Solar PV
Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) scheme

Smart Export Guarantee (SEG)
SolaX Smart Energy Management System App
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Solar photovoltaic (also known as solar PV) systems convert energy from the sun into electricity.

Solar PV is a key part of Haig Housing Sustainability measures. Your property will be assessed for suitability for solar panels as part of the Retrofit Assessment.

Once your solar PV system has been installed you will be able to sell your excess energy back to the grid.

Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) scheme

Solar panel users don’t necessarily use all of the electricity their panels generate at any one time. This electricity can be put back into the National Grid and large energy companies are obliged to pay a tariff for it – the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) scheme.

The government set up the SEG scheme to help everyone use more renewable energy and this replaces the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) scheme that ended in April 2019.

All energy companies with more than 150,000 customers must offer at least one SEG tariff that is export-only. This means that you can choose a different supplier to sell your renewable electricity than the one that you buy electricity from.

Energy companies set their own rates and these can vary significantly from 1p per kilowatt hour (kWh) to 15p per kWh. As this is a separate arrangement to your normal gas and electricity supply and you will need to shop around to make sure you get a price you are happy with. Which? is a good place to start.

How do I apply?

Once you have selected your energy company to sell your excess energy to, you need to follow the directions on the Smart Export Guarantee section of their website. Here are the links to the main energy companies. Remember you don’t have to get your SEG payments from the same company that supplies your energy but do check your existing supplier; as a customer, you might get better SEG rates.

E.ON Next
Ovo Energy
Octopus Energy
Scottish Power
Shell Energy
British Gas
EDF Energy
So Energy

Any home or business can sell the extra power they generate back to the grid. Just complete the energy company’s Smart Export Guarantee application form online and submit it (it can take up to 4 weeks to process your application).

When completing the application process your energy supplier will ask to provide additional documents related to the installation of your Solar PV system. This information will be sent by the following organisation depending on your geographical location.

Thrift Energy – North
GHS (Green Home Solutions) – Midlands
Surefire Management Services – South

Frequently asked questions

Why is the SolaX App not working?

• If you don’t have access to the internet at home, you won’t be able to access the App
• Check your Wi-Fi reaches the inverter. Your installer will check this during the installation. If your Wi-Fi does not reach the inverter you will need to get a Wi-Fi extender which is a simple device which you can plug in a plug socket close to the inverter
• Make sure that you update the App regularly and you can try logging out and logging back in again

If you have further issues, please contact Solax

Why haven’t you included batteries with the Solar Panels?

At this stage there is insufficient funds for Haig to add battery storage. However, we have specified a hybrid inverter so that one could be added in the future. This is likely to be tied into the point when Gas boilers will need to be replaced with an electric heating alternative. This is not likely to happen for a few years.

When will I receive my Handover pack?

EON will send the relevent documentation 4-6 weeks following your installation.

If you need a landlord permission letter, please email sustainability@haighousing.org.uk to obtain it.