Battery backup ·
Power cutsDoes your battery work in a power cut?
Most home batteries switch off with the grid. A gateway keeps your lights, heating and fridge running when the street goes dark. We check whether yours can take one.
Book a battery check
1 of 5Do you already have a home battery?
No obligation. We'll use your answers to tell you what your system can do.
What actually happens when the power goes
The grid goes down
A storm takes a line out, a fault trips the substation, or a planned rota cut starts.
Your inverter switches off
It has to. It cannot push power onto a dead grid while engineers are working on it.
Your battery sits there full
Thousands of pounds of storage, and your lights are off with everyone else's.
The switch-off rule is a safety requirement, not a fault. Every grid-tied inverter in the UK does it.
Why people are asking now
Storm season is here
Named storms hit Dorset and Hampshire every winter. A tree on a line can mean hours or days without power.
The Be Ready advice
On 22 October 2026 the government asked every household to prepare for three days without power, water or internet.
New rota power cut rules
Since August 2026 the grid operator can order three hour regional cuts with eight hours notice if supply runs short.
You have already paid for the battery
A gateway makes it do the one job most people assumed it did from day one.
Sources: Cabinet Office Be Ready campaign, 22 October 2026. NESO Demand Control Rotation Protocol, August 2026. NESO's Winter Outlook expects supplies to stay secure this winter; the rules exist for the rare case they do not.
The numbers behind it
A 10kWh battery running lights, fridge, freezer, broadband and heating controls typically covers a full evening and night.
Will my battery take a gateway?
Many will. It depends on your inverter and battery, not on who fitted them or how old the panels are.
Some hybrid inverters have backup built in. It was never wired up. We add the gateway or changeover and connect the circuits.
Some need a separate gateway box between the meter and your consumer unit. That is the box in the photo.
A few cannot do it at all. If yours is one of them we tell you straight, and what it would take to change that.
Systems and batteries we work with
Brand not listed? Just ask, we're independent.
Already got one emergency socket? That runs a lamp and a phone charger, not your heating or fridge. A gateway runs the circuits you choose, automatically.
Check first, then one price
We look at your inverter, battery and consumer unit and tell you what your system can do and which circuits you could keep on.
Gateway supplied, wired to the circuits you choose, tested in a real switch-off before we leave. VAT included.
Add a battery and the backup together. 0% VAT on the battery until 31 March 2027.
Every gateway price includes
The price depends on your inverter and how many circuits you want kept on, which is why we check first. You get one figure, VAT included, before anything is booked.
Gateways and batteries we have fitted
Real kit on real homes across Bournemouth, Poole, Dorset and Hampshire.
Three steps to a house that stays on
Tell us what you have.
Five quick questions or a phone call. A photo of your inverter label helps, but we can work without it.
We check it and price it.
We confirm what your inverter and battery can do, agree which circuits you want kept on, and give you one price, VAT included. No obligation.
We fit it and prove it.
Installed by MCS-certified electricians. Before we leave we switch the grid off at your consumer unit and show you the lights staying on.
What our customers say
“Excellent service from No1 Solar Care. They carried out a solar panel health check at my property, quickly diagnosed the problem, and helped me get it resolved. Really knowledgeable, helpful and professional throughout. Highly recommend!”
“I felt very confident in this company from first instance. Every aspect was fully explained and all questions answered. Professionalism at its best.”
“A big thank you to No1 Solar care. Reliable, professional and great attention to detail. Would highly recommend!”
Local electricians, proper aftercare.
Fitted by local MCS-certified electricians across Bournemouth, Poole, Dorset and Hampshire. Every job comes with our 12-month insurance-backed workmanship guarantee, and as a solar maintenance company, we're here long after it's fitted.
Installer gone out of business?
No problem. We add backup to batteries fitted by any installer, including companies that have closed down.
Got a GivEnergy system?
GivEnergy has stopped trading, but your battery still works and many GivEnergy setups can be given backup. We'll tell you honestly what's worth doing.
Call 01202 023069
Questions people ask us
Does my solar battery work in a power cut?
Usually not. When the grid goes down your inverter has to switch off so engineers working on the line are safe. Unless backup was designed in, the battery switches off with it, however full it is.
What is a gateway?
A box fitted between your home and the grid. When the power goes it disconnects your house from the grid in a fraction of a second and lets the battery carry on running the circuits you chose. When the grid comes back it reconnects you and recharges the battery.
Will it run my whole house?
It depends on the size of your battery and inverter. Most homes keep lights, fridge, freezer, broadband, boiler controls and a few sockets running. Electric showers, ovens and hobs draw too much for most home batteries, so we leave those on the grid side and tell you exactly what is covered.
How long will it keep me going?
A 10kWh battery running lights, fridge, freezer, broadband and heating controls will typically last a full evening and night. If your system is set up for it, the panels recharge the battery during the day while the grid is still off.
Can you fit backup to a battery you did not install?
Yes. Most of the systems we look after were fitted by someone else, including installers that have closed down. We check what you have and tell you what it can do.
I have not got a battery yet. Can I have backup from day one?
Yes. If you add a battery with us we can fit the gateway at the same time. Batteries start from £2,495 including VAT and are 0% VAT until 31 March 2027.
Is a gateway 0% VAT?
Fitted together with a new battery it falls under the 0% VAT relief until 31 March 2027. Added to a battery you already have, it does not. Either way, every price we give you includes the VAT.
Will I notice it switch over?
A flicker, usually under a second. Your broadband may take a minute to come back. Everything we have wired into the backup circuits stays on.
Do I have to go ahead?
No. We check your system, tell you what it can do and what it would cost, and you decide. No pressure.
Book a battery check
Five quick questions or a phone call, and we'll tell you whether your battery can keep the lights on.
Call 01202 023069Book a battery check
1 of 5Do you already have a home battery?
No obligation. We'll use your answers to tell you what your system can do.
Covering Dorset, Hampshire and further afield. Not sure if we cover you? Just ask.