NEWS

Can your business benefit from an export meter?

A man in a high vis jacket installing solar panels for an export meter on a roof

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Are you generating your own renewable electricity? Does your site have solar panels or a wind turbine? Then, it’s likely that there will be times where you might be generating more energy than needed to power your business. Export meters can help you to manage this and sell this extra energy back to the grid. But what are export meters and can your business benefit from having one?

What is an export meter?

If you’re wanting to sell electricity back to the grid, you’ll need an export meter. If your solar installation exceeds 30 kW, the export meter will measure how much energy you’re exporting to the grid that you aren’t using in your business. Export meters are not the same as your electricity meter. But you can get smart export meters which will send automatic reads to your supplier.

Do you need an export meter with solar panels?

If your solar panels exceed 30 kilowatts, you’ll need an export meter if you’re wanting to sell the extra electricity your site generates. If you’re wanting to sell excess solar power to the grid, an export meter is crucial. Sometimes, our team can connect remotely. However, they may need to physically change the meter.

How much can I get for selling electricity back to the grid?

Suppliers will pay you for the energy you generate through the Smart Export Guarantee Scheme. Each supplier that helps you sell back to the grid will have different rates they’ll pay for the electricity you generate. Given the current conditions in the energy market, not all suppliers are offering this at the moment. However, there are a select few of our approved suppliers who will pay for your exported energy. The rate they pay will usually fluctuate. The suppliers we choose to use will offer between 3 and 5p/kwh.

Someone writing on a clipboard in front of an export meter

What is the Smart Export Guarantee?

The Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) is a government-initiated export tariff. This tariff means that licensed electricity suppliers and any mandatory SEG licensee will pay British businesses for every kilowatt hour of eligible electricity they generate and give back to the National Grid. To be eligible, your business will need to have a smart meter or meter capable of recording Half-Hourly increments. You will also need to have installed small scale, renewable, or low carbon technology. This includes installations such as Solar Photovoltaic (PV), wind turbines, and hydro and anaerobic digestion (AD), but only up to a capacity of 5MW. This scheme replaces the export part of the Feed-In-Tariff (FiT).

How many kw can my business export?

How many kw your business can export depends on the size of your solar panels and how much energy your business uses and generates. The bigger the panel size and area, the more energy your business will generate. You’re most likely going to use some of that energy. So, you can export the excess energy through your meter, unless you have somewhere else to store the energy – for example, our business battery storage!

How do I get an export meter?

If you want an export meter for your business, get in touch with one of our energy experts. You can request one and our team will contact our network of suppliers to install an export meter at your site. Our team of experts have extensive market knowledge so can help you to sell back to the grid at the best possible price.

Contact us

Looking to sell the energy your business generates from solar panels back to the grid? Our team of experts can help you to secure the best deals for your exported energy. We’ll work with our network of approved suppliers and use our extensive market knowledge to ensure you’re getting the best prices for your exported energy. Get in touch with one of our experts today to learn more about Flame Energy’s sustainable energy management solutions.