Most Sussex homeowners with solar panels are surprised to learn that without any additional measures, they typically only use around 30–40% of the electricity their panels generate. The rest gets exported to the grid — often at just 4–15p per unit, while they buy electricity back in the evening at 24–35p.

Increasing your self-consumption rate — the proportion of your solar generation you actually use yourself — is one of the most effective ways to improve the financial return from your solar investment. Here are the most practical strategies for Sussex homeowners.

1. Shift High-Energy Appliances to Daytime

The simplest and cheapest strategy is to run your biggest energy consumers during peak solar generation hours — typically 10am to 3pm on sunny days. This costs nothing and can meaningfully increase self-consumption.

Many modern appliances have built-in delay timers. Smart plugs can also be used to schedule older appliances automatically.

2. Add a Solar Diverter for Hot Water

If you have a hot water cylinder (not a combi boiler), a solar diverter is one of the most cost-effective upgrades you can make. Devices like the myenergi Eddi or Solar iBoost automatically divert surplus solar electricity to your immersion heater, giving you free hot water from your panels.

3. Install Battery Storage

Battery storage is the most powerful way to increase self-consumption. A well-sized battery can take your self-consumption rate from 30–40% to 70–90%, allowing you to use your own solar electricity in the evening and overnight.

For most Sussex family homes, a 9–10kWh battery is sufficient to store a full day's surplus solar generation. If you already have solar panels, a battery retrofit can be added to most existing systems. If you're installing solar from scratch, adding a battery at the same time is more cost-effective.

4. Switch to a Smart Time-of-Use Tariff

If you have a battery, switching to a time-of-use tariff like Octopus Agile or Intelligent Octopus can significantly boost your returns. These tariffs offer very cheap electricity overnight (sometimes as low as 7–10p/kWh) and higher rates during peak evening periods.

With a battery, you can charge from cheap overnight grid electricity and discharge during expensive peak periods — on top of storing your solar generation. This "arbitrage" strategy can add £200–£400 per year to your savings.

5. Combine Solar with EV Charging

Electric vehicles are one of the biggest opportunities to increase solar self-consumption. A typical EV uses 3–4 kWh per 10 miles driven — meaning a daily commute of 30 miles requires 9–12 kWh of charging. That's a significant chunk of what a 5–6kWp solar system generates on a sunny day.

Smart EV chargers like the myenergi Zappi can be set to charge only from surplus solar electricity, automatically adjusting the charge rate to match your generation. Combined with a battery, you can charge your car from stored solar energy overnight.

6. Monitor Your Generation and Consumption

You can't optimise what you don't measure. Most modern solar inverters and battery systems come with monitoring apps that show your real-time generation, consumption, and export. Spending a few minutes each day reviewing your energy data helps you identify patterns and opportunities to shift consumption.

Standalone energy monitors like the Hildebrand Glow or Emporia Vue can also be added to any home to track consumption in real time.

What Self-Consumption Rate Can You Achieve?

The right combination depends on your household's energy usage patterns, budget, and whether you have an EV. Our team can assess your current setup and recommend the most cost-effective path to higher self-consumption. Call us on 01273 076860 or visit our Solar PV Installers page.