Installing a solar battery system indoors is possible — but in a large proportion of UK homes, it is genuinely difficult. Lofts are full of storage, too hot in summer and too cold in winter, and require going through someone's living space to reach. Garages don't exist in most terraced houses. Larger batteries — 80–100kg at 10kWh — raise real safety questions regardless of available space. For the solar installer, every one of these constraints means more problem-solving and more adaptation before the job can proceed. For the homeowner, it means a delayed or more expensive installation. Batterybox addresses this directly: a purpose-built, lockable, weatherproof, thermally managed external enclosure that houses battery and hybrid inverter together, outside the building, at ground level.

Battery storage installations in the UK are growing fast — from 5,000 in all of 2023 to over 7,900 in just the first half of 2024. The February 2024 VAT removal has accelerated demand sharply. No purpose-built, brand-agnostic external enclosure yet exists for the UK retrofit residential market. The current installer fallback — repurposed GRP telecom cabinets at £819–980 — is increasingly non-compliant with PAS 63100:2024, the March 2024 fire safety standard that disqualifies improvised solutions. The only structural competitor (Eco-ESS) is trade-only and entirely utilitarian. Batterybox occupies the empty space: high protection, residential design, transparent pricing. GivEnergy batteries hold ~35% UK market share and are not fully outdoor-rated — that segment is the primary target.

Three configurations: Standard (5–7kWh, natural ventilation), Standard+ (10–12kWh, fan-assisted), and Premium (MVHR-connected). Stainless steel, PAS 63100:2024 compliant by design. Battery and inverter accessible from the same set of front doors — no loft ladder, no entering the property. Manufactured in Poland at a 20-unit minimum. Working price assumptions: founding partner trade at £699, standard trade at £899, end-customer RRP £1,200–1,400. The 20-unit order is the critical path — unit cost drops from ~£1,200 to ~£450. Every element of the launch plan exists to generate that first batch order.

Solar installers (primary) — MCS-certified companies doing 5–30 installs a month who regularly face space-constrained installations; Batterybox removes that objection from their sales process. Social housing contractors (secondary) — programme managers on Energiesprong and ECO4 who need to service equipment without entering occupied homes. Homeowners via Bow Tie (direct) — lower volume, higher margin, no intermediary; an upsell on every relevant retrofit.

Batterybox inherits Bow Tie's voice: specific and technical, not promotional; problem stated before the product; first-person plural throughout; no superlatives — let the standards, credentials, and customers do the claiming. For installers: peer-level, compliance-led, margin-aware. For homeowners: slightly warmer, still specific, never dumbed down.

Six decisions are needed to finalise the roadmap, sell sheet, and outreach: manufacturing cost at 20 and 50 units; MVHR launch readiness; battery compatibility; brand entity; insurance benefit status; and 3D render / first install timeline. Once confirmed, 10–15 focused installer conversations is enough to start.