Both home battery experts see these systems as much more than just technical products. “Solar panels are actually quite dumb,” Matthijs laughs. “They only generate energy when the sun shines. Batteries? They can do so much more!”
“We need a tool that can quickly calculate an honest and convincing story for different energy installations. We’ve researched many tools, but right now Solar Monkey is simply the fastest tool for this.”
Yoeri Kruissink
Owner
“Matthijs, you’ve developed into a battery expert. Can you tell us about your career path and what drove you to specialise in battery systems for the solar energy market?”
“My journey started at Solar Monkey, where I immediately stepped into the world of solar panels,” says Matthijs. “My passion for sustainability became clear from the start. By selling to salespeople, I learned the trade and quickly discovered what works with customers and what doesn’t.”
After five years at Solar Monkey, it became clear that solar panels are only half the story. “You generate energy, but what happens when the sun isn’t shining?” That question led him to battery systems, which had become a very interesting market in the meantime, partly due to dynamic tariffs.
“The Dutch market for home batteries seems to be reaching a tipping point. What factors do you think are driving this growing demand, and how does this differ from what you saw a few years ago?”
The home battery market is growing exponentially. “We see very diverse reasons among the customers we speak with. Surprisingly, we often see the phasing out of the net metering scheme as an argument, even though we can still use net metering until January 1, 2027,” explains Yoeri.
Last year there were an estimated 40.000 installations, although reports vary tremendously. But what’s certain is that the number of installations is increasing rapidly.
“As an installation company, you’re doing really well if you’re selling more than 20 battery systems per month,” Matthijs explains. The market is dynamic and changing quickly. We’re now really positioning ourselves for the growth that’s coming.
“As home battery experts, what do you consider the three most effective arguments to convince consumers of the added value of a home battery, especially now that the net metering scheme is being phased out?”
“Our approach is different from the traditional sales method. We advice to move away from the payback time argument,” says Matthijs. “Start a conversation. Dig deeper into the customer’s real motivations.” Matthijs slogan for this is “Don’t Fill Information In For Someone Else.” There are various motives for buying a home battery, and they’re not always rationally explainable.
It’s also important to realise that we’re in the ‘early adopters’ phase of the Rogers Adoption curve with batteries in the Netherlands. These are people who believe in the technology. They often buy based on arguments other than just financial considerations.
Home battery experts Matthijs & Yoeri distinguish the following motives:
Increasing self-consumption
This is what most people care about. Keeping solar-generated electricity for yourself. Often in combination with dynamic tariffs. So people avoid feed-in tariffs, store ‘free’ solar energy, and don’t have to buy expensive energy.
Independence
We see a lot of dissatisfaction and distrust toward the government, grid operators, and traditional energy suppliers. With a home battery, they’re less dependent on these parties.
Emergency power
Security when the power goes out. Despite the fact that we have a very reliable electricity grid in the Netherlands, you see more and more power outages. ‘Netbeheer Nederland’ recently warned that a 72-hour power outage is a real possibility. Later in the article, there’s a brilliant example from one of Matthijs & Yoeri’s customers.
Status
Can’t forget about that one! Also a typical argument for early adopters. People simply find it very cool to show off their gadget to friends and family. We also saw this with solar panels, where the yield apps were invariably shown at every birthday party.
Making money
Yes, money always plays a role. But it’s often not the main driver. Despite the poorer results of recent months, imbalance trading is currently still the most financially interesting. At the same time, the actual earnings are impossible to predict, and the business case changes due to intervention by grid operators.
Yoeri adds: “For many people, a home battery is a significant investment. That’s why it makes sense that many customers are still searching and weighing whether they think it’s worth it. Many installers respond to their customers’ interest with a financial assessment. Or the installer comes to the conclusion that a home battery is not yet relevant for the customer. But if you listen carefully, the motives are often very different from the financial picture. As a salesperson, this means you also have to step out of your comfort zone to have a good, open conversation.”
“Most customers buy a battery primarily for non-financial reasons. Unfortunately, many installers focus precisely on the financial picture. By better listening to customers’ actual motives, installers can sell more effectively.”
Matthijs Zohar-Groot
Owner
“What technological innovations in battery systems do you see as game-changers for the next 2 to 3 years, and how do you prepare customers for these developments?”
“The technology is developing at lightning speed,” says Matthijs. “The beauty is that you buy a piece of hardware with an incredible number of possibilities to control it. So the software is crucial, and as it develops, it unlocks more and more possibilities. Last year everyone was talking about the opportunities around imbalance trading, but that’s much less now. Who knows what applications the battery will have in six months or five years. Energy contracts that will be settled more on a quarter basis, for example. The software will have to adapt to that as well. But the great thing is that the smart battery you buy today automatically receives software updates and can therefore do more in the future than it can today.”
“Can you share an example of a customer case at GreenSolvers where a battery system made a significant difference, and what lessons other installers can take from this?”
“A good example of how even we as home battery experts sometimes get it wrong and don’t apply ‘Don’t Fill Information In For Someone Else’ properly is one of the first systems we sold. A customer wanted emergency power for the shower,” Matthijs recounts. “The customer turned out to have an electric shower with a power of no less than 13.5 kW. In the context of ‘filling in for someone else,’ we went looking for a solution to make the shower consume less energy. We proudly presented a solution, to which the customer said: “Come on, guys. The shower isn’t the problem. I just want everything to work when the power goes out!”
For a battery with such power, they ended up with a 32 kWh battery costing almost 20.000 euros. “The customer was super happy,” Yoeri recalls. “Not because it was cheap, but because we really considered their situation.” The moral of the story: customers’ buying motives are often completely different from your own motives, especially in such a new market. Listen carefully to the customer and respond to that.
“What are the biggest misconceptions or knowledge gaps that you as home battery experts encounter among consumers when it comes to home batteries, and how do you address these in your sales conversations?”
“The biggest challenge? The customer themselves. People often don’t really understand what electricity is, or the difference between kWh and kW,” says Yoeri. “And to be honest, many salespeople struggle with that too.”
Matthijs & Yoeri’s solution? Create trust by using professional tools. “We use Solar Monkey,” explains Matthijs. “That immediately gives customers a sense of security. Software developed in collaboration with a technical university works reassuringly.”
A suggestion from Yoeri: use the self-consumption overview as calculated by Solar Monkey. “The moment I show that, you see the customer’s expression change,” he says. “Suddenly they get it.”
“How do you see our collaboration developing further?”
The collaboration with Solar Monkey is crucial. “You’re the only party that has asked us for input on the battery integration in the software,” says Matthijs. “Customers increasingly want to know: what’s smart, solar panels or a battery?” With Solar Monkey, you can calculate that very easily, quickly, and accurately. Yoeri adds: “We need a tool that can calculate an honest and convincing story for different energy installations. We’ve researched many tools, but at the moment Solar Monkey is the best choice for us. Of course, there are points for improvement: it would be nice to be able to upload specific consumption profiles, and to be able to calculate taking into account dynamic contracts more easily.”
We take that feedback to heart in our further development. Because that development is moving fast. We’re in the middle of the energy transition, and at Solar Monkey, we’re extremely passionate about making it as smooth and fast as possible! For that, we need top partners like GreenSolvers. We sincerely thank home battery experts Matthijs and Yoeri for their story and the great collaboration!
