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Moving solar batteries out of the loft?
Hi we’re looking to potentially buy a house which already has solar panels. The battery is currently up in the loft so we would want to move that straight away. Is this fairly easy and cheap to do and where would be best to put it – the garage is already converted so it would have to be outside, would it need to be in a box of some sort? Thanks, will have plenty more questions if we go ahead!
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13 Replies
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Moving a battery is not straight forward. If it’s already in the loft, I would leave it there.
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Cost me £600 to move batteries and inverter to detached garage. Well worth the money in my opinion.
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I agree that I prefer the battery outside, the risk may be very low but the consequences would be severe
I’m in the process of having one fitted outside
If outside the battery and inverter would need to be in a suitable enclosure which is sealed from rain water ingress but vented to let heat out
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If the batteries are in the loft and wall mounted, then I would leave them there.
If just resting on the floor / joists, then consider wall mounting or moving.
Moving outside will not be cheap depending on location.
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Why move anything at all???? Mine are in the loft and are perfectly safe. Far safer than my gas boiler which is in the loft as well. Life PO4 batteries are considered safe.
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If the batteries are in the loft above your only access route out from bedrooms in case of the highly unlikely thermal runaway, think about it.
Do install interlinked fire alarms throughout the property, including heat/smoke in loft. Good practise anyway.
I’ve a battery in a warm loft (ventilated) with interlinked fire alarms. The battery is nowhere near our day or night emergency exits. It’s a risk assessment needed not dumb rules.
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Putting it outside then raises issues about performance in very cold conditions. I would never put one outside.
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The only trouble with the whole system in the loft is it can get very hot in the summer. Mine is in the loft and has been for 13 years no problems except it had to replace the inverter last year, I was hoping it would last longer then 12 years.
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What sort/make of battery is it? Is it actually suitable to go outside?
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There talk of home insurance not being valid that’s the only reason I would move them? You probably need longer DC cables, I think an installer can make these to the required length and work out the voltage drop, if the batteries are not rated for external use you need an enclosure like cabinet to locate them or replace the battery.
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You will find that a lot of mortgage companies and insurance companies are specifying batteries must be moved out of loft spaces
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Load of nonsense had my batteries in cupboard under the Stairs – THERE IS NO RISK FROM THEM THEY DO NOT OVERHEAT!
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Hi Isla,
It’s definitely possible to move it, but it’s not usually cheap as it’ll need a qualified installer to relocate and re-certify everything. If it has to go outside, it would need to be in a weatherproof cabinet and kept shaded with good ventilation.
Best to get a local installer to quote before going ahead.
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