: £2,500–£12,000 per install

Battery storage is quoted per installation, mainly by usable capacity; the inverter arrangement, brand and any consumer unit work move it, and VAT is 0% on an installed home battery. Battery Storage Installation price guide →

Guide prices compiled by the Locufy team from published Irish and UK provider price lists and 2026/27 cost guides. Updated 2026.

KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR? NOW FIND ONE

Battery storage installers near you, with the badges that matter shown

ID checked, trader status and one score from every review — on the card, before you message anyone. Nearest first. No account needed to look.

Or post the job free and let them come to you.

  1. SurveyUse, solar output, the consumer unit and possible locations assessed.
  2. DesignBattery size, inverter arrangement and location agreed.
  3. InstallBattery mounted, inverter fitted, cables run and connected.
  4. CommissionThe system is tested and set up on your tariff.
  5. CertifyMCS certificate and electrical certificate handed over; notifiable work notified.

kWh
A unit of stored energy; the battery's capacity.
Usable capacity
How much of the battery's energy you can actually use.
AC-coupled
A battery with its own inverter, added alongside existing solar.
Hybrid inverter
One inverter that runs both solar panels and a battery.
Backup / EPS
A function that powers some circuits in a power cut.
MCS certificate
Proof the system was installed by an MCS certified installer.

AFTER

When the job is done

File the certificates and the warrantyMCS certificate, electrical certificate, any compliance certificate and the battery warranty with its capacity terms.
Check the appCharging and discharging as set, on the tariff times you chose.
Tell your insurerSome home insurers ask to know about a battery; keep the certificates ready.
Review the jobOnly booked jobs can be reviewed on Locufy, so yours carries weight; if the battery installation falls short, use the make-it-right step first and the provider is asked to fix it before the review is published.

STEP 1Raise it with the installer in writingKeep it factual: what was agreed for the battery installation, what is wrong, and a reasonable date to fix it. Reasonable care and skill is a term of every trader's service under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, and the remedies are a redo or money off.
STEP 2Use Locufy's make-it-right stepRate the battery installation under four stars and you are asked whether to send it to the provider first; we follow it through. Then the review goes up.
STEP 3Certification or grant problemsIf the battery installation was MCS certified and is faulty, MCS takes complaints about its certified installers; grant problems go to Ofgem, which runs the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. For a dispute about the battery installation with the trader, Trading Standards is reached through the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 0808 223 1133 in England and Wales, Advice Direct Scotland on 0808 800 9060, or Consumerline on 0300 123 6262 in Northern Ireland.
STEP 4Money still in disputeIf the battery installation is still not settled, you can claim without a solicitor: the small claims track takes claims up to £10,000 in England and Wales, simple procedure up to £5,000 in Scotland, and the small claims court up to £5,000 in Northern Ireland.

Hiring a battery storage installer: questions people ask

Not by law; MCS certifies battery storage installers, and the electrical connection is notifiable in England and Wales when it adds a circuit.

An MCS certificate, an Electrical Installation Certificate for the wiring, and a compliance certificate if the work was notified through a scheme.

£2,500–£12,000 an installation, typically around £5,500. Capacity is the main driver, then brand, the inverter and any consumer unit work. There is a line-by-line breakdown in the Battery Storage Installation price guide, and the postcode box above brings up battery storage installers in your area.

Batteries installed in a home are zero-rated until 31 March 2027, then 5%.

Only if it has a backup function and is wired for it; many systems shut down when the grid does.

Usually, with an AC-coupled battery or by changing to a hybrid inverter; the installer should explain which.

MORE GUIDES

More hiring guides in electrical

How to hire: Solar PV InstallationHow to hire: EV Charger InstallationHow to hire: Consumer Unit / Fuse Board UpgradeHow to hire: Generator InstallationHow to hire: Three-Phase InstallationHow to hire: ElectricianHow to hire: Electrical Safety Inspection (EICR)How to hire: Outbuilding Power SupplyAll 701 hiring guides →

Battery storage installers near you

Battery storage installers in LondonBattery storage installers in ManchesterBattery storage installers in BirminghamBattery storage installers in GlasgowBattery storage installers in BelfastAll battery storage installers on Locufy →

Sources — checked October 2026

  1. MCS — the Boiler Upgrade Scheme for consumers
  2. gov.uk — find a heat pump installer
  3. gov.uk — VAT on energy-saving materials and heating equipment (Notice 708/6)
  4. gov.uk — competent person schemes: current schemes and the work they cover
  5. Registered Competent Person Electrical register
  6. gov.uk — building work, replacements and repairs to your home (England)
  7. nidirect — support to generate your own electricity
  8. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 — reasonable care and skill
  9. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 54 — what you can ask for when a service falls short
  10. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 30 — the 14-day cancellation period
  11. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 28 — contracts the cancellation right does not cover
  12. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 36 — services started within the cancellation period
  13. Civil Procedure Rules Part 26 — the small claims track limit (England and Wales)
  14. Scottish Courts and Tribunals — making a claim under simple procedure
  15. nidirect — the small claims process (Northern Ireland)
  16. Energy-saving materials and heating equipment (VAT Notice 708/6) — 2.19 Batteries for storing energy converted from electricity
  17. GOV.UK — VAT rates
  18. GOV.UK — Register for VAT: when to register