Updated for 2027: calculated without net metering
Home battery calculator: does it pay for itself?
Enter your consumption, solar panels and energy contract and see what a home battery earns you in the Netherlands now that net metering ends. Calculated hour by hour, for a full year.
- Independent: we sell nothing
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- All assumptions public
Result
Not worth it
This battery does not pay for itself within 15 years. You can expect to be €151 worse off than without a battery.
Payback time
> 15 years
With electricity prices ±2.5% a year: 13.3 years to more than 15 years
Saving per year
€242
in the first year
Result after 15 years
-€151
€3,349 saved − €3,500 purchase
Return per year
-0.6%
comparable to interest on savings
When has the battery paid for itself?
Cumulative savings minus the purchase price, per year
- Expected
- Electricity price ±2.5% a year
Year
Show as table
| Year | Expected | Electricity price −2.5% a year | Electricity price +2.5% a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purchase | -€3,500 | -€3,500 | -€3,500 |
| Year 1 | -€3,260 | -€3,260 | -€3,260 |
| Year 2 | -€3,022 | -€3,028 | -€3,016 |
| Year 3 | -€2,787 | -€2,805 | -€2,769 |
| Year 4 | -€2,555 | -€2,589 | -€2,519 |
| Year 5 | -€2,325 | -€2,381 | -€2,265 |
| Year 6 | -€2,097 | -€2,181 | -€2,008 |
| Year 7 | -€1,872 | -€1,988 | -€1,747 |
| Year 8 | -€1,649 | -€1,801 | -€1,482 |
| Year 9 | -€1,429 | -€1,621 | -€1,213 |
| Year 10 | -€1,210 | -€1,447 | -€941 |
| Year 11 | -€994 | -€1,279 | -€664 |
| Year 12 | -€780 | -€1,117 | -€383 |
| Year 13 | -€569 | -€961 | -€98 |
| Year 14 | -€359 | -€810 | €191 |
| Year 15 | -€151 | -€664 | €484 |
What does the battery do with your electricity?
Solar power used at home
31% With battery: 64%
Self-sufficiency
31% With battery: 58%
Electricity from the grid
2,417 kWh With battery: 1,479 kWh
Fed into the grid
2,417 kWh With battery: 1,274 kWh
Where does your solar power go?
Share of your yearly production
- Used directly
- Via the battery
- Fed into the grid
Without battery
With battery
Show as table
| Used directly | Via the battery | Fed into the grid | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Without battery | 1,083 kWh (31%) | 0 kWh (0%) | 2,417 kWh (69%) |
| With battery | 1,105 kWh (32%) | 1,121 kWh (32%) | 1,274 kWh (36%) |
Where does your electricity come from, per month?
Consumption in kWh with a battery
- Straight from the sun
- From the battery
- From the grid
Show as table
| Month | Straight from the sun | From the battery | From the grid | From the grid without battery |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 48 kWh | 45 kWh | 248 kWh | 287 kWh |
| February | 64 kWh | 65 kWh | 158 kWh | 219 kWh |
| March | 99 kWh | 93 kWh | 130 kWh | 219 kWh |
| April | 112 kWh | 110 kWh | 73 kWh | 180 kWh |
| May | 139 kWh | 107 kWh | 40 kWh | 143 kWh |
| June | 127 kWh | 92 kWh | 25 kWh | 114 kWh |
| July | 124 kWh | 109 kWh | 35 kWh | 141 kWh |
| August | 113 kWh | 100 kWh | 33 kWh | 129 kWh |
| September | 101 kWh | 97 kWh | 92 kWh | 185 kWh |
| October | 85 kWh | 92 kWh | 126 kWh | 214 kWh |
| November | 52 kWh | 44 kWh | 264 kWh | 303 kWh |
| December | 40 kWh | 33 kWh | 256 kWh | 283 kWh |
| Total | 1,105 kWh | 987 kWh | 1,479 kWh | 2,417 kWh |
How the saving is built up
| Less electricity bought939 kWh × €0.30 | €282 |
|---|---|
| Less feed-in compensation1,143 kWh × €0.035 | -€40 |
| Saving in the first year | €242 |
How the battery is used
- Full charge cycles per year
- 197
- Lost in conversion and standby
- 205 kWh per year
- Cost per stored kWh
- €0.255purchase price divided by all electricity the battery delivers
Which battery size fits best?
Same household, different capacity. Prices are an estimate.
| Capacity | Price | Saving per year | Payback time | Result after 15 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.5 kWh | €2,500 | €160 | > 15 years | -€382 |
| 5 kWhYour choice | €3,500 | €242 | > 15 years | -€151 |
| 7.5 kWh | €4,500 | €277 | > 15 years | -€540 |
| 10 kWh | €5,500 | €293 | > 15 years | -€1,241 |
| 15 kWh | €7,500 | €311 | > 15 years | -€2,943 |
| 20 kWh | €9,500 | €321 | > 15 years | -€4,769 |
And with a dynamic contract?
With the same battery you would save an estimated €223 per year, with a payback time of more than 15 years.
Indicative calculation for 2027 and later, without net metering. The outcome depends on your actual consumption pattern, the weather and future tariffs.
Is a home battery worth it from 2027?
Short answer
For an average household with solar panels (3,500 kWh of consumption, 3,500 kWh of solar power) a 5 kWh home battery saves about €242 a year from 2027. At a purchase price of €3,500 that is just not earned back within 15 years.
A battery does pay off if you buy it for about €2,300 or less: at €2,000 the payback period is 8.7 years. High evening consumption, a lot of exported solar power or a high electricity price also make the battery pay off sooner.
What does a home battery earn per household?
Calculated with an electricity price of €0.30 per kWh, a net feed-in compensation of €0.035 per kWh and a 15-year lifetime. The last column shows the highest purchase price at which the battery pays for itself within 10 years.
| Household | Battery | Saving per year | Payback period | Pays off up to (within 10 years) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small household 2,000 kWh use · 2,100 kWh solar | 2.5 kWh · €2,500 | €126 | more than 15 years | €1,200 |
| Average household 3,500 kWh use · 3,500 kWh solar | 5 kWh · €3,500 | €242 | more than 15 years | €2,300 |
| Family 4,500 kWh use · 5,250 kWh solar | 7.5 kWh · €4,500 | €358 | 13.3 years | €3,400 |
| Heat pump and electric car 8,500 kWh use · 6,000 kWh solar | 10 kWh · €5,500 | €444 | 13.4 years | €4,200 |
| Many solar panels 3,500 kWh use · 6,000 kWh solar | 7.5 kWh · €4,500 | €337 | 14.0 years | €3,250 |
How the calculator works
No rules of thumb, but a simulation of your home over a full year.
A year, hour by hour
For all 8,760 hours of the year we determine how much your solar panels produce and how much electricity you use, based on Dutch weather and your details.
With and without a battery
The battery stores surpluses and releases them when you need electricity, within its capacity, power and efficiency. That shows exactly how much less you buy and export.
In euros
We convert that shift with your tariffs, then subtract battery ageing and the purchase price. The result: savings, payback period and return.
What changes in 2027?
The rules for solar power change drastically. That determines what a battery is worth.
Guides
Worked-out answers to the main questions.
Payback period
How quickly does a home battery pay for itself in the Netherlands without net metering? Worked examples per household and the factors that matter.
Read more →Cost
Home battery prices per kWh in the Netherlands, including installation and VAT, and the highest price at which a battery still pays for itself.
Read more →End of net metering
Dutch net metering (salderingsregeling) ends on 1 January 2027. What you still get for exported solar power and when a home battery makes up for it.
Read more →Dynamic contract
What a home battery earns on a Dutch dynamic energy contract in 2027, with and without solar panels. Explanation and worked examples.
Read more →Choosing a size
Which capacity fits your consumption and solar panels? Rules of thumb, worked examples per size and why a bigger battery rarely earns more.
Read more →Method
How the calculator works: an hour-by-hour simulation of solar power, consumption and battery, with every assumption, formula, source and limitation.
Read more →Frequently asked questions
Is a home battery worth it in the Netherlands in 2027?
For an average household, usually just not. With 3,500 kWh of consumption and 3,500 kWh of solar power a year, a 5 kWh battery saves about €242 a year. At a purchase price of €3,500 that is not earned back within 15 years.
A home battery does pay off if you buy it cheaply (up to about €2,290 for 5 kWh), if you export a lot of solar power and use a lot in the evening, or if your electricity price is high. Run the numbers for your own home: the differences between households are large.
What is the payback period of a home battery?
Without net metering, the payback period of a fixed home battery is usually between 10 and well over 15 years. A family using 4,500 kWh with 5,250 kWh of solar power earns back a 7.5 kWh battery (€4,500) in about 13.3 years. An average household just misses the 15-year mark.
If you pay €2,000 instead of €3,500 for the same 5 kWh, the payback period drops to 8.7 years. The purchase price is the factor that matters most.
How much does a home battery save per year?
Expect about €160 a year for 2.5 kWh, €242 for 5 kWh and €293 for 10 kWh, for an average household with solar panels, an electricity price of €0.30 per kWh and a net feed-in compensation of €0.035.
Every kWh you store instead of exporting earns the difference between those two prices, minus the losses in the battery. A bigger battery saves more, but each extra kWh of capacity earns less than the one before.
Is a home battery worth it without solar panels?
No, in most cases it is not. With a flat electricity price there is no cheap electricity to store and the battery only adds standby consumption. With a dynamic contract you can charge in cheap hours, but for a 5 kWh battery that earns about €88 a year.
The reason: from 2027 you pay energy tax on every kWh you charge, even if you export it later. Only shifting your own consumption to cheap hours still earns something.
How reliable is this calculator?
The calculator simulates a whole year hour by hour: solar power, consumption and the charging and discharging of the battery. The profiles are tuned to public figures from KNMI and TenneT and checked against measurements from the literature: about 30% direct self-consumption without a battery and about 60% with one.
It remains a model. Your actual hourly consumption, the weather and future tariffs will differ. The most accurate result comes from entering the purchase and feed-in figures from your annual statement. All assumptions and formulas are on the method page.
Independent and verifiable
We do not sell batteries, pass on quotes or earn anything from your choice. That is why the outcome can simply be "don't".
The calculation runs in your own browser. What you enter is not sent or stored.
Sources
- Rijksoverheid, Net metering ends in 2027 (in Dutch). End of net metering on 1 January 2027 and the minimum feed-in compensation of 50% of the bare supply rate until 2030.
- Energievergelijk.nl, Net feed-in compensation per supplier from 1 January 2027 (in Dutch). Net compensation (compensation minus feed-in costs) at large suppliers: roughly 3 to 4 cents per kWh, autumn 2026.
- Ministerie van Financiën, Tax Plan 2027 (in Dutch). Proposed energy tax on electricity in 2027: 8.80 cents per kWh excluding VAT in the first two brackets up to 10,000 kWh (2026: €0.09161). Bill from September 2026, not yet passed by parliament.
- Milieu Centraal, Home battery for solar power (in Dutch). Independent assessment of home batteries and the rule of thumb that households use about 30% of their solar power directly.
- TenneT, Annual Market Update 2025. Average Dutch day-ahead price of €87 per MWh in 2025 and 584 hours with a negative price.
- KNMI, Climate normals for De Bilt 1991–2020. Average global radiation per month (364.8 kJ/cm² a year, converted 1,013 kWh/m²) and average temperature per month.