Places · Case file
AlphaESS for a heat pump in Manchester
Updated
A AlphaESS will not run a heat pump through a cold Manchester evening from 8 kWh. It can shift a slice of the Manchester load into a cheaper window, and that slice is the only honest sale.
AlphaESS on a heat pump in Manchester
A Chorlton terrace with a back yard and a Quays apartment with a loading bay should never share a package price, which is the constraint I would write next to AlphaESS for this heat pump.
Electricity North West covers this Manchester example. A 4 kWp-class roof at 900 kWh per kilowatt is about 2,700 kWh a year before shade, and AlphaESS does not change that weather.
Money for AlphaESS for a heat pump in Manchester
Take an 8 kWh pack, cycled about 260 times, at 90% round trip. Charge at 9.0p, and value what comes back at 26.0p. Export given up is priced at 4.0p. About 743 kWh a year of the charge is treated as spare solar from 2.5 kWp that might otherwise have been exported. Delivered energy is about 1872 kWh. After charging cost and lost export, the figure saves about £343 a year. Set that against £5,855 fitted, which is a September 2026 illustration at the temporary 0% residential rate, not a quote. That is a simple payback of about 17.1 years, which is past a typical 10-year warranty. Nudge the night rate up by 4p and see if you still like it.
Where the job is a qualifying install in a home, the 0% rate runs to 31 March 2027 and is due to become 5% after that. This figure prices the work at £5,855 on that basis. It does not apply to a shop, and it does not apply to a battery you buy and fit yourself.
Connection for AlphaESS for a heat pump in Manchester
In Manchester, on Electricity North West, 5 kW sits above the 3.68 kW G98 line, so this wants a G99 application before anyone energises it. Export can still be capped. Agree that before the inverter is ordered. The figure uses 8 kWh and 2.5 kWp, which is enough to tell two quotes apart if they assumed something else.
In Manchester, the weak case for AlphaESS is simple: Whole-home backup briefs and homes with a heat pump, an EV and an electric hob all wanting power at once.
Would I proceed with AlphaESS for a heat pump in Manchester?
I would not compare a £5,855 headline with another until usable kWh and the fate of any existing inverter match.
I would proceed on AlphaESS for a heat pump in Manchester only after the cupboard, the 5 kW connection route and the tariff gap are written down.
Common questions
Is the price on this page a quote?
No. £5,855 is a September 2026 illustration for a 8 kWh example at the temporary 0% residential rate. Your survey replaces it.
Will it stay on in a power cut?
Only if a gateway or essential-load board was designed and paid for. A standard grid-tied battery turns off with the grid. On this 8 kWh example the inverter is 5 kW, and backup is still a separate line.
What paperwork should I keep?
Keep the MCS certificate where the job is certified, the electrical certificate, the DNO record, the schematic, the warranty registration and a photo of the schedule. For an illustrated £5,855 job, that folder is part of what you bought.
What if the cheap rate is not 7p?
Then the figure changes. This page used 9.0p as a charge rate and 26.0p as the rate avoided. A smaller gap means a worse payback. Read the live tariff.
Sources
Want a price for your house?
The figures above are a rough guide. An installer still needs to see your fuse board, where the battery will go, and whether you want power during a blackout.