GoKawiilEcoFlow showing off its new in-home battery systems. Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET
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ZDNET's key takeaways
Batteries let you store and timeshift power.
They can store solar-generated power or cheap, off-peak power.
To make this work, you need a TOU tariff with a decent peak/off-peak rate spread.
Last week, I traveled to London to see some new products EcoFlow is releasing now that plug-in solar is set to become legal here in the UK. But what struck me was how I feel that pure plug-in solar has already been superseded by hybrid systems offering greater potential for savings.
Also: You're charging your phone all wrong: 6 common myths, debunked
Don't get me wrong, I still think there's a place for pure plug-in solar systems where you take solar panels, hook them up to a microinverter, and feed that power into your system to handle some of the energy usage during the day.
The problem
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