Solar and battery support

Time to soak up the rays with your new solar array! Here you'll find all the relevant guidance and support to make the most of your new energy system.

Getting started

Once installed, your solar panels will begin generating electricity that can be used to power your home straight away 🌞. In order to start getting paid for any excess energy that you don’t use, you’ll need to set up your export supply. Our team will give you a call to guide you through this in the days following your installation.

You can also apply online to your preferred export tariff and we’ll guide you through the steps. Keep in mind that we’ll need to wait for all of the relevant registration to be completed by your Distribution Network Operator (DNO), which can take a few weeks.

Set up your new app controls

Find tailored guidance below from your product manufacturer on getting started with your solar monitoring app:

Tesla
Enphase
GivEnergy
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Solar PNG

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FAQs and Troubleshooting

Having trouble with your solar panels or battery? Start by checking the troubleshooting tips below. Then if you still feel that something’s not right, you can get in touch.

Psst: as a first step, we’d always recommend checking your solar fuseboard to see whether any of the breakers have tripped. We’d also suggest checking that you’re on the latest version on your solar app. If the firmware needs to be updated, this can cause performance issues.

How to reconnect to Wi-Fi if the provider, router or password has changed

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If you’re having connectivity issues with your solar array, the Wi-Fi connection could have dropped out. If you’ve recently changed something with your Wi-Fi, the easiest resolution is to change your new Wi-Fi ID and password to match your old one, and all of the appliances in your home should automatically connect!

Alternatively, follow the guidance below for each product to re-connect your solar system to Wi-Fi.

GivEnergy: Follow this handy video guide to re-configure and connect to the internet.

Enphase: You may see the error message “Gateway Not Reporting” in your app. If so, follow this written guidance to fix. Alternatively, follow this video guide from Enphase.

Tesla: Follow this guidance from Tesla to reconnect to the Gateway.

If you’ve followed this guidance and you’re still having trouble reconnecting, get in touch.

What happens when there is a powercut?

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If the power goes out, the impact on your system will depend on which battery you have installed. We’ve outlined the cases for this below:

Panels only or panels and battery with no whole home backup: When there’s a power cut, your inverter won’t be able to find the local grid to feed power into. So as a safety feature, it will switch off. When the power comes back on, it’ll start up again.

Solar with battery and whole home backup (currently Tesla Powerwall only): If you have a system with whole home backup, this means that your solar system can work off grid. During a power cut, the battery should switch over within a few seconds to power your home in island mode.

What does an electrician need to know if they work on my home?

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In order to help anyone carrying out work at your property, our electrician will be sure to label everything correctly, so that from the consumer unit it will be clear that there’s an additional power supply on-site. They will need to be able to isolate the solar supply from the rest of the property.

After your system is installed, we will provide a schematic drawing showing the placement of all the products and wiring installed. This is included within your handover pack, and a copy should also be left at your property.

How can I tell if my system is performing as it should over time?

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If you’re not one for monitoring your solar performance regularly, we’d still recommend occasionally checking your app to make sure everything is connected as it should be.

If you’d like to check how your solar system is performing, we recommend waiting until your system has been installed for at least 1 year, as solar generation can fluctuate significantly month by month.

There’s even more to each bright sunny day than meets the eye, and small atmospheric changes can influence energy generation - however if you do notice that your generation is consistently particularly low on sunny days, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

If you compare your solar generation to the previous year, and you believe your generation looks lower than it should (weather considered) or if something looks strange with your readings, please also get in touch.

The great news is that solar panels last a very long time, and you shouldn’t notice any degradation at all for at least the first 10 years. Your solar panels have a linear performance warranty of 30 years. This means that at 30 years, you’ll still have a guaranteed performance of 87.4% (subject to terms and conditions).

Can I upgrade my system?

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At present we’re able to add a battery if you don’t already have one, but unfortunately we’re not able to add more panels just yet.

What should I do if my readings look strange or inconsistent?

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Please get in touch if you notice anything strange with your generation. Our team will be on-hand to help.

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For further support with your specific model, check out the manufacturers help and troubleshooting pages below:

Tesla

Troubleshooting your Powerwall

Enphase

Homeowners support

GivEnergy

Troubleshooting videos

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Save energy & money with a smart tariff

With any solar system, if you’re looking for ways to maximise your money, there are options to just set it and forget it, or to take control if you prefer to closely monitor your energy. Find your solar style with the right energy tariff:

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Intelligent Octopus Flux

Import/export tariff designed for solar + battery
Potential savings: Up to 116% or ÂŁ1,071 per year

✅ Best for: Maximum savings with minimal effort

✅ Import or export: Both

✅ How it works: We automatically charge your battery when energy is cheapest and greenest, then export when prices are highest

✅ Compatible with: GivEnergy, Tesla, Enphase and SolarEdge batteries

✅ Perfect if: You want to set it and forget it

Learn more about Intelligent Octopus Flux

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How to use the tariff

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On IO Flux, you’ll get a peak rate between 4pm - 7pm when Octopus will discharge your battery and export surplus energy back to the grid to maximise your savings, (unlike other tariffs, you might notice that your battery is only discharged during this time). We’d recommend moving any high-energy usage, like using the washing machine, outside of this time period to save money.

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Octopus Flux

Import/export tariff designed for solar + battery
Potential savings: Up to 95% or ÂŁ873 per year

✅ Best for: People who like more control

✅ Import or export: Both

✅ How it works: Super cheap rates between 2am-5am to charge your battery, peak export rates from 4pm-7pm

✅ Compatible with: Any home battery

✅ Perfect if: You're happy to schedule your battery operation

Learn more about Octopus Flux

How to use the tariff

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On Flux, you’ll get a super cheap rate overnight from 2am - 5pm every day, where it’s best to use your solar app to schedule your battery to charge. Then you’ll have a peak rate from 4pm - 7pm where it’s best to schedule your battery to discharge, and sell any extra energy back to the grid. Like the Intelligent version, we’d recommend moving any high-energy usage, like using the washing machine, outside of this time period to save money.

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Outgoing Octopus

Export tariff for solar PV with or without a battery
Potential savings: Up to 92% or ÂŁ845 per year with a 5kWh battery
75% or ÂŁ694 without, when paired with our Flexible Octopus tariff

✅ Best for: Predictable export rates

✅ Import or export: Export only

✅ How it works: Fixed rate of 15p per kWh for every unit you export

✅ Perfect if: You prefer simplicity, don't have a battery or want to pair with a different import tariff

Learn more about Outgoing Octopus

How to use the tariff

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On Outgoing Octopus you simply get 15p/kWh for every unit of energy you export, this means you don’t have to worry about using your power or charging/discharging your battery at certain times, and you’ll make the most savings by using energy whilst the sun is shining.

For homes with a battery your solar will first supply your home and any excess will top up the battery. If the battery is full any remaining is exported. If the solar is generating less than your home requires, the battery will generally supply that to your home.

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Outgoing Agile

Export tariff, best with a battery
Potential savings: varies based on market conditions

✅ Best for: Energy enthusiasts who want to maximise potential gains

✅ How it works: Dynamic half-hourly pricing based on wholesale energy costs

✅ Perfect if: You have a battery and you enjoy actively managing your energy use

Learn more about Outgoing Agile

How to use the tariff

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On Agile Outgoing tariff, we publish tomorrow’s rates between 4.00pm and 8.00pm each evening, so you can schedule charging and discharging your battery at the best times for the following day. Check out historical export rates for the Agile tariff here.

Still unsure which tariff to pick?

Read more on the savings you can make with our solar smart tariffs.

If you’d prefer to go with another supplier for your import energy, you can still join our SEG flat rate export tariff where the rates are slightly less competitive.

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illustration of solar panels and a heat pump on a house

Pairing solar with a heat pump or electric vehicle

If you have other smart tech installed, such as an EV or heat pump, Octopus has several tariff options for you. There are also some EV chargers that work better with solar than others - check out our options for more information.

If you already have other tech installed and you’d like to join an Octopus smart tariff, use the table below to find out which tariffs are compatible. This is a basic guideline, for tailored advice, contact our energy team at hello@octopus.energy, or try our smart tariff quiz.

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Your tech Your best tariff
Solar panels Octopus Outgoing
Solar, battery storage Intelligent Octopus Flux
Battery storage Agile + Outgoing Octopus
EV, solar Intelligent Octopus Go
EV, solar, heat pump Intelligent Octopus Go
Heat pump and solar Cosy Octopus + Octopus Outgoing

Maintenance

One of the great things about solar panels is how easy they are to maintain. There's just a few things to keep in mind.

  1. Check for anything that might block sunlight. Just keep an eye on any new shading or things covering your panels over time, to ensure you’re getting the most from your panels.
  2. Protection from wildlife. Our bird proofing keeps pigeons from nesting and messing with your system, and the angle of the panels allows rain and snow to slide off, cleaning them naturally.
  3. Cleaning. If you have a shallow roof, you might need to clean every couple of years or more. If you can see dirt on your panels, it’s worth speaking to your local window cleaner to find out if they’ll do it for you. Or if you want to do it yourself, all you need is a soft brush on an extendable pole. But it’s important to only use water to clean them as cleaning chemicals can damage the coating.
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Contact us

If you require help with your solar panels or battery after installation, please email solar-aftercare@octopusenergy.services.

Or if you require help with a smart tariff, please contact hello@octopus.energy.

You can also ring our freephone helpline on 0808 196 6842, open 8am – 8pm Monday to Saturday, 10am - 6pm Sunday.
(There are other ways to get in touch too).

If you'd like to make a complaint, find our complaints procedure
here.

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Looking for something else?

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How our customers are loving their solar

Our customers are cutting costs and helping the planet with their impressive solar setups. Take a look at some of their amazing savings and share your own solar snaps with us!

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