Three battery platforms cover most of the UK residential market in 2026: Tesla Powerwall, SolarEdge Home Battery, and Solis + Pylontech. They all do the basics — store cheap overnight power, release it during peak hours, integrate with solar — but they differ meaningfully in warranty length, EPS backup, app quality, and capital cost.
Here’s the honest comparison from an installer who fits all three.
Quick comparison table
| Tesla Powerwall | SolarEdge Home Battery | Solis + Pylontech | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capacity | 13.5kWh fixed | 10kWh modular | 3.6-12kWh modular |
| Chemistry | LFP | LFP | LFP (Pylontech) |
| Warranty | 10 years | 10 years | 10 years |
| EPS / backup | Whole-home standard | Configurable | Critical circuits |
| App | Tesla app | mySolarEdge | Solis Cloud |
| OCPP/open | Closed (Tesla only) | Closed (SolarEdge only) | Open / broadly supported |
| SEG eligibility | Tesla Energy Plan (up to 24p/kWh) | Standard | Standard |
| Fitted price (~10kWh) | £8,500-£10,500 (13.5kWh fixed) | £5,500-£7,500 | £4,000-£5,500 |
| AC or DC coupled | AC (retrofit-friendly) | DC (SolarEdge inverter required) | Either via Solis hybrid inverter |
Tesla Powerwall: premium, with the Tesla Energy Plan
Tesla Powerwall sits at the premium end of the market — significantly more expensive than the alternatives, but with three features no other mainstream battery can match.
Whole-home backup as standard. During a power cut, every circuit in the house stays live automatically — no separate critical-circuits sub-board, no manual switching. The Powerwall ships with a Backup Gateway that handles the islanding transition seamlessly.
Tesla Energy Plan SEG access. Tesla Powerwall is the only battery eligible for the Tesla Energy Plan, which currently pays up to 24p/kWh for solar export — the highest rate in the UK market by some margin. For homes with significant solar export, this is worth £200-400/year more than the next-best SEG tariff.
Polished aesthetics. The 13.5kWh unit is visually integrated — wall-mounted, sleek, Tesla-branded. For garage installations where the battery is on display, this matters.
The downside. Capital cost is the highest of any mainstream UK battery. 13.5kWh is sometimes overkill — a 3-bed semi rarely uses more than 8kWh per evening — so the extra capacity sits idle most days. Closed ecosystem: no OCPP-equivalent for third-party tariff integration.
Best for: Homes with large solar arrays (8kW+) generating significant export. Customers who specifically want whole-home backup. Premium-spec installs where aesthetic and brand matter.
SolarEdge Home Battery: for SolarEdge solar customers
SolarEdge’s home battery is designed to integrate tightly with SolarEdge solar inverters and panel-level optimisers. If you’re installing fresh solar with a SolarEdge inverter, their battery is the natural complement.
DC-coupled efficiency. Most home batteries are AC-coupled — energy flows panel → inverter (DC→AC) → battery (AC→DC) → home (DC→AC). Each conversion loses 2-3% efficiency. SolarEdge’s DC-coupled battery skips the intermediate steps. Net effect: roughly 1-2% more usable energy through the system over its lifetime.
Panel-level optimisation. SolarEdge’s signature feature is per-panel power optimisers, useful for partially-shaded roofs. The battery integrates into the same monitoring framework.
The downside. Locked-in to SolarEdge — you can’t easily switch inverter brand later without abandoning the battery. Smaller UK installer base than Tesla or Solis. We recommend it specifically where the panel-level optimisation is genuinely needed.
Best for: Homes with significant roof shading where panel-level optimisation pays off. New solar + battery installs as a unified SolarEdge system.
Solis + Pylontech: budget-conscious option
The Solis hybrid inverter paired with Pylontech batteries is the value-conscious choice. Solid kit, well-supported, but with less polish than the premium brands.
Lowest capital cost. Typically 30-45% below an equivalent Tesla Powerwall install. £4,000-£5,500 for a 10kWh install is achievable.
Hybrid inverter included. Solis hybrid inverters handle solar + battery + grid in a single box. For new solar + battery installs, the integration is clean.
Pylontech battery modules. Industry-standard format used across multiple inverter platforms. Modular — stack additional capacity later without retiring existing kit.
The downside. Solis Cloud app is functional but less polished than the Tesla app. Customer-facing support runs through the installer rather than direct from the brand. Critical-circuits EPS only — no whole-home backup option.
Best for: Budget-conscious new solar + battery installs. Cases where capital constraint matters more than premium features.
How we pick for AMP customers
Our default recommendation by use case:
“I want the best battery, money no object.” Tesla Powerwall — for the whole-home backup and Tesla Energy Plan access alone.
“I want the best value for money.” Solis + Pylontech — solid LFP kit at a meaningfully lower price.
“I’m installing fresh SolarEdge solar.” SolarEdge Home Battery — the DC-coupling and panel-level optimisation add up.
“I already have a Tesla EV / want unified Tesla ecosystem.” Tesla Powerwall — the app integration with the car is genuinely useful.
“I have older solar and want to retrofit a battery.” Tesla Powerwall (AC-coupled) or Solis-paired Pylontech (most cost-effective AC retrofit option). Both work cleanly with any existing solar inverter.
The questions to ask any installer
If you’re getting quotes from multiple installers, these questions sort the good ones from the rest:
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“Which inverter are you proposing and is it MCS-listed?” Solar inverter manufacturer matters. Avoid no-name Chinese inverters; they save £200-400 capital cost and cost you in unreliability later.
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“What’s the EPS configuration and what does the backup runtime look like?” A vague “yes it has backup” is not enough. You want specifics on what circuits stay live and for how long.
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“Is the install going to include a tariff switch?” Most installs perform much better on Octopus Go or similar. Installers who don’t actively help with the tariff switch are leaving most of the savings on the table.
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“What’s the warranty process if something fails?” A real installer will have warranty replacement procedures in place. We typically replace failed in-warranty units within 5-7 working days from initial fault report.
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“Can you show me an install you did 18+ months ago?” Anyone can install a battery. Maintaining one over years is a different challenge. Reference checks on older installs are revealing.
Bottom line
For premium UK home battery customers in 2026, Tesla Powerwall is the answer — it’s the only option with whole-home backup standard and Tesla Energy Plan SEG access. SolarEdge is the right answer for SolarEdge solar customers specifically. Solis + Pylontech is the value-conscious choice — solid LFP kit at meaningfully lower capital cost.
We install all three — happy to recommend the right one for your specific setup during the free survey.
Related: Smart Export Guarantee explained 2026 · Solar panel cost UK 2026 · Home battery storage service page