Batteries: Rent or Buy?

The Confidence Equation for Business Batteries

We all know that batteries can save thousands of pounds a year by cutting bills and avoiding costly downtime. But what are the pros and cons of ownership? When it comes to battery storage, every business owner eventually faces the same question: should I buy a system outright, or rent it as a service?

Owning a Battery – the Balance Sheet View

Buying a battery is like buying any other piece of equipment. You get the asset on your books and you capture the full return. A 20 kWh system installed might cost £12,000–£15,000. Over 10 years, that could deliver an ROI of 2:1 through bill savings and avoided outages. For a CFO, it looks attractive. But for many smaller businesses, especially cafés, restaurants, and shops, the practical hurdles loom larger:

• Cash flow – tying up £12k in a depreciating asset feels risky.

• Complexity – installation, permissions, grid compliance, warranties.

• Ownership risk – batteries degrade ~20% over 10 years, inverters need replacing, and technology could become redundant.

  
  

Renting a Battery – the Time-Poor Owner’s View

Battery-as-a-Service turns this on its head. Instead of buying, you subscribe. A typical package might be £49.95/month for a mid-sized unit. On paper, the ROI looks lower, because you don’t capture every saving. But through the lens of a time-poor restaurant owner, the equation changes:

• No upfront cost – capital preserved for stock, staff, or marketing.

• No ownership headaches – depreciation, degradation, redundancy and O&M stay with the provider.

• Predictable cost – a fixed monthly fee vs. uncertain repair bills.

• Trust factor – you don’t “own” the risks, so confidence is higher.

  
  

A Useful Parallel – Leasing vs Owning a Car

Most restaurants wouldn’t dream of buying delivery vans outright. Leasing is the norm: predictable monthly payments, servicing included, easy to upgrade when models improve. Batteries follow the same logic. Owning may give the best ROI in theory, but leasing offers confidence, simplicity, and flexibility.

Numbers in Practice

• Owning a 20 kWh battery: ~£15,000 upfront. Saves ~£2,000/year on bills and avoided outages. ROI ~7.5 years, plus residual value.

• BaaS for the same unit: ~£600/year subscription (£49.95/month). Saves ~£1,000/year net (provider captures the rest). ROI looks smaller, but the business has no capital at risk, no hassle, and immediate resilience.

• One single day’s outage in a busy restaurant could mean £5,000+ lost trade – dwarfing the annual subscription cost.

  
  

Bottom Line

If you have capital, time, and risk appetite, ownership might suit your balance sheet. But if you’re like most micro-businesses – time-poor, cautious of big outlays, and focused on service not asset management – Battery-as-a-Service gives confidence. It’s not about chasing the highest ROI; it’s about reducing risk, simplifying life, and keeping your doors open when the lights go out.

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