Home batteries now count toward your energy label

The energy label is calculated with a legally prescribed method, the NTA 8800. That method was renewed per 29 May 2026 following the European directive on the energy performance of buildings (EPBD IV). New in it: electricity storage now counts positively. Until that date a battery did nothing for your label, however big it was.

The label itself got a new design too. On labels registered since 29 May 2026, battery storage is listed as a separate item, next to your solar panels and insulation. Buyers and tenants see at a glance that a home can store power. The full explanation of the renewed label is on the RVO website (Dutch).

If you meet the conditions, your home receives a correction of up to roughly 2 percent on the energy performance score. That figure comes from the explanatory notes to the updated calculation rules: until 2030 storage is valued pragmatically at up to about 2 percent better energy performance, because your own generation already weighs in heavily. The technical explanation is on Gebouwenergieprestatie.nl (Dutch), the knowledge platform behind the energy label framework. So do not count yourself rich: two percent is rarely enough for a label jump, unless your score already sits against a class boundary. Then the battery can be just the push from B to A.

Important: your existing energy label does not change by itself. Labels issued before 29 May 2026 remain valid, up to ten years after the assessment, and are not adjusted. If you want your battery to count, you have a new label drawn up by a certified energy adviser. That usually costs a few hundred euros, so pick a sensible moment: at sale, new rental or when refinancing your mortgage.

Banks increasingly tie mortgage rates to the energy label. ING has worked with a rate per label since April 2025, from G through A++++. As of mid 2026, label A or higher earns a 0.20 percentage point discount there compared with label E or lower; label B gets 0.12 and label C 0.06 percentage points. If your registered label improves, ING adjusts the rate automatically during your fixed-rate period. Rabobank gives a sustainability discount of 0.15 percentage points for a final registered label A or higher.

What does that mean in euros? On a 500,000 euro mortgage, a 0.14 percentage point difference (the step from label C to A at ING) is about 700 euros of gross interest per year, almost 60 euros per month. The full 0.20 percentage point difference runs up to 1,000 euros per year, over 80 euros per month. How much of that lands in your monthly payment depends on your mortgage type and your bank, and the discount applies with a new mortgage or a new fixed-rate period. Worth recalculating, especially if you are refinancing anyway.

The label also matters at sale. Research by brainbay (Dutch), the data lab of the Dutch realtors association NVM, shows that the step from label C to A makes a home about 4.7 percent more valuable on average. Jumps from a red or yellow label (D through G) to a green label yield more in percentage terms. On an average Dutch home that quickly adds up to tens of thousands of euros.

Be honest in your expectations though: those value jumps come from the full package, so insulation, solar panels and for example a heat pump. The battery is the push, not the engine. But it now shows on your label, and that makes your home more attractive to buyers who want to keep the energy bill low.

The label bonus comes on top of the reasons a home battery is becoming more interesting anyway. On 1 January 2027 the Dutch net metering scheme ends; storing power and using it later becomes structurally more valuable. What exactly changes is covered in our article on the end of net metering.

If you are considering a battery, look beyond the label bonus. Your usage profile, your connection and the steerability of the system determine the return. During the survey we take all of that into account, including the fixed connection and the capacity needed to count toward the energy label.

In short: since 29 May 2026 a permanently installed home battery of at least 5 kWh, combined with solar panels, counts toward the energy label. The effect is a modest correction of up to roughly 2 percent, which mainly matters if you sit against a label boundary. The real gain of a better label is at the bank and at sale, and you capture that with the full package of home improvements.

Want to know whether a home battery works in your situation, and whether a label step is within reach? Put your situation to us and we will run the numbers with you and watch the energy label requirements during installation.