Home Batteries: How They’re Installed and How Much They Cost

家用电池：安装方式与成本解析

With electricity costs soaring, home batteries have never looked so attractive. Whether you want to store the excess generated by your solar panels or simply buy electricity at the cheapest possible rate to use later when power is most expensive, a home battery can help. It’s never been easier to get a home battery installed, but this rapidly expanding market can be confusing, and there are several things to consider before you buy. I’ve spent months researching home batteries, chatting to folks who use them, and then having one installed myself, and I have tips for anyone interested in getting a home battery of their own.

随着电费飙升，家用电池变得前所未有的诱人。无论你是想储存太阳能电池板产生的多余电力，还是仅仅想在电价最便宜时购电，留待电价昂贵时使用，家用电池都能助你一臂之力。现在安装家用电池比以往任何时候都容易，但这个快速扩张的市场可能会让人感到困惑，在购买前有几点需要考虑。我花了几个月的时间研究家用电池，与用户交流，并亲自安装了一台，以下是我为那些有兴趣购买家用电池的人提供的一些建议。

Why Would You Want a Home Battery?

为什么你需要家用电池？

There are several reasons you might want to invest in a home battery, and they are not mutually exclusive: You want to store excess power from your solar panels. You want to live off-grid. You want to guard against power outages. You want to buy electricity at a cheap rate and store it for use later. Home batteries are a win-win, potentially benefiting power companies too, because battery storage is an essential part of grid balancing and can help manage and make the most of the intermittent power generated by renewables (solar, wind, waves).

投资家用电池的原因有很多，而且这些原因并不冲突：你想储存太阳能电池板产生的多余电力；你想实现离网生活；你想预防停电；你想在低电价时购电并储存起来供后续使用。家用电池是双赢的选择，甚至对电力公司也有利，因为电池储能是电网平衡的重要组成部分，有助于管理并充分利用可再生能源（太阳能、风能、波浪能）产生的间歇性电力。

How Do Home Batteries Work?

家用电池是如何工作的？

A home battery is like a big power bank for your home. But rather than lithium-ion, they tend to be lithium iron phosphate (LFP or LiFePO4), because it is safer, more durable, and less prone to thermal runaway. In other words, less likely to overheat and burst into flames. There are a few manufacturers working with sodium-ion (Na-ion) batteries, which are potentially cheaper, more environmentally friendly (they don’t require lithium), and perform better in the cold, but they are also larger and don’t last as long.

家用电池就像是你家里的一个大型充电宝。但它们通常使用的不是锂离子电池，而是磷酸铁锂电池（LFP 或 LiFePO4），因为这种电池更安全、更耐用，且不易发生热失控。换句话说，它们不太容易过热并起火。也有一些制造商正在研发钠离子（Na-ion）电池，这种电池可能更便宜、更环保（不需要锂），在寒冷环境下的表现也更好，但它们的体积更大，寿命也较短。

Home battery technology is often the same as you’ll find in electric vehicles. Some folks have even suggested employing EV batteries as home batteries. But there are potential issues with that, not least finding your car battery drained in the morning. EVs are also driving the technology forward toward solid-state batteries, which are smaller for the same capacity, safer as they don’t have liquid electrolytes inside, and longer lasting.

家用电池的技术通常与电动汽车中使用的技术相同。有些人甚至建议将电动汽车电池用作家用电池。但这存在潜在问题，最主要的就是你可能会发现早上起来车没电了。电动汽车也在推动技术向固态电池发展，这种电池在相同容量下体积更小，由于内部没有液体电解质，安全性更高，且寿命更长。

Many home batteries come in modular systems, so you can add the capacity you want, but they require an inverter to convert the DC (direct current) power stored to AC (alternating current) power you can use. Folks with solar panels, or those who plan to add them in the future, should opt for a hybrid inverter, which can also convert the power from the panels for use or storage.

许多家用电池采用模块化系统，因此你可以根据需要增加容量，但它们需要一个逆变器将储存的直流电（DC）转换为你可以使用的交流电（AC）。拥有太阳能电池板或计划未来安装的人，应该选择混合逆变器，它还可以将电池板产生的电力转换为使用或储存。

Inverters have different power ratings in kilowatts (kW) that dictate how much power you can draw at any given moment. Households with modest needs may get by with a 3.6-kW inverter, but that limits your continuous draw to 3.6 kW. They usually have a peak load capability that goes higher, enabling you to pull more for a brief period. If you have high-demand appliances like an EV charger or heat pump, you will want at least 5 kW, and folks with larger demands or larger batteries will want to go higher (6 to 10 kW).

逆变器有不同的千瓦（kW）功率额定值，决定了你在任何特定时刻可以提取多少电力。需求适中的家庭使用 3.6 kW 的逆变器即可，但这会将你的持续用电量限制在 3.6 kW。它们通常具有更高的峰值负载能力，允许你在短时间内提取更多电力。如果你有电动汽车充电器或热泵等高需求电器，你至少需要 5 kW 的逆变器；而需求更大或电池容量更大的用户则需要更高的功率（6 到 10 kW）。

What Should I Look For?

我应该关注什么？

There are several things to watch out for when buying a home battery:

• Capacity: Measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh), this tells you how much total energy the battery can hold.
• Power output: Measured in kilowatts (kW), this shows how much energy the battery and inverter can deliver at any moment.
• Depth of discharge: This is how much of the battery’s capacity you can safely use without damaging it.
• Efficiency: This is the percentage of the power you put into the battery that you can actually use, because some energy is always lost in the storage process.
• Warranty: This is a guarantee about the minimum performance you can expect before a battery degrades (they all degrade over time), and it’s often stated in years and charging cycles (whichever comes first). For example, EcoFlow promises at least 70 percent capacity after 15 years or 6,000 charging cycles.

购买家用电池时有几点需要注意：

• 容量： 以千瓦时（kWh）为单位，表示电池总共能储存多少能量。
• 功率输出： 以千瓦（kW）为单位，表示电池和逆变器在任何时刻能提供的能量大小。
• 放电深度： 指在不损坏电池的情况下，你可以安全使用的电池容量百分比。
• 效率： 指你存入电池的电量中实际可使用的百分比，因为在储存过程中总会有部分能量损耗。
• 保修： 这是对电池在退化前（所有电池都会随时间退化）预期最低性能的保证，通常以年数和充电循环次数（以先到者为准）来表示。例如，EcoFlow 承诺在 15 年或 6,000 次充电循环后，电池容量至少保持在 70%。

How Much Home Battery Do You Need?

你需要多大容量的家用电池？

It can be tricky to calculate how much battery capacity you need, and it depends on your use case. If you want to guard against outages or live off-grid, you must consider how much power you use over time and also the sum of your maximum power usage at any given moment to ensure your capacity in kWh and output in kW are enough. If the output is not high enough you may not be able to run power-hungry appliances at the same time, so you’ll have to think about how you use your power.

计算你需要多少电池容量可能比较棘手，这取决于你的使用场景。如果你是为了预防停电或实现离网生活，你必须考虑你的长期用电量，以及在任何特定时刻的最大用电总和，以确保你的 kWh 容量和 kW 输出足够。如果输出功率不够高，你可能无法同时运行耗电量大的电器，因此你必须考虑如何分配用电。

For folks like me, simply looking to buy at a cheaper rate to use when power is more expensive, any capacity will benefit you. But if you have a cheap six-hour rate overnight, for example, then you ideally want it to last for the other 18 hours. It makes sense to get as much as you can up-front because the installation costs are high. Even adding to modular systems later often requires professional installation to avoid voiding your warranty.

对于像我这样仅仅想在低电价时购电、在电价昂贵时使用的人来说，任何容量的电池都有帮助。但例如，如果你有 6 小时的夜间低电价时段，那么理想情况下，你希望电池能支撑其余的 18 小时。由于安装成本很高，一次性尽可能多地配置容量是合理的。即使是后续增加模块化系统，通常也需要专业安装，以避免保修失效。

Do You Need Upgrades or Permission?

你需要升级设备或申请许可吗？

The home battery will connect to your main electrical panel via a cable, and it may require some upgrades. There was no room on my fuse board when I got a home battery installed, so they had to install a second breaker box. Some inverters may require permission from your electric distribution utility or local distribution company. Here in Scotland, the distribution network operator must approve your inverter, but you can install and then notify up to 3.6 kW, whereas larger inverters require prior approval. Permits can take time to get, and there may be associated costs in some places, so it’s a good idea to make enquiries early. Most reputable installers will offer advice and guidance, and may even complete the process for you.

家用电池将通过电缆连接到你的主配电盘，这可能需要进行一些升级。我安装家用电池时，我的保险丝盒没有空间了，所以他们不得不安装了第二个断路器箱。一些逆变器可能需要获得电力分配机构或当地配电公司的许可。在苏格兰，配电网络运营商必须批准你的逆变器，但 3.6 kW 以下的设备可以先安装再通知，而更大的逆变器则需要事先批准。许可证可能需要时间获取，在某些地方还可能产生相关费用，因此尽早咨询是个好主意。大多数信誉良好的安装商会提供建议和指导，甚至可能为你完成整个流程。

Home Battery Installation Tips

家用电池安装小贴士

Here are a few extra tips on what to consider before your installation. Shop around for installers with the right certification (MCS in the UK), read reviews, and get at least three quotes.

以下是在安装前需要考虑的几点额外建议：货比三家，寻找拥有相关认证（英国为 MCS 认证）的安装商，阅读评论，并至少获取三份报价。