Solar panels with Octopus

If you’ve got solar panels on your roof (or you’re thinking about it), Octopus is one of the best suppliers to be with. They offer several export tariff options, genuine smart tariff integration and a level of flexibility that most other suppliers simply don’t match.

Two ways solar saves you money

Solar panels create two separate revenue streams, and understanding both is key to getting the most from your system.

Avoiding import costs is the big one. Every unit of electricity your panels generate that you use directly in your home is a unit you don’t buy from the grid. On a standard variable tariff at around 27.7p per kWh (the Q1 2026 price cap rate), that saving adds up fast. This is called self-consumption, and maximising it is the single most effective way to improve your solar return.

Exporting surplus is the second stream. When your panels generate more than you’re using (a sunny afternoon when nobody’s home, for example), that surplus flows back into the grid. You get paid for it. The rate depends on which export tariff you choose, and Octopus offers some of the most competitive options available.

The Smart Export Guarantee

Since January 2020, all large energy suppliers are legally required to offer the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG). It replaced the old Feed-in Tariff scheme and guarantees that generators get paid something for their exported electricity.

The government sets no minimum rate for the SEG, and many suppliers pay very little. Octopus’s basic SEG rate is 4.1p per kWh, which is available even if you buy your import electricity from another supplier. That rate is relatively modest, which is why most Octopus customers choose a different export option instead.

To qualify for the SEG, your installation must be MCS certified. This means using an MCS-accredited installer and MCS-approved equipment. Virtually all reputable solar installers are MCS certified, so this shouldn’t be a barrier if you’re getting a professional installation.

Export tariff options beyond SEG

This is where Octopus really stands out. Beyond the basic SEG, they offer several more lucrative export options:

Outgoing Octopus is the simple fixed-rate option and the one most solar households choose. It currently pays 15p per kWh for every unit you export, regardless of when you export it. From 1 March 2026, this drops to 12p per kWh, the first rate change since September 2022. Even at 12p, it remains one of the highest fixed export rates from any major supplier. You do need to be an Octopus import customer to access it.

Agile Outgoing is a variable export rate that tracks wholesale electricity prices in half-hourly slots. When demand is high and wholesale prices spike, your export rate spikes too. During some winter evenings, the rate can reach 30p, 40p or occasionally higher. The flip side is that during periods of low demand (sunny summer afternoons when every solar panel in the country is exporting), rates can drop to single digits. The average over the past year has been roughly 10p per kWh. Agile Outgoing rewards those who can time their exports, which brings us to batteries.

Flux is Octopus’s premium tariff designed specifically for solar and battery households. It pairs a time-of-use import tariff with a time-of-use export tariff. The clever bit is the evening export rate: between 4pm and 7pm, you get a premium rate for exporting (currently around 29p per kWh). If you have a battery, you can store your daytime solar generation and export it during that peak window for maximum return. Flux is the tariff that makes batteries genuinely financially worthwhile.

Intelligent Octopus Flux takes things further by letting Octopus automatically optimise your battery charging and discharging. It works with compatible inverters from GivEnergy, Tesla, SolarEdge and Enphase, and can earn you more by responding to grid signals. If you have the right hardware, it is worth exploring.

Setting up export payments

To get paid for your exports, Octopus needs to know how much you’re exporting. There are two ways this works:

If you have a smart meter with export capability, Octopus reads your actual export data remotely. This is the most accurate method and is required for Agile Outgoing and Flux. Your smart meter needs an export MPAN (meter point administration number), which your installer or DNO can set up.

If you don’t have a smart meter, you may be placed on deemed export, where the supplier assumes you export 50% of your generation. This is less accurate and generally less favourable, especially if you actually export more than 50%. Getting a smart meter fitted (free from Octopus) is well worth doing.

Typical UK generation figures

Setting realistic expectations matters. A typical 3-4kW residential system in the UK generates roughly 3,000-3,500 kWh per year. That number varies quite a bit depending on your location (southern England gets more sun than northern Scotland), roof orientation (south-facing is ideal) and shading. Our guide to sizing your system covers panel count and roof space in more detail.

The seasonal swing is significant. A 4kW system might generate 500 kWh in June and just 80 kWh in December. Summer months produce the bulk of your annual generation, which means your export income will be heavily weighted towards April through September. Winter months you’ll be importing far more from the grid than your panels produce.

Self-consumption is everything

Here’s the thing most solar calculators gloss over: the percentage of your generation that you use yourself makes a massive difference to the financial return. Self-consumed electricity saves you the full import rate (around 27.7p on a standard tariff). Exported electricity earns you the export rate (15p on Outgoing Octopus, dropping to 12p from March 2026, and variable on other tariffs). There’s always a gap between those two numbers.

Without a battery, a typical household self-consumes 30-50% of their solar generation. The rest gets exported. With a battery, that figure jumps to 60-80%. Every percentage point of additional self-consumption shifts energy from the lower export rate to the higher avoided-import rate. That’s why batteries make such a difference to the overall economics, and it’s why Octopus tariffs like Flux are designed to reward exactly this behaviour. For a broader look at how everything fits together, see our solar guide.