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ACM warns about unclear ads involving home batteries

Summary

  • ACM advises households to do thorough research before purchasing home batteries
  • In sales pitches, providers of home batteries often paint a rosy picture of the economics of these devices
  • Consumers that run into problems when purchasing home batteries can file a report with ACM ConsuWijzer

The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) sees that consumers have become more and more interested in home batteries, possibly because households with solar panels wish to avoid feed-in costs for solar power. Depending on how they are used, home batteries can help accelerate the energy transition, for example if they are used to temporarily store self-generated solar power to be used later that day. Technically and financially speaking, home batteries are complex products. That is why ACM’s advice is not to purchase a home battery just like that, for example on the basis of unsolicited phone calls or ads in the media (including on social media). ACM’s advice for households that are considering purchasing home batteries is to do thorough research into the different models and prices of these devices in advance.

ACM additionally sees that, in their promotional material and sales pitches, providers of home batteries often paint a very rosy picture of the economics of home batteries. Past energy prices are often no guide to future energy prices. Energy markets are constantly changing, and it is very uncertain how energy prices will evolve. Earnings from home batteries are also uncertain, because earnings will drop as more and more households purchase home batteries. More information about how home batteries work and about their pros and cons can be found on the website of Dutch environmental awareness organization MilieuCentraal (in Dutch).

Furthermore, ACM also sees that there are providers of home batteries that offer their products together with a loan. ACM advises consumers that borrow money to buy a home battery to pay extra attention because it is not certain that they will be able to pay off the loan with the earnings from the home battery.

Report problems with sales practices involving home batteries

Consumers that run into problems in connection with unsolicited telemarketing calls involving home batteries or that run into other problems when purchasing home batteries can file a report with ACM’s consumer information portal ACM ConsuWijzer (in Dutch).

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