Key takeaways
- A battery does not automatically save you money. The financial benefit depends mainly on what you receive for exported solar compared with what you pay for electricity from the grid.
- Different Maltese households can get very different results. Solar installations can have different feed-in tariffs, while electricity becomes more expensive as consumption moves through the tariff bands.
- Sometimes exporting solar is actually worth more than storing it. This can happen if you have a generous feed-in tariff and relatively low electricity costs.
- A battery becomes more financially interesting when the opposite is true: you receive a lower payment for exports but are paying more for grid electricity.
- Grants can reduce the upfront cost significantly, but eligibility rules apply — see battery grants in Malta.
- Backup power is a separate benefit. A battery may still be valuable where the direct financial return is limited — see backup power during a power cut.
Solar panels can generate plenty of electricity during Malta's sunny daytime hours, while many homes use a large part of their electricity later in the day when the sun has gone down. A battery can bridge that gap by storing some of the solar electricity you do not use during the day and making it available in the evening.
That sounds like an obvious way to save money, but it is not quite that simple.
In Malta, the solar electricity you do not use can normally be exported to the grid and you may receive a payment for it. If you put that electricity into a battery instead, you give up that export income in return for using the electricity yourself later.
So the real question is not simply “Can I store my solar electricity?” It is: “Am I better off selling my spare solar electricity, or storing it and avoiding buying electricity from the grid later?”
The answer can be very different from one household to another.
How does solar + battery storage work?
Your solar panels generate electricity during the day and your home uses that electricity first. If your panels produce more than the house needs, the excess can normally be sent to the grid.
With a battery, you can store some of that excess electricity instead and use it later, for example during the evening when the solar panels are no longer producing enough. In simple terms: solar panels power your home, spare electricity goes into a battery, and you use it later.
A battery therefore allows you to use more of the solar electricity you generate yourself. But using more of your own solar does not necessarily mean saving more money.
The important question: sell it or store it?
Imagine your solar panels produce electricity that your home does not need at that moment. You could send that electricity to the grid and receive your applicable feed-in tariff, usually referred to as your FIT. REWS defines a feed-in tariff as the payment made for electricity generated and exported to the grid, and different installations can be on different FIT arrangements depending on when they were approved.
Alternatively, you could store that electricity in a battery and use it later, reducing the amount of electricity you need to buy from the grid.
If you are being paid a relatively high price to export solar but pay a relatively low price for electricity from the grid, there may be little financial reason to store it purely to save money. If the opposite is true — you receive relatively little for exports but are paying a high rate for electricity from the grid — a battery becomes much more interesting.
Why your electricity tariff matters
Malta's domestic electricity price rises as household consumption increases. The current domestic rates start at 13.65c/kWh for the first 2,000 kWh, rise to 16.73c/kWh between 2,001 and 6,000 kWh and then to 20.23c/kWh between 6,001 and 10,000 kWh. Rates rise further at very high consumption levels.
This means two households with the same solar panels and the same amount of spare solar could get very different value from a battery. The easiest way to understand this is with two deliberately different examples.
Two households, two very different results
Imagine both households have a 5 kWp solar system and around 3,000 kWh of excess solar electricity each year that could either be exported or stored and used later. That is around 8 kWh of spare solar per day on average. Actual solar production varies considerably between summer and winter, but it is a reasonable illustration for a household considering a battery of around 10 kWh. To keep the example simple, we ignore the small amount of energy lost when a battery charges and discharges.
Household A: high FIT, low electricity use
This household installed solar earlier and receives a relatively generous 15c/kWh feed-in tariff. It is also a relatively low electricity user, so the electricity the battery would replace costs around 13.65c/kWh.
If the household exports its 3,000 kWh of spare solar, it receives around €450 a year. If it stores that electricity and uses it later, it avoids buying around €410 a year of electricity from the grid.
So the household gives up around €450 of export income to avoid around €410 of electricity purchases. It is therefore about €40 worse off each year by storing the electricity rather than exporting it. For this household, buying a battery purely to save money makes little financial sense. It may still want one for backup power, but that is a different benefit.
Household B: lower FIT, high electricity use
Now imagine another household receives 10.5c/kWh for exported solar and consumes much more electricity. The electricity the battery would replace costs around 20.23c/kWh.
If the household exports its 3,000 kWh, it receives around €315 a year. If it stores and later uses that electricity instead, it avoids around €607 a year of electricity purchases. The difference is around €292 per year in favour of storing the solar.
| Household A | Household B | |
|---|---|---|
| Example solar system | 5 kWp | 5 kWp |
| Excess solar available | 3,000 kWh/year | 3,000 kWh/year |
| Example battery size | 10 kWh | 10 kWh |
| Feed-in tariff | 15c/kWh | 10.5c/kWh |
| Electricity being avoided | 13.65c/kWh | 20.23c/kWh |
| Value if exported | €450/year | €315/year |
| Value if stored and used | €410/year | €607/year |
| Benefit from storing | −€40/year | +€292/year |
These are deliberately two different ends of the spectrum, but they show why saying “a battery saves money because you use more of your own solar” can be misleading. For Household A, exporting is actually better financially. For Household B, storing the solar creates a genuine saving.
Even for Household B, however, the next question is important: how much does the battery itself cost? A typical home battery system can cost several thousand euros depending on the battery size, inverter and installation. As an illustration only, a 10 kWh battery might cost in the region of €7,000 installed before any grant — that is an example rather than a fixed market price, and quotes in Malta vary considerably.
What about the battery grant?
Grants can materially reduce the upfront cost. Under the 2026 RES scheme, eligible battery storage could receive support of 75% of eligible battery costs, up to €600 per kWh and €6,000 per system. The scheme has eligibility conditions and the 2026 call is now closed to new applications. For current grant amounts and eligibility, see our guide to battery grants in Malta.
How much spare solar do you actually have?
The examples above assume the households have around 3,000 kWh of excess solar available each year. Your number could be considerably higher or lower. If you already use most of your solar electricity during the day, there may be little left to store. If your home is relatively empty during daytime hours, you may export much more and therefore have considerably more electricity available for a battery.
That is why your annual exported electricity is one of the most useful numbers when considering battery storage. If you can find that figure on your electricity statement, enter it in our Battery Size Calculator for a more realistic sizing estimate.
Can I charge a battery cheaply at night and use it later?
Not under the normal household electricity tariff in Malta today.
Some countries have time-of-use electricity prices, where power might be cheap overnight and expensive during the evening peak. In those markets, a battery can charge when prices are low and supply the house when prices rise.
Normal Maltese household tariffs do not currently work that way. They are mainly based on how much electricity you consume rather than the time of day you consume it. So there is currently no simple household strategy of charging cheaply overnight and using the battery when electricity becomes more expensive later in the day. If Malta introduces wider time-of-use pricing in future, the financial case for batteries could change significantly.
What about backup power?
Saving money is not the only reason to install a battery. For some households, being able to keep the fridge, freezer, Wi-Fi, lights or even an air conditioner running during a power cut may be more important than the financial return. That benefit is difficult to measure purely in euros, but it can still be very valuable.
Not every battery automatically provides backup when the grid goes down. The system needs to be designed and configured to do so. Our guide on backup power during a power cut in Malta explains how that works, and the Battery Size Calculator estimates the size you would need for your chosen backup target.
What if I don't have solar panels?
If you do not have solar panels, there is currently little financial reason for a typical Maltese household to install a battery purely to reduce its electricity bill. A battery does not produce electricity. Without solar, you would normally charge it using electricity from the grid and then use that electricity later.
Because Malta does not currently have a normal cheap-night / expensive-evening household electricity tariff, there is very little price difference to take advantage of. Without solar, a home battery today is therefore mainly about backup power and resilience, rather than saving money. If saving money is your goal, start with our Solar Calculator.
Does a bigger battery save more money?
Not necessarily. The battery has to match the amount of spare solar electricity you actually have. If you normally have only enough excess solar to fill a 5 kWh battery, buying a 15 kWh battery does not create any additional electricity to put into it.
Before choosing a battery size, the two most useful questions are how much solar electricity you currently export and how much electricity you use after the sun goes down. Our Battery Size Calculator works through both.
So, is a battery worth it in Malta?
There is no single answer.
For some households, particularly those receiving a lower payment for exported solar while paying higher electricity tariffs, storing spare solar can provide a genuine financial benefit. For other households, particularly those with a generous feed-in tariff and relatively low electricity costs, exporting the electricity may actually be financially better.
Grants can reduce the upfront cost considerably for eligible households, while backup power provides another reason to install a battery that has little to do with financial payback.
Before buying a battery, start with one question: “Why do I want one?” If the answer is to save money, look at your feed-in tariff, electricity tariff and how much solar electricity you currently export. If the answer is backup power, decide what you want to keep running and for how long. Only then should you decide what battery size makes sense.