Request a solar proposal Menu

Solar export & SEG

Using solar at home is one part of the energy flow.

Solar electricity is used in the home first. Whatever is not used at that moment flows to the grid — and where suitable metering and an export arrangement exist, it can be recorded as export.

Request a solar proposal About the SEG
Brick homes with solar panels on their pitched roofs

Energy flow · Order

First
Used in the home
Surplus
Flows to the grid
Export
Where arranged
Payment
Supplier terms
UK home context Photo: Uitbundig on Unsplash

01 Export

What happens to electricity the home doesn’t use?

Solar electricity is used in the home first. When generation is greater than demand, the surplus has to go somewhere, and where suitable arrangements exist it can be exported to the grid.
What happens to electricity the home doesn’t use Sunlight reaches the solar roof. The generated electricity first serves the home’s current demand, which is self-consumption. When generation is greater than demand, surplus can be exported to the grid where a suitable export arrangement and metering are in place. When generation is lower than demand, for example in the evening, the home imports electricity from the grid. GENERATION HOME USE · SELF-CONSUMPTION EXPORT* IMPORT METER GRID

Home use

Electricity used at the moment it is generated — often called self-consumption.

Export to grid

Surplus that leaves the home, where suitable metering and an export arrangement exist.

Customers interested in export payments should review current Smart Export Guarantee requirements and participating supplier terms.

Solar export and the SEG

02 Self-consumption

What the home uses comes first.

When the array is generating, appliances running at that moment use solar electricity before anything is imported. This is self-consumption — and it happens automatically, without any arrangement.

How much of the generation is self-consumed depends on when the household uses electricity. Daytime occupancy, appliance timing and routines all play a part.

How self-consumption affects outcomes

A home office by a window in daylight
UK home context Photo: Mikey Harris on Unsplash

03 Smart Export Guarantee

Export, the SEG and supplier terms.

An overview in plain terms. Scheme details, rates and supplier terms change, so always check the current position directly.

  1. 01 SEG

    The Smart Export Guarantee

    A scheme in Great Britain under which certain electricity suppliers offer tariffs for electricity exported to the grid from eligible small-scale generation, including domestic solar.

  2. 02 SUPPLIER

    Supplier arrangements

    Export tariffs are offered by individual suppliers, each with its own rates and terms. The export supplier does not always have to be the same as the import supplier — check each supplier’s terms.

  3. 03 METERING

    Metering

    Export has to be measured. That typically means a meter capable of recording exported electricity, such as a suitable smart meter.

  4. 04 ELIGIBILITY

    Eligibility

    Eligibility requirements — for example around metering and installation documentation — are set by the scheme rules and supplier terms, and can change.

Questions

Export questions

Will I definitely be paid for the electricity I export?

Not necessarily. Export payments depend on eligibility, suitable metering and an arrangement with a participating supplier, on that supplier’s terms. Customers interested in export payments should review current Smart Export Guarantee requirements and participating supplier terms.

Is export better than using solar electricity at home?

They work differently. Using solar electricity at home replaces electricity that would otherwise be imported at the household’s tariff. Export, where an arrangement exists, is paid at the supplier’s export rate. A proposal should state the assumptions it uses for both.

Can Warmbrick arrange SEG for me?

No. Export arrangements are between the homeowner and a participating electricity supplier. Warmbrick does not offer export tariffs or guarantee participation in any scheme.

Proposal · Conversation

What could solar look like on your home?

Tell us about the property and household electricity use to begin the conversation.

Request a solar proposal Talk about your home

No obligation. Nothing is sold through this website.