Economic viability of domestic battery storage participation in British flexibility markets

Curbing emissions to avoid the worst impacts of climate change is likely to lead to a significant increase in electricity demand due to the electrification of heating and transportation, and a decrease in the balancing reserve due to a decrease in the number of gas turbines. To alleviate the significant network investment costs and the fall in balancing resources, both distribution network operators and the system operator in Great Britain have created markets for behind-the-meter flexibility. For domestic battery storage to play a meaningful role in flexibility markets, it must be beneficial to the households who choose to finance and install it. In this paper we examine the value of domestic battery storage systems, both with and without associated PV installations. We show quantitatively, for the first time, that domestic battery storage is a financially worthwhile investment for households, and that participating in network operator and system operator flexibility markets can be lucrative. Finally, we show that domestic PV installations have a negative value when accounting for the capital investment. However, if a household wanted to install PV for non-financial reasons, investing in a battery alongside the PV gives the installed system a positive value.