The Octopus Flux Tariff is unique in that both the electricity import and the electricity export rate vary in this way. With Octopus Energy Flux the import price for electricity in the middle of the night is actually lower than the price paid for export in the evening peak. So if you have a battery, you can charge and discharge to take advantage of this, earning you money in the process!
The Octopus Flux tariff is split into three price bands:
The prices for this tariff do change, so check out the latest prices here. We’ve shown graphically here – note how the export price is higher at peak than the import price during super-cheap rates.
In order to qualify for the Octopus Energy Flux tariff, you will need solar panels installed. You will also need to be signed up to Octopus Energy Smart Export Guarantee (Octopus SEG) – that is to say that Octopus Energy are the designated authority for paying you for your exported electricity.
Compared to the conventional way of using a home battery, an economically optimised way of operating your battery with Octopus Flux looks like this:
Starting at midday:
Octopus Flux can also be used with other batteries, but these don’t have Tesla’s smart forecasting of tomorrows expected generation. Instead a degree of manual programming will be needed. In fact, some people prefer having the control themselves, rather than relying on the technology to manage this on their behalf.
You will need to set discharge times and limits for the battery to tell it to discharge at peak times and import when electricity is in the super-cheap rate. You will want to adjust this seasonally, so that you don’t end up overfilling the battery overnight in summer.
Although this might seem crude, it’s actually not a disaster if this isn’t set up perfectly. The export price paid in the middle of the day is still higher than the import price in the middle of the night. So even if you do end up spilling some electricity back to the grid during the day, you’ll still make money!
It is possible to use Octopus Energy’s Flux tariff with just solar, but it works much more favourably for you if you have a battery.
When using with solar, you will see a standard export tariff paid during the day, but a higher export rate paid between 16:00 and 19:00. This is obviously beneficial in summer when you can generate into the evening (especially if you turn the oven off and have salads and a BBQ instead!).
However, you should also be aware of the reverse situation if you are using Octopus Flux without a battery. Winter generation won’t exist in the evening period, leaving you exposed to higher import prices.
Using Octopus Flux with just solar will also favour homes with a more westerly facing array which will maximise generation at peak times.
