Domestic electrical work is becoming more system-led. A PV solar system, an energy storage battery, EV charging, electric heating and smart controls can all change how a home imports, exports, stores and uses electricity. In turn, this can affect maximum demand, diversity, isolation, protection, labelling, inspection, testing and customer handover. How does this affect your training priorities as an electrician serving the domestic market, or someone interested in entering the trade? In this article, we look at the four main electrical training priorities for PV solar systems, house battery storage, and EV charging installations.
1. Load Assessment Before Product Installation
NESO’s Clean Power 2030 analysis assumes electricity demand growth of 11% to 287TWh by 2030. The modelling links demand growth to electrification across transport, heat and industry, with EV charging and residential heating contributing to peak demand if unmanaged.
That is national system modelling, however, not a calculation for one property. The site-level question is more nuanced, involving what is already connected, what is being added, when the customer might use it, and if the existing supply and installation support the arrangement.
For electricians, this makes load assessment an early-stage task. A domestic EV charger, heat pump, battery or inverter should not be treated as an isolated installation. It can also change the household load profile and may affect consumer unit capacity, protective arrangements, service capacity, load management and future additions.
Training priority: You need stronger design and verification knowledge before adding high-demand domestic equipment, so PTT’s City & Guilds 2396 Design and Verification of Electrical Installations can support the calculations, design decisions and documentation behind the installation, all while strengthening your ability to work alongside BS7671 to make these design decisions.
2. Pv Solar System Connection And Isolation
A PV solar system introduces power generation into the domestic installation. That affects the AC system, inverter location, isolation points, labelling, earthing arrangements, export behaviour, inspection access and customer handover. Even if you are not the original PV installer, you may later work in a property where PV affects safe isolation and fault finding. You need to recognise that the installation may have more than one source of electrical energy, and that labels, isolators and documentation are part of safe future work.
Training priority: If you want to work on PV solar systems, our City & Guilds 2922 Level 3 Award in the Installation and Maintenance of Small Scale Solar PV Systems gives you a route into the installation, connection, isolation and maintenance requirements for small-scale solar PV work.
3. Battery Storage Location And Operating Mode
Battery storage systems need to be treated as its own technical area, the presence of an energy storage battery changes the questions you ask on site. For example, is the battery linked to PV, charged from the grid, used for backup, controlled by a tariff, or part of a wider smart-energy arrangement? Where is it located? How is it isolated? What manufacturer instructions apply? What labels, shutdown steps and customer information are needed? And so on.
Training priority: If domestic battery storage work is part of your plan, PTT’s City & Guilds 2923 Level 3 Award in the Design, Installation and Commissioning of Small Electrical Energy Storage Systems is the relevant route for understanding energy storage battery design, installation, commissioning and maintenance.
4. Ev Charging As Part Of The Same Demand Calculation
As of April 2026, the UK had 119,080 public EV chargers, including 27,372 rated rapid or above, with 3,028 new units added in the first quarter of 2026 alone. This represents a rapidly expanding growth sector for electricians. Granted, public charging infrastructure is not the same as domestic installation, but it reflects the charging environment customers are entering. For domestic electricians, EV charging points should be assessed alongside existing load, possible future PV and battery storage, supply capacity and likely charging behaviour.
Where a PV solar system, an energy storage battery and an EV charger are all present in a home, the installation can involve import, export, storage, timed charging, load management and customer-controlled settings. Treating the charger as a standalone accessory misses the wider system behaviour.
If you’re looking to develop your skills across solar, battery storage and EV charging, prioritising the right electrical training priorities can help you work safely and confidently across these growing areas.
Training priority: If you want to install domestic or small commercial charge points, our C&G 2921-34 Level 3 Award in the Design and Installation of Domestic and Small Commercial Electric Vehicle Charging Installations links charge point installation with supply assessment, design decisions and installation requirements.
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