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Solar Battery Storage Across the Cotswolds

From village cottages to farmhouses, many Cotswold homes aren’t on mains gas, and some are a long way down the line. A battery lets you use more of your own solar power, and with the right set-up, some can keep essential circuits running in a power cut.

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Power cuts

Will a battery keep the lights on in a power cut?

Not on its own. A standard battery and solar system switches off when the grid goes down, so it can’t feed power into the network while engineers are working on it.

Some batteries can keep chosen circuits running during a cut, using extra switching equipment that separates your home from the grid. It won’t run the whole house for long, so you pick what matters: the fridge and freezer, some lights, the router, perhaps a heating pump.

If backup matters to you

  • Choose the circuits you want to keep running
  • Size the battery for how long you want them to last
  • Extra switching equipment at your fuse board
  • In a long cut in winter, there’s little solar to top it back up
Ask about backup
Off the gas grid

Batteries, heat pumps and oil-heated Cotswold homes

A battery stores electricity, so on its own it won’t cut an oil bill. Paired with a heat pump, it can: stored solar or cheaper overnight power runs the heating later in the day.

15.9%of Cotswold District homes heat with oil
2.8%use LPG or bottled gas
9.8%use electric heating only
3.2%is the figure for oil across England

Census 2021 (ONS), central heating, % of households.

Air source heat pumps in the Cotswolds
Historic homes

Batteries in listed Cotswold homes and barns

Cotswold District Council says listed building consent can be needed for internal as well as external works. For a battery, that usually means the cable route and where the battery goes.

Fewest changes

A barn, garage or later extension

Keeping the battery out of the historic building is usually the simplest route, with cables following existing paths.

Check first

Inside a listed house

New holes or cable runs through old walls and floors can need consent. The council recommends pre-application advice for retrofit work.

Safety first

Never in the loft

BSI PAS 63100 rules out lofts, bedrooms and escape routes, however tempting a big Cotswold roof space is.

More conservation areas than any other district in England

That’s Cotswold District’s count. Check yours on the council’s conservation area maps, or read its retrofit guidance for listed buildings.
Rural properties

Battery storage for Cotswold farms and rural businesses

Farms and estates

Barn roofs make a lot of solar power in the day. A battery can carry some of it into the evening for milking, lighting or cold stores.

Talk to us about your site

Holiday lets and annexes

Guests use most of their power in the evening, after a day out. A battery shifts daytime solar to when they need it.

Areas we cover

Battery storage installers across the Cotswolds

From the north Cotswolds down to the Thames, including:

  • Bourton-on-the-Water
  • Stow-on-the-Wold
  • Moreton-in-Marsh
  • Chipping Campden
  • Blockley
  • Broadway
  • Northleach
  • Chedworth
  • Bibury
  • Fairford
  • Lechlade
  • Tetbury
  • Winchcombe
  • Andoversford
  • Guiting Power
Cotswolds FAQs

Battery storage in the Cotswolds: your questions

Power cuts, listed buildings, oil heating and farms: here’s what Cotswold homeowners ask us.

Off the beaten track?Call 01452 471031 and we’ll tell you if we cover your village.

Will a battery keep my power on in a power cut?

Not on its own. A standard battery system switches off in a power cut, so it can’t send power into the network while engineers are working on it. Some batteries can keep chosen circuits running, such as the fridge, lights and router, with extra equipment set up for backup. How long they last depends on the battery and what’s connected.

Do I need listed building consent to fit a battery?

Possibly. Cotswold District Council says listed building consent can be required for internal as well as external works to a listed building, so a new cable route through old walls can need it. A battery in a barn, garage or later extension usually means fewer changes. The council recommends pre-application advice for retrofit work on listed buildings.

Is a battery worth it if I heat my home with oil?

A battery stores electricity, so on its own it won’t touch your oil bill. Where it helps is alongside a heat pump: solar or cheaper overnight power stored in the battery can run the heat pump at other times. If you’re thinking of leaving oil, see air source heat pumps in the Cotswolds.

How much solar can a Cotswold home store?

It depends on the season. A 4 kWp south-facing system at Bourton-on-the-Water makes about 488 kWh in June and about 135 kWh in December. In summer there’s usually spare to fill a battery; in winter, most is used as it’s made.

Battery storage for your Cotswold home

Getting solar too? See your price for panels and a battery online in minutes.

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Already have solar panels? Book a free battery survey or call us on 01452 471031

5.0 on GoogleMCS certified (NAP68548)Installing across the Cotswolds