EDF Solar Export Tariffs UK: The Complete 2026 Guide to Rates, Eligibility & Earnings

EDF pays anywhere from 3p to 18p per kWh for the electricity your solar panels export to the grid — a sixfold difference depending entirely on which tariff you're on. If you've ever wondered how much does EDF pay for exported solar electricity, that gap is the reason there's no single answer — and if you're not sure which tariff applies to you, there's a real chance you're leaving money on the table every quarter.

This complete guide to EDF solar export tariffs in the UK breaks down all four of EDF's current deals honestly — including the catch behind their highest-paying tariff, what happens when your fixed rate expires, and how EDF actually compares to the rest of the market in 2026. Whether you're a homeowner with panels already installed, a flat or bungalow owner exploring solar for the first time, or you manage a shop or office building considering an array on the roof, this covers what you need to know before you sign anything.

FIT vs SEG: Which Scheme Are You Actually On?

Before comparing rates, it's worth checking which scheme you're actually eligible for — because the two get confused constantly, and the difference matters.

The Feed-in Tariff (FIT) was the original scheme that paid solar owners for the electricity they generated and exported. It closed to new applicants in March 2019. If you installed solar before that date, there's a good chance you're still on a legacy FIT rate — and those rates were often more generous than current export tariffs, paid over a fixed 20-year term.

The EDF Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) is what replaced it. Since January 2020, large suppliers like EDF have been required to offer at least one SEG export tariff. Unlike FIT, SEG doesn't pay you for generation — only for what you actually export to the grid, measured through a dedicated export meter. If you're a UK homeowner trying to understand everything about the EDF Smart Export Guarantee, this is the scheme that matters today.

How to tell which one you're on

Check your original installation date and your supplier paperwork. FIT payments are typically based on a generation meter reading (how much your panels produced in total), while SEG payments are based purely on an export meter reading (how much you sent back to the grid). If your statements reference "generation tariff" you're almost certainly still on FIT.

Can you switch from FIT to SEG?

Generally, no — not while your FIT term is still active. FIT recipients can't also claim SEG payments simultaneously. If your 20-year FIT term is coming to an end, that's the point to start shopping around for an SEG tariff, since FIT payments stop completely once the term expires.

Important for EDF applicants

EDF requires confirmation that you're not already receiving FIT payments, and not already receiving SEG payments from another supplier, before you can sign up to one of their export tariffs. Have your installation date and any existing tariff paperwork ready when you apply.

EDF's Current Export Tariffs Compared

EDF currently offers four export tariffs, and the rate you qualify for depends almost entirely on two things: whether you're an EDF electricity customer, and whether your solar panels or battery were installed through EDF's own installation arm, Contact Solar.

The two "12m" tariffs are fixed for 12 months, which gives you price certainty. The two "Variable" tariffs can move up or down with notice from EDF, which means your earnings could shift partway through the year — for better or worse.

One thing worth knowing across all four: EDF doesn't charge an exit fee. You can move to a different export tariff or a different supplier entirely whenever you want, without penalty.

Eligibility requirements that apply across the board

• A smart meter capable of half-hourly export readings — a standard smart meter that only reads import usually isn't enough
• MCS certification for your solar panel installation (or Flexi-Orb certification if it's a battery-only setup)
• Proof that you own the system, or written permission from the owner if you're a tenant or leaseholder

A quick caveat

These rates are correct as of June 2026, but export tariffs change regularly — sometimes every few months. Always check EDF's official tariff page for the current figures before making a decision based on this guide.

Real Earnings: What Could You Actually Make?

Headline rates only tell you part of the story. What actually lands in your account depends on how much electricity you export — and that's where most comparison articles stop short. Here's the formula, and how to apply it to your own situation.

The basic formula

Annual export (in kWh) × tariff rate (in pence) ÷ 100 = your annual earnings in pounds.

The tricky part is estimating your annual export. As a rough rule of thumb, a typical UK home exports somewhere between 40% and 60% of what its solar panels actually generate — the rest gets used directly in the home as it's produced. If you have a solar battery, that export percentage drops significantly, because stored energy gets used in the evening instead of being sent to the grid.

Three worked examples

Take a small flat or bungalow system — around 2.5kWp, fairly typical for a property with limited roof space. A system that size might generate roughly 2,100 kWh a year. At a 50% export rate, that's 1,050 kWh exported annually.

• On the 3p SEG Export Variable tariff: 1,050 kWh × 3p = roughly £31.50 a year
• On the 18p Export Exclusive 12m tariff: 1,050 kWh × 18p = roughly £189 a year

Now take an average semi-detached home with a more typical 4.9kWp system, generating around 4,200 kWh annually. At a 50% export rate, that's 2,100 kWh exported.

• On the 5.6p SEG Export Variable Value tariff: 2,100 kWh × 5.6p = roughly £118 a year
• On the 18p Export Exclusive 12m tariff: 2,100 kWh × 18p = roughly £378 a year

And a larger detached home with a 6kWp system plus a battery, generating around 5,100 kWh annually — but because the battery soaks up much of that for evening use, export drops to around 35%, or roughly 1,785 kWh.

• On the 15p Export 12m tariff: 1,785 kWh × 15p = roughly £268 a year
• On the 18p Export Exclusive 12m tariff: 1,785 kWh × 18p = roughly £321 a year

Notice what happens in that last example — the battery actually narrows the gap between tariffs in cash terms, because there's simply less being exported regardless of rate. A higher export rate matters less when your system is set up to use most of its own generation.

Is the 18p Tariff Worth the EDF Install Lock-In?

This is the real decision most readers researching EDF's export tariffs are trying to make, and it deserves an honest answer rather than a sales pitch.

Here's the choice in plain terms: pay for your solar panel or battery installation through EDF's subsidiary, Contact Solar, and unlock the 18p Export Exclusive rate — or choose your own installer freely, and settle for 15p (if you're an EDF electricity customer) or as little as 3p (if you're not).

Quantifying the actual gap

Using the average semi-detached example from above — a 4.9kWp system exporting around 2,100 kWh a year — the difference between 18p and 15p works out to roughly £63 a year. Between 18p and 5.6p, it's closer to £260 a year. Between 18p and 3p, it's around £315 a year.

Those numbers matter, but they need to be weighed against something equally real: installation cost. If Contact Solar's quote for installing your system comes in £500–£1,000 higher than an independent installer's quote — which does happen with manufacturer-tied or supplier-tied installers — the extra few pounds a month from the better export rate could take 5–15 years to make up the difference.

The honest takeaway

The bundled 18p deal makes sense when EDF's installation price is competitive on its own merits — not because of the export rate alone. If Contact Solar's quote is roughly in line with the market, the extra export earnings are a genuine bonus. If their quote is notably higher, you may come out ahead going independent and accepting the 15p tariff instead, even with a lower per-unit rate.

Get at least two or three independent installer quotes before committing to any bundled deal — this applies whether you're looking at EDF or any other supplier offering a similar tied arrangement.

The "Rate Cliff": What Happens When Your 12-Month Tariff Ends

This is the part that catches people out, and it's worth flagging clearly: EDF's fixed 12-month export tariffs do not automatically renew at the same rate.

If you don't take action when your Export Exclusive 12m or Export 12m term ends, you'll typically be rolled onto one of the much lower variable rates — dropping from 15–18p down to somewhere between 3p and 5.6p, sometimes literally overnight. For a household earning £300+ a year on a fixed tariff, that can mean losing two-thirds of that income without ever being told it happened.

Practical tip

Set a calendar reminder for 4–6 weeks before your 12-month export tariff term ends. Use that window to check EDF's current rates, compare against other suppliers, and either renew, renegotiate, or switch — before you're automatically moved to the lower rate.

One thing that often gets missed: switching your export tariff doesn't require switching your electricity supplier. In many cases you can shop around for the best export rate independently of who supplies your day-to-day electricity, which opens up more options than people realise.

How EDF Compares to Other UK Suppliers in 2026

When weighing EDF vs other UK solar export tariffs, EDF's 18p top rate looks generous in isolation — but it's worth seeing where it actually sits against the rest of the market before deciding it's the obvious choice.

For context, Ofgem has reported the average export rate across the market sits around 10.8p/kWh — so anything meaningfully below that figure is worth questioning, even if it comes bundled with other perks.

The pattern across the table is consistent: the highest-paying tariffs almost always come with a bundling condition attached, whether that's a tied installer or a requirement to also be an electricity customer. When you compare solar export tariffs UK - wide, make sure you're comparing like-for-like — a bundled rate against another bundled rate, or a no-strings rate against another no-strings rate — rather than EDF's tied 18p against a competitor's unconditional rate.

Eligibility, Sign-Up Process & Required Documents

Once you've worked out which tariff fits your situation, knowing how to apply for EDF solar export payments is fairly straightforward — but having the right paperwork ready in advance saves a back-and-forth with EDF's support team.

Core eligibility

• Smart meter with half-hourly export readings enabled — see our guide on how to get a smart meter if you don't have one yet
• MCS-certified solar installation (or Flexi-Orb certification for battery-only systems)
• Generation capacity under 5MW (or 50kW for micro-CHP systems) — this covers essentially all domestic and most commercial rooftop installations

Documents you'll need

• MCS certificate for your installation
• Proof of system ownership, or written landlord permission if applicable
• A recent electricity bill, if you're not already an EDF customer
• Bank account details for payment
• A photo or reading of your export meter at the point of application

How and when you get paid

EDF typically pays quarterly, based on meter readings either submitted by you or read automatically if your smart meter supports it. It's worth checking your account roughly a week after each quarter closes to confirm the reading was captured correctly — manual reading submissions occasionally get missed, and catching it early avoids a delayed payment.

For Commercial Properties, Offices & Shops

If you manage a shop, office, or larger residential building considering solar, most of the guidance above still applies — but a couple of things work differently at commercial scale.

The SEG scheme covers installations up to 5MW (or 50kW for micro-CHP), which is large enough for the vast majority of commercial rooftop arrays. If your installation is genuinely larger than that, EDF and other suppliers typically offer Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) instead — a separate commercial arrangement for selling exported power, usually negotiated individually rather than offered as a fixed published rate.

Tax treatment for commercial export income also differs from the domestic position — it's more likely to need declaring as part of normal business accounts rather than being treated as incidental household income, so it's worth raising with your accountant early. One practical upside: commercial properties often already have half-hourly settlement meters in place for their main electricity supply, which can make SEG sign-up faster since that eligibility requirement is already met.

Do You Pay Tax on Solar Export Income?

General guidance — not tax advice

For most domestic solar owners exporting from their own home, SEG income is generally not taxable under current HMRC rules covering micro-generation. This is general information rather than personal tax advice — if your circumstances are unusual (a very large system, any commercial use of the property, or multiple properties generating income), it's worth checking directly with HMRC or an accountant. For commercial and business premises, treatment is different and export income is more likely to need declaring as part of standard business accounts.