Battery Storage · Glossary
DC Coupling
A battery topology where solar panels and battery share a hybrid inverter, communicating in DC for higher round-trip efficiency.
DC coupling uses a hybrid inverter that takes solar DC, battery DC and grid AC on three separate ports. By keeping the solar-to-battery path entirely in DC, round-trip efficiency improves by around 3-5% versus an AC-coupled equivalent.
Common DC-coupled hybrid inverters in 2026 include GivEnergy Gen3, Solax X1 G4 Hybrid, Sunsynk Ecco 3.6kW-8kW, Fox ESS H1, and SolarEdge Genesis. CCS specifies hybrid inverters on most new-build solar+battery installs in Cornwall — they are compact, single-warranty, and Octopus Intelligent Flux compatible.
The downside: DC coupling commits you to a single inverter brand for the lifetime of both the solar and battery, and replacing the inverter takes both systems offline. If you have an existing solar array and want to add storage later, AC coupling is usually simpler. See our battery storage page.