How do I sell energy back to the grid?

What do I do with the excess Solar power produced?

Having solar installed doesn't just allow you to reduce the amount of energy you purchase. Did you know you can sell excess energy back to the grid?!

With most solar systems, there will be periods that your energy production is greater than the amount of energy you are consuming. Many systems will try and utilise this excess energy by storing it in a battery, to allow you to use it later, or even divert it to heat hot water tanks, or even top up your electric car.

Depending on the equipment you have installed and the way it's been configured, your home should try and maximise it's 'self-consumption'; this means using as much of the energy as possible and sending it back to the grid is a last resort. This is because in most cases it makes much more sense financially to use this energy rather than selling it to the grid, and potentially buying it back at a higher price throughout the day.

If however you do have excess energy, exporting your excess energy to the grid is a great option to help you make money from your solar power production! And support with grid balancing. 

How do I sell excess energy back to the grid?

To sell back to the grip you will need a few things,

Smart Meter or generation meter

You will need a smart meter or generation meter that can report half-hourly reading back to your energy provider. The main difference between them being whether you have energy usage and production measured on one device or two. 

Although commonly only thought of in regards to your usage and importing of energy, smart meters can also play an important role in energy exporting with one device combining both measurements. If you don't already have one, these are supplied free by your energy provider, just get in touch with your energy provider and they will arrange one to be installed. 

A generation meter, sometimes referred to as a “net meter”, monitors the total energy generation of a solar system and essentially shows the opposite of a smart meter (energy production rather than consumption). Want to know more?

Export tariff

An export tariff sett the price per kWh of energy that you export to the grid. It's worth shopping around as your export tariff can be from a different energy company to your import plan. That said, it is simpler having both import and export with one company as the credit is applied directly to your bill.

And once you have this - smart meter or generation meter and a export tariff, and assuming you have solar panels installed! Your meter will send 30 min readings back to the energy provider and you will begin sending your solar produced energy back to the grid.

Why should you consume before selling solar produced energy?

From a financial point of view, it is more beneficial to self-consume than it is to sell back to the grid due to the different price points for buying (24.5p/kWh) and selling (15p/kWh)*. Unless you have a time-of-use tariff (In this case, you may be better off charging your car and home battery at the cheaper overnight price and exporting during the day) you will be buying energy at a more expensive rate than you are able to sell it so consuming your own solar produced energy typically is the best financial choice for you.

Despite this and best intentions, you could with well installed and optimised solar panels (check out the options we have available at Egg) at times use less energy than you have produced and want to store in your battery with selling a great financial, social and environmental option.

This is beneficial for the government with their green energy pledges and desire for more green energy production so to help with this there is a guarantee on the amount you can receives for “exporting” this energy to the grid. This is where the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) comes in. The SEG replaced the Feed In Tariff (FIT) in 2019 and states that some suppliers must offer you a value for your exported energy. This is where you need to shop around, as some suppliers will offer you significantly more than others. *Correct as of January 2025. 

What is the Smart Export Guarantee? 

The previously in place FIT has been replaced by the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) in 2019. The SEG does not set a minimum or maximum value per unit sold back to the grid. All it states is that the supplier must offer a price above £0.

Not all suppliers offer the SEG, only the major energy suppliers. Rates vary between suppliers and your SEG supplier can be different to that of your normal energy supplier.

Unit prices are currently up to ~24p per KW (kilowatt hour), which is much higher than it’s been previously, but still lower than the average purchase price.

Whilst the SEG is important to generate revenue from exported energy, its more important to self-consume where possible. For most customers, exporting to the grid should be a last resort.

Some companies have export tariffs specifically for their customers, such as the Octopus Outgoing tariff, specially for Octopus customers. This increases their export rate from 4.1p/kWh (kilowatt hour) for non customers to 15p/kWh.

How do I find the best SEG provider?

As with any price comparison these days, shopping around online is your best bet. Check out comparison websites and individual energy suppliers to find exactly how much they offer you for a unit of exported electricity or regulated bodies or associations such as Solar Energy UK. Energy suppliers will pay you for each kW (unit) of electricity you export to the grid. This unit of electricity is measured in the same way as the energy you buy from the grid.

It's well worth shopping around to find the best prices, as it may not be the supplier that you're currently with. Many suppliers now offer specific tariffs with fantastic export rates and also dual tariffs, which allow you to take advantage of lower cost energy overnight, or during off-peak periods, which is ideal for topping up your battery storage.

Do I need to buy and sell my electricity from/to the same company?

This is an important one - No!

You do not have to buy and sell your electricity to the same company. If you find that your best buying prices and selling process are from different providers, you are able to separate them both and take advantage of the best rates possible.

Whilst it's worth shopping around and factoring this into your decisions, you will often find that if you combine your buying and selling of electricity to a single supplier, they may offer you preferential export rates that are only available to existing customers, and credit your exports directly to your bill reducing your admin.

Background about distribution network?

In the UK all electricity comes from a ‘power station’ of some description. These can either be renewal energy sources (solar, wind, bioenergy) or the use of fossil fuels to generate the electricity.

As the energy is distributed across the network, the voltages will be stepped up or down as required. This is done to minimise energy loss over distances.

When solar power is sold back to the grid, this is it being fed into.

How does electricity get into your property? 1. Incoming supply from the power network 2.Main household fuse: this is installed and sealed by the DNO 3. Electricity Meter, Installed and sealed by your energy provider 4. Power supply going into the property through the ‘meter tails’. This is where we would typically connect a backup gateway if purchased (we as in Egg - why?). 5. The connection blocks can split the power to your home, or an EV charger if required - If this interest you in your green check out our award winning charger and plan! 

Once the meter tails enter the consumer unit (more commonly referred to as fuse box), from there it it is sent household circuits with the circuit types split to power everything in your house. Circuits with high power consumption, such as electric showers, cookers, EV chargers and hot-tubs would typically have their own dedicated circuit, due to the amount of power they use.

The consumer unit is typically where all solar and and battery power would feed in to, so that any circuit in the house can use the available power. How it gets back to the grid?

Well luckily it is fairly straightforward… it's essentially the reverse of the above and the reverse of how the electricity gets into your property! It will follow the same route and flow back via the meter, with the best way to imagine it as a river. When you utilise the energy you are tapping off the main river flow, with the water (electricity) being diverted to your property. You can however also contribute to the river and send water (electricity) back into the main source. Another positive to this is the local and communal aspect around how and who uses this energy you have produced. It will primarily be utilised by your neighbours and your local area, given the relatively short shelf life of energy once it is produced. This means you can be proud of not just your contribution to sustainability with green energy production but also be proud of your contribution on a more local level. 

Energy expert - Raj Badwal

“Owning solar panels and a home battery system isn't just about sustainability—it's a smart financial move too. Let me share my experience: in April 2024, I pocketed a modest profit of £4.85. That's covering all the energy needs of my family home and powering my electric car for 800 miles! You'll need three essential components: Solar panels and storage, A time-of-use tariff, An export tariff (like Octopus Outgoing). Combine these elements, and you'll witness some real magic. In my case, I pay a mere 7.5p per kWh for overnight imports, while earning a generous 15p per kWh for exporting surplus energy. By charging my battery and car during off-peak hours, I capitalise on cheap electricity. Then, when the sun is shining, I maximise exports to offset my imports. As long as I export half of what I've imported, my energy bill reads zero. With the right strategy, you can not only save money but also contribute to a cleaner, greener future.”