In short: any electricity your panels make that you do not use goes to the grid. Under the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG), large suppliers must pay you for it. Rates differ a lot, so it pays to shop around.
How the Smart Export Guarantee works
Energy suppliers with 150,000 or more customers must offer at least one export tariff, and the rate must be above zero. Smaller suppliers can choose to offer one. Your smart meter measures what you export, and the supplier pays you for each unit.
What you need
- A system installed by an MCS-certified installer (or an equivalent certification).
- A smart meter that can record exports. Your supplier can fit one.
- To apply to the supplier you choose once your system is installed.
Finding a better rate
You do not have to sell your power to the supplier that sells you electricity, but some suppliers pay their own customers much more. Look at the import and export rates together, because a high export rate can come with a dearer import tariff.
Some tariffs pay a fixed price per unit. Others vary through the day, which can suit homes with a battery that can choose when to export.
How much will I earn?
It depends on your system size, how much you use at home and your rate. Using your solar power yourself is usually worth more than exporting it, because you save the full price you would pay for that electricity. Our calculator includes both.
Plug-in balcony solar kits cannot currently be paid through the SEG, because they are not installed by an MCS-certified installer.
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