The price drives the outcome
Whether a home battery pays off for you depends on what the battery costs, how much electricity you use in the evening and at night, and how much solar power you have left over during the day. Which battery to choose is explained in choosing a home battery.
What a battery yields per year depends on your consumption, your panels and your contract. The purchase price is the input you choose yourself. CE Delft writes that a higher purchase price increases the payback time and a cheaper home battery reduces it.
This is how large that effect is, using the measured annual yield of the household with average consumption from that research (€ 350 per year with a fixed contract):
| Purchase price | Annual yield (CE Delft, 5 kWh, fixed contract) | Payback time (price ÷ yield) |
|---|---|---|
| € 3,500 (price in the research) | € 350 | 10 years |
| € 2,500 | € 350 | just over 7 years |
| € 4,500 | € 350 | almost 13 years |
What does independent research say?
CE Delft analysed, on behalf of Vereniging Eigen Huis (the Dutch homeowners' association; report of January 2026), twelve months of measurement data from home batteries in thirteen households. Two batteries were controlled only for self-consumption of solar power. For those two, the estimated payback time comes to 6.5 to 22 years, strongly dependent on the household's energy use, the contract, the development of energy prices and policy.
The yields in the table are the cost advantage over twelve months in the situation without net metering, which CE Delft calls the most representative situation. The estimate assumes yields stay the same, with a margin for uncertainty in the energy markets.
| Household in the research | Battery and price | Yield over 12 months | Estimated payback time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average consumption (3,600 kWh per year) | 5 kWh, € 3,500 | € 350 (fixed contract) / € 217 (dynamic contract) | 10 to 22 years |
| Very high consumption (approx. 11,000 kWh per year) | 10 kWh, € 6,000 to € 9,000 including VAT | € 947 (fixed contract) / € 602 (dynamic contract) | 6.5 to 14 years |
What else the research says
A well-sized home battery can raise self-consumption by about 30% on average. CE Delft works with a lifespan of 10 to 15 years. For a household with average consumption, the payback time can therefore be longer than the battery lasts.
Milieu Centraal expects that you most likely will not earn back a home battery at the moment through savings on your electricity bill. So calculate with your own price and consumption.
Profile check: for whom does a home battery pay off?
Below you can see per situation what the sources say. These are scenarios, not promises: even for the first two profiles the payback time can be longer than the lifespan.
| Your situation | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|
| High consumption, mostly in the evening and at night (heat pump, many appliances), plenty of solar power left over during the day | Shorter payback time possible | The household with very high consumption in the CE Delft research came to 6.5 to 14 years. That is the shorter of the two, for one household. |
| A sharp purchase price per kWh of storage and a battery no larger than your evening and night consumption | Shorter payback time possible | The price drives the outcome (see above). Milieu Centraal: a home battery should be able to cover your evening and night consumption, no more. |
| Average consumption (around 3,600 kWh per year) with solar panels | Borderline case | CE Delft came to 10 to 22 years here, with a lifespan of 10 to 15 years. Check it with your own price. |
| Low consumption or little solar power left over | Usually does not pay off | There is little to shift. On average you already use about 30 percent of your solar power yourself; if your surplus is small, little is left for the battery. |
| Electric car with your own charger | Smart charging first | Smart charging needs no extra battery. According to Milieu Centraal, the battery of an electric car has about the same effect on your self-consumption of solar power: from 30% to well over 50%. |
| Home not yet insulated or still a gas boiler | Insulate or get a heat pump first | Milieu Centraal calls those choices no-regret: they will certainly lower your energy bill and give you more comfort. |
| No solar panels | Your own call | Then it is about charging at low prices. Read home battery without solar panels. |
Why winter counts
A battery only pays off if it fills and empties often. With 10 solar panels you generate, according to Milieu Centraal, about 15 kWh on an average June day and 2.5 kWh on an average December day. An average home battery stores about 6 kWh. In winter, such a battery will therefore not fill up with solar power.
So do not calculate with 365 full days a year. How to choose the capacity is explained in calculating home battery capacity.
Fixed or dynamic contract: does it matter?
In the CE Delft research, the cost advantage of the battery in euros was larger with a fixed contract, because the electricity price is higher on average with a fixed contract. That concerns the difference with and without a battery. On total costs without net metering, CE Delft writes that a dynamic contract with a home battery was cheaper or about equal to a fixed contract in all test set-ups.
Which choice fits your battery is explained in home battery with a fixed or dynamic contract. More on how dynamic contracts work is in home battery and dynamic contract.
What changes after 1 January 2027?
Net metering ends. According to the ACM you then pay energy tax and VAT on all electricity you draw from your supplier and you receive a reasonable fee for what you feed back. Every kWh of solar power you use yourself, also later from your battery, is a kWh you do not have to buy. Such a kWh is therefore worth more.
That does not compensate for the higher bill by itself: according to CE Delft the energy bill goes up after net metering ends, even with a home battery. What changes on 1 January 2027 is explained in net metering ends in 2027. What that means for feeding back is explained in feed-in costs.
How do you calculate it for yourself?
Divide the purchase price by what the battery yields per year. The formula, a worked example and a sensitivity table are on calculating the payback time of a home battery. Price, VAT and financing are covered in what a home battery costs.
Sources
- CE Delft: Proefopstellingen thuisbatterijen (Vereniging Eigen Huis): two test set-ups controlled for self-consumption: payback time 6.5 to 22 years; thirteen households, twelve months of data (accessed on 2026-10-18)
- CE Delft: Proefopstellingen thuisbatterijen, report (pdf, January 2026, publication no. 2026.240329.004): section 2.3.1: 5 kWh for € 3,500 and 10 kWh for € 6,000 to € 9,000, yields per contract, 10 to 22 and 6.5 to 14 years, lifespan 10 to 15 years, effect of purchase price; self-consumption about 30% higher; section 3.7.2 contract comparison (accessed on 2026-10-18)
- Milieu Centraal: Home battery, storing solar energy: most likely not earned back, cover evening and night consumption, 15 kWh June day and 2.5 kWh December day, about 30 percent self-consumption, 30% to well over 50% with smart charging, insulation and heat pump no-regret; last changed 28-09-2026 (accessed on 2026-10-18)
- ACM ConsuWijzer: Net metering and feeding back: from 1 January 2027 energy tax and VAT on all electricity drawn and a reasonable fee for feeding back (accessed on 2026-10-18)
