Moving house - take my battery with me?

halwyn

We had a Heatable instalation in Cornwall 2 years ago - 10 x panels with enphase microinverters plus 2 x 5kWh Alpha ESS batteries, a 5 kWh Alpha inverter and a Zappi car charger.  We have now had an offer accepted on a new property that has an old dumb BP Chargemaster EV charger but no other green kit.

The new house has a 12 year old combi and our aim is to change to a solar/battery/EV charger/heatpump combo some time down the line.  

Whilst I see no sense in moving our panels, I am thinking that it is a less complex task to detach the Zappi and the Alpha batteries/inverter from the existing system and leave the panels working stand-alone with their micro-inverters and gateway.  The Alpha could form at least Stage 1 of the new house upgrade - perhaps eventually supplemented by extra battery capacity if we go the heatpump route.  That would allow us to access Octpus Intelligent Go again quickly at the new property.  We could swap the old BP charger to leave EV capability at the old house - they are only a mile apart.

I am thinking a local electrician familiar with this type of tech may be the best option so it is done fast and as a defined task - and we take our time deciding about the bigger house upgrade once we know more about its thermal performance etc and have several quotes.

Does that make sense?  

   

Brie

If you are selling your house has it been advertised as having a solar power system?  Would removing the battery be an issue with this???  

I was told that when you sell a house you get to take everything with you that would fall out if you turned the place over and gave it a shake.  I'm not sure if this qualifies if you have to get someone in to disconnect stuff.  A bit like taking the doors with you (though I did hear years back of someone doing similar, taking all the fixtures and fittings, right down to the loo roll holders.)

Keep_pedalling

The batteries and charger may have been part of the reason your buyers offered the amount they did. If I was them I would be substantially losing my offer if you decided to remove them, in which case it would hardly be worth doing it. 

We left our Zappi in place when we moved and had a new one installed in our current home. 

Netexporter

Battery prices have dropped and lots of new tech added, like bi-directional EV charging built in, so I think I would start with a clean slate at the new gaff.

Exiled_Tyke

Before the sales contract is finalised you will complete a list of fittings that are included. If the items are not included on the list there should not be a problem although it would be best to highlight this early on. 

QrizB

A brand-new 10kWh Alpha ESS battery system plus Zappi shouldn't cost you much more than £6k. And that might not suit whatever PV-and-heatpump you choose in a few years.

Meanwhile you'll be paying VAT on whatever your electrician charges to do the installation, file the DNO application and Building Regs paperwork since it's not being done as a supply-and-fit contract.

twopenny

Have you had an offer on the house?
Have you made them aware that what they thought they were buying isn't so?
It will almost certainly at least change their offer.
For me I would withdraw as there's always the chance that the changes could result in problems and the new owners would have to pay for assessment and getting it put right. A whole lot of extra stress along with moving house 

halwyn

Sorry - I was out and did not reply.  Thanks for all the comments.  We have not marketed our existing house where the kit is - we are still deciding if we sell it or rent it out and will definitely have a time gap between buying and moving on with the current property.

So we can make the Zappi swap and battery relocation and make good before we market the property.  I guess it's the thought of a future heat pump that makes me most interested in the battery move - and having a new technology battery alongside the Alpha buffer may be a good option.  I'm going to ask the local guy for a quote and see how that looks at least.

michaels

Does the battery impact on the EPC score?
Do you have a separate inverter for the battery from the panels as if not you will need to install one.
I suspect that too few know the value of battery and PV for that to impact on the house sale price so probably what matters is the cost of moving the tech rather than any detrimental impact on the sale price.