Places · Case file
AlphaESS for a existing solar in Glasgow
Updated
Keep a healthy solar inverter in Glasgow if you can. Swap to AlphaESS only when that inverter is finished, not because a Glasgow sales diagram prefers a hybrid.
AlphaESS on a existing solar in Glasgow
A tenement close is a consent and stair problem. A house in Bearsden can be an ordinary garage fit, which is the constraint I would write next to AlphaESS for this existing solar.
SP Energy Networks covers this Glasgow example. A 4 kWp-class roof at 860 kWh per kilowatt is about 5,160 kWh a year before shade, and AlphaESS does not change that weather.
Money for AlphaESS for a existing solar in Glasgow
Take a 13.5 kWh pack, cycled about 260 times, at 90% round trip. Charge at 13.0p, and value what comes back at 26.0p. Export given up is priced at 4.0p. About 2457 kWh a year of the charge is treated as spare solar from 6 kWp that might otherwise have been exported. Delivered energy is about 3159 kWh. After charging cost and lost export, the figure saves about £606 a year. Set that against £9,069 fitted, which is a September 2026 illustration at the temporary 0% residential rate, not a quote. That is a simple payback of about 15.0 years on these assumptions. Nudge the night rate up by 4p and see if you still like it.
Where the job is a qualifying install in a home, the 0% rate runs to 31 March 2027 and is due to become 5% after that. This figure prices the work at £9,069 on that basis. It does not apply to a shop, and it does not apply to a battery you buy and fit yourself.
Connection for AlphaESS for a existing solar in Glasgow
In Glasgow, on SP Energy Networks, 5 kW sits above the 3.68 kW G98 line, so this wants a G99 application before anyone energises it. Export can still be capped. Agree that before the inverter is ordered. The figure uses 13.5 kWh and 6 kWp, which is enough to tell two quotes apart if they assumed something else.
In Glasgow, the weak case for AlphaESS is simple: Whole-home backup briefs and homes with a heat pump, an EV and an electric hob all wanting power at once.
Would I proceed with AlphaESS for a existing solar in Glasgow?
I would not pay the bulk of £9,069 before the DNO route for a 5 kW inverter is known.
I would proceed on AlphaESS for a existing solar in Glasgow only after the cupboard, the 5 kW connection route and the tariff gap are written down.
Common questions
Is the price on this page a quote?
No. £9,069 is a September 2026 illustration for a 13.5 kWh example at the temporary 0% residential rate. Your survey replaces it.
Will it stay on in a power cut?
Only if a gateway or essential-load board was designed and paid for. A standard grid-tied battery turns off with the grid. On this 13.5 kWh example the inverter is 5 kW, and backup is still a separate line.
What paperwork should I keep?
Keep the MCS certificate where the job is certified, the electrical certificate, the DNO record, the schematic, the warranty registration and a photo of the schedule. For an illustrated £9,069 job, that folder is part of what you bought.
What if the cheap rate is not 7p?
Then the figure changes. This page used 13.0p as a charge rate and 26.0p as the rate avoided. A smaller gap means a worse payback. Read the live tariff.
Sources
Want a price for your house?
The figures above are a rough guide. An installer still needs to see your fuse board, where the battery will go, and whether you want power during a blackout.