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Export ratesThe 20p export rate, and how it compares to standard SEG
Two homes, two identical roofs, two identical piles of exported units. One gets 4p a unit and one gets 20p. The only thing that changed was who fitted the system and who supplies the power.
Updated 4 August 2026 · from the OVO Solar & Battery team
The four OVO rates, side by side
The Smart Export Guarantee obliges larger suppliers to pay you for the electricity you export. It does not tell them what to pay. OVO publishes four different SEG rates, and the difference between the top and the bottom of that list is bigger than most people expect.
| Tariff | Pays | Who it is for |
|---|---|---|
| SEG | 4p per kWh | Anyone with an eligible system, whoever supplies your energy |
| SEG Beyond Exclusive | 12p per kWh | OVO energy customers on Beyond, systems under 30kW |
| SEG Install Exclusive, solar only | 15p per kWh | OVO energy customers where OVO installed the panels |
| SEG Install Exclusive, solar and battery | 20p per kWh | OVO energy customers where OVO installed both the panels and the battery |
OVO rates correct at July 2026 and subject to change. Eligibility criteria apply to each tariff, including system size limits and, for the exclusive rates, taking your electricity supply from OVO. The 4p standard rate is open to customers of any supplier.
The conditions on 20p, stated plainly
SEG Install Exclusive pays 20p per kWh where OVO installs both your solar and your battery, or 15p per kWh for solar only. The exclusive rates require you to take your electricity supply from OVO and apply to systems under 30kW. Rates were correct at July 2026 and are subject to change, so confirm the current position before you buy.
What the gap is worth in actual money
A 12 panel system on an average UK roof exports around 3,875 kWh a year. Those are the same units on every rate. Only the price changes.
| Rate | A year | Over 25 years |
|---|---|---|
| 4p, standard SEG | £155 | £3,875 |
| 12p, Beyond Exclusive | £465 | £11,625 |
| 15p, Install Exclusive, solar only | £581 | £14,525 |
| 20p, Install Exclusive, solar and battery | £775 | £19,375 |
Example based on a 12 panel 5.4 kWp system at the UK average yield of 998 kWh per kWp, a home using 3,500 kWh of electricity a year with someone in the house part of the day, and a 5.2 kWh battery. Modelled export of about 3,875 kWh a year. The 25 year columns assume rates hold, which they will not exactly. Your own export depends on your roof, your consumption and your tariff.
About £620 a year separates the top of that list from the bottom, on electricity your roof was going to make anyway. Across the 25 year life of a system that is in the region of £15,500.
Why the battery is the thing that moves the rate
Panels fitted on their own by OVO qualify for 15p. Add the battery and the same exported units are worth 20p. On a system exporting 3,500 kWh a year, that uplift alone is around £175 a year before you count a single penny of stored energy saving.
The battery does two other things at the same time. It covers your evening from what your roof made at lunchtime, so you stop buying expensive evening electricity. And it lets you fill up on cheap off peak units overnight and keep the roof's output free to export at the full 20p.
That last point is worth sitting with. Using a unit of your own solar saves you the 26.11p you would have paid to import it, but you give up the 20p you would have earned exporting it, so the net gain is 6.11p. Fill the same battery overnight instead and you save 13.11p on every unit while your solar goes out at 20p, on the 13p off peak rate we model across this site. That is better than twice the benefit from the same kit, and better still on a cheaper overnight window.
Want both options priced for your own roof, with the battery in and the battery out? That is exactly what the free 45 minute video design does, and you get the price in writing on the call.
Get your free quote →How the wider market compares
Every large supplier publishes SEG rates, and they sort themselves by what they are conditioned on rather than by how generous the supplier feels: three flat rate bands, plus a time of use option built for battery homes. This is the table the rest of our tariff pages work from, so it is worth knowing which band a headline number belongs to before you compare it with anything.
| Band | Typical rate | What it is conditioned on |
|---|---|---|
| Open to anyone | 3p to 6p | Nothing beyond an eligible system. British Gas Export SEG 3p, EDF SEG Export Variable 3.0p, OVO SEG 4p, E.ON Next Flex Export 6p variable. |
| Gated on who supplies your electricity | 12p to 15p | You buy your electricity from that supplier, usually with a smart meter and sometimes not on a time of use import tariff. Octopus Outgoing 12p flat, British Gas Export Premium 12p, OVO SEG Beyond Exclusive 12p, E.ON Next Export Exclusive v3 13p, EDF Export 12m 15p. |
| Gated on who installed it | 17.5p to 25p | That supplier fitted or sold you the system, and usually supplies your electricity too. E.ON Next Export Premium v3 17.5p, EDF Export Exclusive 12m V3 18p, OVO up to 20p where OVO installs both the solar and the battery, you take your electricity supply from OVO and the system is under 30kW, So Energy So Bright 20p, Good Energy Solar Savings Exclusive 25p. |
| Time of use, battery homes | About 29p peak export, about 5p overnight export | Solar plus a battery, import and export with the same supplier, and you schedule the battery yourself. Octopus Flux pays roughly 29.32p per kWh for export between 4pm and 7pm, roughly 10.11p through the day and roughly 4.99p between 2am and 5am, all three of them export rates. |
Competitor rates and conditions as published on supplier pages and checked on 3 August 2026, and subject to change. The bands describe the large suppliers. The top of the middle band is EDF Export 12m at 15p, which is the highest import gated rate we can confirm on a supplier's own page; one smaller supplier, Ecotricity, is reported at 16p by a comparison site rather than on its own tariff page, so we have left it outside the band rather than widen it on a secondary source. The three Octopus Flux figures are regional and also come from a secondary source, because Octopus gates them behind a postcode. So Energy's So Bright pays 20p for 12 months and then moves to So Export Flex at 4.5p. Eligibility rules on every one of these are detailed, so check directly with any supplier before making a decision on one.
The pattern is consistent across the market. Nobody pays a top rate for export alone. They pay it because you bought the system from them, or you buy your electricity from them, or both. Why the best export rates carry conditions goes through what to check on any headline number.
How to work out what it means for you
The export rate is one of three places the money comes from, alongside the solar you use yourself and the off peak shifting a battery unlocks. Why your tariff moves payback more than your kit does runs the same install at each of these rates and puts a payback year against every one. Our solar panel costs page sets out what the kit itself runs to, and the full Smart Export Guarantee page carries the eligibility detail. When you want it costed on your own roof, the coverage map finds the local OVO expert for your area.
See what your roof would export before you speak to anyone, then book the free design call if the numbers look right.
Get your free quote →Rate questions, answered
Do I have to have a battery to get 20p?
Yes. The 20p rate applies where OVO installs both the solar and the battery. Panels fitted on their own by OVO qualify for 15p per kWh. It is worth running both options on your design call, because the battery changes your evening import costs as well as your export rate, and the two together decide whether it pays for itself.
Do I have to buy my electricity from OVO to get the exclusive rates?
Yes. The SEG Install Exclusive and SEG Beyond Exclusive rates both require you to take your electricity supply from OVO, and both are subject to system size limits. OVO's standard SEG rate of 4p per kWh has no such condition and is open to customers of any supplier.
Is 20p a good export rate compared with the rest of the market?
It sits at the top end. Rates open to anyone regardless of supplier cluster at 3p to 6p. Rates conditioned on taking your electricity from the same supplier run to roughly 12p to 15p. Rates of 17.5p and above are all conditioned on that supplier having installed the system. Figures checked on 3 August 2026 and subject to change.
What happens if the 20p rate changes later?
Published SEG rates are not fixed forever and every supplier reserves the right to change them, which is why the date a rate was checked matters as much as the rate itself. What does not change is that the system is yours outright, and SEG lets you move between tariffs, unlike the old Feed-in Tariff which locked you in for the term.
How much of my generation actually gets exported?
On the twelve panel example used above, about 72%. That system generates around 5,389 kWh a year, roughly 1,514 kWh of it gets used in the house and about 3,875 kWh goes to the grid. The split moves with the household: someone in during the day, a larger battery or an electric car all pull the export share down, and our ten panel worked example on a smaller roof exports closer to 60%. Treat anything in that range as normal and model your own rather than a national average.
Is it better to use my solar or export it?
With a 20p export rate the two are much closer than people assume. Using a unit yourself saves 26.11p and costs you the 20p you would have earned, a net gain of 6.11p. Charging the battery on cheap off peak units instead saves around 13.11p a unit, on the 13p off peak rate we model, while the solar exports at the full 20p. For most battery homes that is the better strategy, and a cheaper overnight rate widens the gap.
Figures and specifications in this guide are sourced below and were checked on the date shown. Rates and product specifications change; we confirm the current picture on your free design call.
Sources
- OVO Energy, Smart Export Guarantee tariffs, rates and eligibility criteria, checked 3 August 2026 ovoenergy.com
- OVO Solar and Battery, published SEG rates, the 12 panel export worked example and the 26.11p import assumption ovosolarandbattery.co.uk
- British Gas, EDF, E.ON Next, Octopus Energy, Good Energy and So Energy published export tariff pages, all checked 3 August 2026 supplier tariff pages
- Indicative Octopus Flux export rates and the reported Ecotricity rate, used because those figures are not published on the supplier's own tariff page sunsave.energy
- Ofgem, energy price cap for 1 July to 30 September 2026, average capped electricity unit rate ofgem.gov.uk
Read next
Which export rate can you actually qualify for?
The gate behind every headline rate, and the six things to check before you believe one.
Read the guide →How the Smart Export Guarantee actually works
What the scheme is, who qualifies, and how the money actually reaches you.
Read the guide →How much a home battery saves, unit by unit
What a battery saves per unit, per night and per year, with the losses taken off.
Read the guide →