Top Tips for Maximising Your Solar Savings

Investing in solar is only the first step. To maximum your financial return, it is important to optimise how and when you use (or export) the electricity you generate. Below is a practical guide to help you increase self-consumption, reduce grid reliance, and make the most of electricity tariffs.

1. Master Load Shifting

Load shifting means moving electricity use to periods when your solar system is producing power (typically 10am–4pm).

Every kilowatt-hour (kWh) you use directly from your solar system offsets electricity you would otherwise buy at retail rates — typically far higher than export tariffs. The greater you move your consumption during daylight hours, the faster your system pays for itself*.

*The exception to this is if you are on a Time of Use tariff offering you off-peak time slot(s) which can be as low as 7p/kWh. In this case, you are better of running the appliances that you can during these cheaper windows.

What to shift:

• Washing machines and tumble dryers

• Dishwashers

• Immersion heaters

• Pool pumps

• Underfloor heating systems

• EV charging

  
  

How to implement:

• Use appliance timers.

• Install smart plugs.

• Use EV chargers with scheduling.

• Automate via home energy management systems.

  
  

Example: Running a dishwasher at 1pm instead of 8pm could save 25–35p per kWh (depending on your tariff), because you avoid importing electricity at peak rates.

2. Use Battery Storage Strategically

A battery increases self-consumption by storing surplus generation for evening use.

However, to maximise ROI, batteries should be operated intelligently rather than simply acting as passive storage.

Optimisation strategies:

• Reserve battery capacity for peak-rate periods.

• Avoid fully discharging if cheap off-peak grid charging is available.

• Integrate with time-of-use tariffs.

  
  

Well-configured systems can increase self-consumption from ~30% to 70–90%, depending on property type and usage profile.

Note on Energy Arbitrage:

Energy arbitrage involves buying electricity when it is cheap and using or selling it when it is expensive. It often looks attractive on a simple “buy low, sell high” spreadsheet. However, once you account properly for degradation, efficiency losses, tariffs and cycling economics, the margin frequently collapses.

Let's take an example with a typical 5kW battery:

• Installed cost: £4000

• Warranty: 10 years (i.e. 3650 cycles if cycled once a day)

• Equipment cost over warranty period: £4000 / 3650 cycles / 5kW usable capacity / 90% round trip losses = 24p/kWh (this is the cost of just owning the equipment)

• Revenue: 31p/kWh (export at peak time) - 8p/kWh (off-peak import) = 23p/kWh

• Net Result = -1p/kWh (this means you are loosing actually loosing money!)

3. Choose the Right Tariff

Solar customers frequently overlook tariff optimisation, yet it can have a material impact on overall returns. The structure of your import and export rates often determines whether your system delivers acceptable savings or truly strong financial performance.

Consider:

• Time-of-use import tariffs.

• Competitive export tariffs.

• Smart tariffs for EV owners.

• Dynamic tariffs for battery owners.

• Switching between tariffs between the winter season and summer seasons.

  
  

Selecting the correct tariff strategy can improve annual savings by several hundred pounds without making any changes to the physical system itself.

Read our guide on the Best energy tariffs with solar in Wales - February 2026.

4. Optimise EV Charging

If you own an EV, it can become your largest controllable load.

In the current UK energy market (2025–2026), it rarely makes sense to charge your EV with solar because the gap between off-peak import rates and high-value export tariffs.

If you are on an EV-specific tariff (like Intelligent Octopus Go or E.ON Next Drive), you can charge your car overnight for as little as 7p–9p per kWh. Simultaneously, many modern export tariffs (such as Octopus Outgoing or Good Energy Solar Savings) pay you 15p per kWh or more for every unit of solar electricity you send back to the grid.

Every kilowatt-hour of solar you put into your car is a kilowatt-hour you could have sold to the grid for 15p. If you instead charge your car at night for 7.5p, you have effectively fueled your car and kept 7.5p in your pocket.

Homeowners with batteries can further maximize this by "load shifting"—charging the house battery from the grid at the cheap overnight rate to cover daytime house loads, leaving 100% of the rooftop solar generation free to be exported at the higher rate*.

Note this strategy only works if your export tariff is higher than your off-peak import rate. If you are on a basic SEG (Smart Export Guarantee) rate of only 2p–5p, it still makes more sense to use your solar to charge the car.

5. Monitor Performance Continuously

Ongoing monitoring is essential if you want to extract the maximum value from your solar and battery system. Use your monitoring platform to review generation patterns, import and export balance, battery charge and discharge cycles, and seasonal variation in output. This gives you a clear picture of how the system is actually performing against expectations.

Regular review also enables early detection of problems such as new shading, inverter faults or underperforming strings. Identifying issues promptly prevents prolonged generation losses and protects return on investment. A data-driven approach ensures the system remains optimised and continues to deliver peak financial performance over its lifetime.

6. Improve Overall Energy Efficiency

Solar savings increase significantly when overall electricity demand is reduced. Improving energy efficiency ensures that a greater proportion of your remaining consumption can be met directly by on-site generation, maximising self-consumption and minimising grid imports.

Consider:

• LED lighting upgrades.

• High-efficiency appliances.

• Smart thermostats.

• Improved insulation.

• Heat pump optimisation.

  
  

Lower overall demand means more of your energy use can be covered by solar production, enhancing both financial returns and long-term system performance.

7. Think Seasonally

Solar generation is highly seasonal, with output peaking in late spring and summer and falling materially during the winter months. Financial performance improves when system operation is aligned with this variation rather than assuming consistent year-round production.

In spring and autumn, prioritising daytime heating loads can help absorb surplus generation and increase self-consumption.

During winter, when solar yield is lower, time-of-use arbitrage may play a more prominent role in reducing energy costs.

Get in touch

If you would like tailored advice on optimising your system, selecting the right tariff structure or refining your battery strategy, our experts are available to help. Please get in touch with our friendly team here for clear, practical guidance specific to your installation.