Home battery and heat pump: what is realistic in kWh and kW?
Last updated: 17 October 2026 · By Team Multi-Solar, home batteries since 2022, Rotterdam
A home battery can partly power a heat pump, but on a cold winter day a typical battery covers only part of the consumption. Two limits determine how much: the capacity in kWh (how long the battery keeps contributing) and the power in kW (how much it delivers at the same time). Whatever the battery does not supply comes automatically from the grid. So your heat pump will not cut out. Below, using measured figures, you can read how much a heat pump needs in winter, and how to work out for yourself how much of that a battery covers.
How much electricity does a heat pump use per year and per winter day?
Annual consumption says little about a cold day. A heat pump uses most of its electricity in the winter months, and a cold January day counts far more heavily than a day in April.
Milieu Centraal (the Dutch independent energy information centre) uses these examples:
- A hybrid heat pump of 4 kW in a moderately insulated end-of-terrace house uses about 1,925 kWh of electricity per year. The gas boiler stays in place for the coldest days.
- An all-electric heat pump in a well-insulated end-of-terrace house with two occupants uses about 3,400 kWh per year.
For a winter day there are measured figures. RVO, Netbeheer Nederland and Techniek Nederland analysed the smart meter data of more than 6,000 homes with a heat pump (report "Netimpact woningen met warmtepomp" (Grid impact of homes with a heat pump), 30 January 2025).
| Type of heat pump | Electricity per year (Milieu Centraal) | Electricity per day at -4 °C (RVO, measured) | What does the gas boiler do? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hybrid | approx. 1,925 kWh | on average 19 kWh (smallest homes) to 38 kWh (largest) | steps in when it is cold |
| All-electric | approx. 3,400 kWh | on average 30 to 70 kWh | there is no boiler |
An important caveat: the homes in the RVO study are on average larger than a typical home and often detached, and no apartments were included. These are averages at -4 °C. On a mild winter day the heat pump's daily electricity consumption is lower.
So look at your own figure. In the app of your heat pump or your energy supplier you can see your electricity consumption per day. Look up a cold day; you will use that figure in the calculation method below.
When does a heat pump run, and when do your solar panels produce?
This is the core of the problem. In winter a heat pump needs a lot of electricity, but that is when your solar panels produce little. And you often heat in the evening, when there is no solar power (Milieu Centraal).
How big that difference is: ten solar panels generate about 15 kWh on an average June day, and about 2.5 kWh on an average December day (Milieu Centraal, figures for the Netherlands).
The RVO study also shows when demand peaks. In hybrid homes the power rises sharply around 8 in the morning and around 5 in the afternoon. In all-electric homes demand rises clearly during the night-time hours, especially in winter.
So a home battery is not seasonal storage. You cannot store June's solar power until January. A battery shifts electricity within a day or a few days, not between seasons.
Can a heat pump run on a home battery?
Yes, a heat pump can use electricity from a home battery. How much depends on two limits.
- Capacity (kWh): how much energy is stored in the battery. This determines how many hours the battery keeps contributing.
- Power (kW): how much the battery can deliver at the same time. This determines whether the battery can keep up with the heat pump and the rest of the house at the same time.
How much power does a heat pump draw? The RVO study modelled a scenario at -10 °C:
| Type | Electrical power drawn at -10 °C (average) |
|---|---|
| Hybrid | 0 kW (everything on the gas boiler) to 0.8-1.5 kW |
| All-electric, without electric heating element | 1.7 kW (small home) to 3.3 kW (large heat-loss surface) |
| All-electric, with electric heating element | 2.2 to 4.2 kW |
Note the difference with the figure on the box. Milieu Centraal mentions 2 to 6 kW for a hybrid heat pump and 6 to 12 kW for an all-electric heat pump. That is the heat output: the heat the heat pump delivers. The electricity it draws from the grid or the battery is much lower. So a heat pump of 8 kW does not need an 8 kW battery.
The rest of the house does count, though. In an example home from the same study, the average maximum peak of the whole home was 6.3 kW (hybrid) and 9.2 kW (all-electric), with all appliances and any EV charger combined.
And if the battery is too small or not powerful enough? Then it delivers what it can, and the rest comes from the grid. Nothing cuts out. Only during a power cut is it different; more on that further down.
Worked example: how much does a battery cover on a cold day?
Below is the calculation method in three steps, in kWh and kW. Fill in your own figures; the examples use the measured averages.
-
Energy. Divide the usable capacity of the battery by the daily consumption of your heat pump on a cold day. That is the maximum share the battery covers, if it is full in the morning and powers nothing else.
- Hybrid, small home, 19 kWh per day. A 10 kWh battery covers at most about half.
- All-electric, small home, 30 kWh per day. A 10 kWh battery covers at most about a third.
- All-electric, large house, 70 kWh per day. A 10 kWh battery covers about a seventh.
- Do not forget the rest of the household: cooking, the washing machine and lighting use the same battery. Calculate with the usable capacity, not the nominal capacity; for that, read usable capacity and DoD.
-
Power. Compare the power drawn by your heat pump with the discharge power of the battery.
- A plug-in home battery delivers a maximum of 800 W via the wall socket. Alongside an all-electric heat pump that draws 1.7 to 3.3 kW, the battery supplies roughly a quarter to half of the power; the rest comes from the grid. A full 5 kWh plug-in battery is empty after just over 6 hours at 800 W.
- A fixed battery with 6 kW continuous, such as the Marstek Venus X, can keep up with the heat pump alone (measured up to 4.2 kW with heating element), but not the heat pump plus an EV charger at the same time. The EV chargers in the RVO study were mostly 6 or 11 kW.
- Charging in winter. With about 2.5 kWh of solar power per December day per ten panels, the battery will not fill up from the sun in winter. So in winter you mainly charge from the grid. With a dynamic contract you can do this at the cheapest hours; read more about charging at cheap hours. Whether that pays off for you depends on your contract and your consumption.
If you want to determine the capacity for your entire household, also read how many kWh you need.
Which battery suits which heat pump?
First choose the power that suits your heat pump, then the kWh that suits your daily consumption. This is what the types of batteries in our range deliver:
| Type | Example | Capacity | Discharge power | Alongside a heat pump |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plug-in, via wall socket | Venus E 3.0, Venus E 4.0, Anker Solarbank Max AC | 5.12 to 7 kWh per unit | 800 W | supplements the base load; the heat pump gets only a small share |
| Dedicated circuit | Venus E 3.0 (2,500 W), Venus E 4.0 (3 kW), Anker Solarbank Max AC (3,500 W) | same | 2.5 to 3.5 kW | can largely keep up with a hybrid or small all-electric heat pump, not the whole house at the same time |
| Fixed, single-phase | Marstek Venus X | 10 kWh, expandable to 60 kWh | 6 kW continuous | heat pump plus household, not plus EV charger |
| Fixed, modular or three-phase | AlphaESS Smile G3, Sigenergy SigenStor, Sungrow SH10T | 3.8 to 37 kWh (AlphaESS) | inverter up to 10 to 20 kW | power scales up; in winter the capacity remains the limit |
A battery on a dedicated circuit means work in the electrical panel. The same applies to a fixed battery and a three-phase system: installation is arranged via a quote. Whether you need single-phase or three-phase is explained in single-phase or three-phase.
View the models: Marstek Venus E 3.0, Marstek Venus E 4.0, Anker SOLIX Solarbank Max AC and AlphaESS Smile G3.
Does a home battery make sense with a hybrid heat pump?
With a hybrid heat pump the demand on the battery is smaller. A hybrid uses less electricity, in the Milieu Centraal example about 1,925 kWh per year. And in cold weather the gas boiler takes over part of the load. In the RVO scenario at -10 °C, at the lower bound all hybrids switch fully to the boiler; at the upper bound they draw 0.8 to 1.5 kW.
As a result, a plug-in battery or a small fixed battery is a better match here than with an all-electric heat pump. How much the battery does for you can be calculated with the same three steps. Especially now that the Dutch net-metering scheme (salderingsregeling) is ending, every kWh you use yourself counts; read more about when net metering ends.
Smarter than a bigger battery: hot water and control
A bigger battery is not the only way to use more of your own solar power.
- Heat water during the day. If you have an all-electric heat pump with a storage tank, heat that tank during the day with solar power, for example with a timer (Milieu Centraal). The tank then acts as a heat buffer.
- Charging and discharging on hourly prices. With a dynamic contract you charge the battery at the cheapest hours and use it at the most expensive ones. See charging at cheap hours.
- Smart control. With smart control with Home Assistant you let the battery and consumption respond to each other. Whether your heat pump can be controlled externally differs per model; check this with your installer.
Will your heat pump keep running during a power cut?
Only if the battery has a backup power function that supplies the heat pump's circuit, and delivers enough power. Without a backup power function a battery switches off during an outage, just like your inverter.
The backup power output differs per model: the Venus E 3.0 delivers up to 2,500 W, the Anker Solarbank Max AC 3,680 W and the Venus X up to 12 kW peak. If you have a three-phase heat pump, ask your installer whether the backup power supply is also three-phase. Connecting backup power means work in the electrical panel and is arranged via a quote. You can read more about this in backup power with a home battery.
Situation: what suits you?
You have a hybrid heat pump and want to start simply. A plug-in battery supplements your base load. Take a look at the plug & play batteries.
You have an all-electric heat pump and want it to run on battery power too. Then you need more power: a dedicated circuit, a fixed battery or three-phase. Take a look at the fixed home batteries and request a quote.
You are in doubt between a plug-in battery and a fixed system. First read plug-in or fixed.
Frequently asked questions
Can a heat pump run on a home battery?
Yes, partly. The battery delivers what it can, within its capacity (kWh) and power (kW). The rest comes automatically from the grid. On a cold day a typical battery covers part of the consumption, not all of it.
How many kWh of home battery do you need with a heat pump?
That depends on your daily consumption on a cold day. Measured at -4 °C, this averages 19 to 38 kWh for hybrid and 30 to 70 kWh for all-electric (RVO). Divide the usable capacity by your daily consumption to see what share a battery covers.
Can a plug-in battery power my heat pump?
A small part. Via the wall socket a plug-in battery delivers a maximum of 800 W; a heat pump often needs more. More power is only possible on a dedicated circuit, after inspection by a qualified electrician. Read the 800 watt rule.
Does a home battery work in winter, when the solar panels produce little?
Yes, but it will not fill up from the sun. Ten panels produce about 2.5 kWh on a December day. In winter you mainly charge from the grid, with a dynamic contract at the cheapest hours.
Do I need three-phase for a heat pump plus home battery?
Not always. It depends on your heat pump, your connection and what else is running at the same time. Read single-phase or three-phase and have it confirmed by an installer.
Want to know which battery suits your heat pump? Request a quote and include your daily consumption in kWh and a photo of your electrical panel.
Sources
- RVO, Netbeheer Nederland and Techniek Nederland, "Netimpact woningen met warmtepomp" (30 January 2025)
- Milieu Centraal, "Hybride warmtepomp" and "Volledig elektrische warmtepomp" (last modified 14 October 2026)
- Milieu Centraal, "Meer zonnestroom zelf verbruiken" (last modified 19 August 2026)
- Milieu Centraal, "Thuisbatterij: zonne-energie opslaan" (last modified 28 September 2026)
- Product data multi-solar.nl (17 October 2026)
Consumption varies per home, insulation and settings. Have the choice of a fixed battery, a dedicated circuit or backup power confirmed by an installer.