SMA has announced the UK launch of its Sunny Boy Storage 2.5 system, a high-voltage battery-compatible inverter aimed at the private residential market.

The German solar technology firm says its storage system makes it the only provider to offer an AC-coupled solution for high-voltage batteries, such as Tesla’s PowerWall. This combination allows consumers to benefit from reduced system installations costs and as well as more flexible applications, the company added.

As an AC-coupled inverter, the Sunny Boy system can be easily integrated into a new or existing solar PV system, allowing homeowners to realise the benefits of self-consumption.

“The Sunny Boy Storage is both a sensible extension for homeowners currently benefitting from the older/higher Feed-in Tariffs and also customers wishing to invest in new PV systems where self-consumption will be as important as the income from the current FiT,” the company states.

James Felstead, head of sales at SMA Solar UK, said: “We estimate the UK residential PV storage market in 2016 around 1,000 to 2,000 systems due to limited availability of batteries. Thereafter, the retrofit market will dominate with a potential of hundreds of thousands of homes.” 

The Sunny Boy Storage has already been available in Germany since April and will be rolled out in the main storage markets in Europe and Australia within the next months.