Denmark

How the Danish market works

The electricity regulator is Forsyningstilsynet (the Danish Utility Regulator), and the Danish Energy Agency (Energistyrelsen) sets energy policy and points consumers to advice on SparEnergi.dk. Energinet runs the national grid. Your home connects to one of the local grid companies (there were 36 at the start of 2024, according to Forsyningstilsynet), and you buy the electricity itself from a supplier of your choice.

That split matters for a battery. Your grid company decides how a battery or solar system may connect and sets the grid tariff, which varies by time of day. Your supplier sets your energy price. An authorised electrician carries out the work, and the Danish Safety Technology Authority (Sikkerhedsstyrelsen) sets the rules for who may do it.

Electricity prices and the elafgift cut

A Danish bill has three main parts: the energy price, the grid tariff and taxes. The biggest change is the electricity tax. For 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2027 it is cut to the EU minimum, which Skattestyrelsen states as 0.8 øre per kWh excluding VAT, and Bolius puts at about 1 øre per kWh including VAT, down from 90 øre per kWh including VAT (Skattestyrelsen: temporary reduction of the elafgift; Bolius: the elafgift cut and your bill).

Bolius's examples, with VAT included, put the saving at about DKK 1,400 a year for a single person using 1,600 kWh, about DKK 4,000 for a family using 4,500 kWh and about DKK 3,560 for a family with a heat pump. The tax cut applies to 2026 and 2027, so check what happens after that before you plan a long payback. 25% VAT applies on top of the energy price, the tariff and the remaining tax.

A lower tax makes each kWh you avoid buying cheaper, so a battery that mainly raises self-consumption saves less than it would have in 2025. The value that remains is mostly in time: using stored electricity at hours when the price and the grid tariff are high.

Time-of-use grid tariffs (Tarifmodel 3.0)

Grid companies set their tariffs with an industry model, either 2.0 or 3.0. Tarifmodel 3.0 charges different rates by time of day: low load, high load and a peak load between 17:00 to 21:00. As of 1 January 2024, 25 of the 36 grid companies used model 3.0, according to Forsyningstilsynet, which calls it the most common model. Households on a flat tariff cannot save by shifting their use (Forsyningstilsynet: grid tariffs for households).

Winter tariffs apply 1 October to 31 March and summer tariffs 1 April to 30 September. The Danish Energy Agency says that for many customers the grid tariff differs by more than DKK 1 per kWh depending on when they use electricity, with rates varying by grid company (Energistyrelsen: your electricity on winter time). That page dates from September 2023, so check current tariffs. Cerius and Radius, for example, switched to their winter tariffs on 1 October 2026 (Cerius-Radius press release, 29 September 2026).

This spread is the strongest reason to own a battery in Denmark. A battery can charge at night and in the cheaper hours and supply the home during the evening peak, which also helps with a spot-price contract. We did not verify current øre-per-kWh rates for individual grid companies, so use your own company's tariff sheet.

Spot prices and dynamic contracts

Contracts linked to the spot price are available from Danish suppliers, and a battery lets you buy when energy is cheap and use it later. We explain the arithmetic, and its limits, in how to earn money with a home battery on a dynamic tariff and dynamic energy contracts and how to actually save. Prices can turn negative, which is covered in negative electricity prices explained.

Contract terms, subscriptions and fees differ by supplier. We did not review individual offers, so compare the monthly fee, the margin on the spot price and the notice period, not just the headline price.

Selling surplus solar electricity

We did not verify the current rules that govern what private producers are paid for exported electricity. Forsyningstilsynet has been notified of a separate methodology for tariffing low-voltage self-producers, which affects what they pay to use the grid (Forsyningstilsynet: methodology for tariffing low-voltage self-producers). We did not review that methodology.

When you buy electricity you also pay the grid tariff, taxes and VAT, which you do not receive on electricity you export, so electricity you store and use yourself in the evening is normally worth more than electricity you export. Ask your supplier and your installer exactly how surplus is settled and what fees apply before you decide the size of the solar and battery system.

Grants and support

We found no national grant, loan or tax credit for a home battery in Denmark. Searches for Danish support schemes turned up programmes for other measures, such as heat pumps, but nothing for storage. Local authorities and utilities occasionally run their own offers, which we did not review. Ask your installer whether any scheme applies to your address.

Installing and connecting a battery

Connecting a solar installation in the distribution board of a private home requires authorisation as an electrical installation company, according to Sikkerhedsstyrelsen. A multi-part system sold as one product, with written mounting and connection instructions, can be assembled by anyone, but the connection in the board is a separate step (Sikkerhedsstyrelsen: connecting a solar installation requires authorisation). The page we read does not mention batteries, so ask your installer to confirm that the same applies to storage in your case.

Energinet publishes the technical regulations for connecting equipment to the grid. Technical regulation 3.2.1 covers production plants of 11 kW or less (Energinet: technical regulation 3.2.1), and technical regulation 3.3.1 covers battery installations, described as large and small battery installations including electric cars (Energinet: regulation for battery installations). We could not verify which version binds a typical home battery today, so ask your installer and grid company which requirements apply and who files the notification.

Our guide on how to choose a home battery lists the questions to ask an installer, and AC or DC coupling explains the setup choice. Separately, an EU registration duty for home batteries is arriving: see our note on the EU rule that home batteries over 2 kWh must be registered by February 2027.

Safety and fire protection

We did not find a Danish rule that fixes an exact room, distance or fire-compartment requirement for a home battery, and we do not want to guess one. Follow the manufacturer's installation instructions, use a certified product, and ask the installer to explain where the unit goes and why. Check with your home insurer too. Our guides on fire risk and chemistry, installing a battery outside and backup during a power cut cover the practical side.

Plug-in solar and plug-in batteries

Sikkerhedsstyrelsen states that solar panels may not be connected to a socket in Denmark. This covers plug-in balcony panels of the kind sold in Germany. The authority says they can overload the installation or create a risk of electric shock and damage to connected products (Sikkerhedsstyrelsen: solar panels may not be connected to a socket). The page does not mention batteries.

We found no Danish rule that permits a plug-in battery connected to a normal socket, and in our reading the authorisation requirement for connecting generating equipment points the same way. Treat a plug-in battery as not allowed unless an installer or the authority confirms otherwise. Our comparison of plug-in and installed home batteries explains the technical differences, and the plug-in home battery revolution follows how rules are changing elsewhere.

Outside Denmark

Rules, tariffs and incentives for home batteries differ from country to country, so do not apply the figures on this page to a home elsewhere. We are adding guides for other countries to this section.

Common questions about Denmark