Hardware · Case file
Pylontech warranty, backup and who you call
Updated
A rack in a garage needs space, ventilation within the datasheet and a clear owner for the inverter that runs it. Orphan racks with no programming support are a known way to waste a keen purchase price.
The ownership question
Check the cycle and throughput terms, and whether the warranty is with the UK distributor named on your certificate. Backup is an inverter and wiring question. The cells do not provide it on their own.
Who it still suits: garage installs where the buyer accepts a rack aesthetic and a separate hybrid inverter.
A September 2026 figure for Pylontech
Take a 9.6 kWh pack, cycled about 340 times, at 90% round trip. Charge at 11.0p, and value what comes back at 30.8p. Export given up is priced at 12.0p. About 1943 kWh a year of the charge is treated as spare solar from 4 kWp that might otherwise have been exported. Delivered energy is about 3060 kWh. After charging cost and lost export, the figure saves about £596 a year. Set that against £6,880 fitted, which is a September 2026 illustration at the temporary 0% residential rate, not a quote. That is a simple payback of about 11.5 years on these assumptions. Nudge the night rate up by 4p and see if you still like it.
In most single-phase houses in Britain, 3.6 kW is in the band where G98 connect-and-notify is often enough. Export can still be capped. Agree that before the inverter is ordered. The figure uses 9.6 kWh and 4 kWp, which is enough to tell two quotes apart if they assumed something else.
At a steady 600 W evening load, 9.6 kWh lasts about 16.0 hours. A 3 kW kettle only works if the inverter can deliver it. Capacity on the badge does not answer that.
VAT, paperwork, refusal
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 £6,880 on that basis. It does not apply to a shop, and it does not apply to a battery you buy and fit yourself.
I would not pay the bulk of £6,880 before the DNO route for a 3.6 kW inverter is known.
If you already own Pylontech, do not rip it out because a headline frightened you. Photograph the serial, keep the installer details, and ask them what the warranty path is this month.
Common questions
Is the price on this page a quote?
No. £6,880 is a September 2026 illustration for a 9.6 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 9.6 kWh example the inverter is 3.6 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 £6,880 job, that folder is part of what you bought.
What if the cheap rate is not 7p?
Then the figure changes. This page used 11.0p as a charge rate and 30.8p 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.