Homeowners associations warn of misleading advertising of home batteries

The Dutch Home Owners Association (VEH) has warned against door-to-door advertising for home batteries. These can be misleading as they are often sent by the municipality despite the fact that they are commercial products.

Home batteries are becoming more in demand, partly due to the intended abolition of the netting scheme for solar panels. Commercial parties are using this in response.

The advertising brochures often promise a very short payback period. Independent experts have their doubts about this. They warn that there is a real chance that a home battery will only yield money after many years.

VEH advises consumers who are interested in a home battery to do their research first and obtain information from independent organizations.

This comes a few weeks after the public environmental organization Milieu Centraal said that home batteries are not a good idea. They also claimed that the investment is a risk and that the home batteries are not very sustainable.

The VEH started a pilot of testing home batteries in various living situations in September. The devices were installed in 14 different homes owned by members to investigate what energy storage can mean for homeowners now and in the future. The association will closely monitor the members and their findings for two years.