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Resume your Solar & Battery setup where you left off
Stage 1: Roof & Panels • 10 panels (4.30 kWp) • 9.5 kWh Battery
Tell us a little bit about your home
We'll use your home size and region to automatically estimate your annual sunlight, electricity consumption, and optimal battery sizing.
1A Where in the UK do you live?
Helps calculate your local sunshine hours across the seasons.
1B What type of home do you live in?
Click the one that best matches your property:
Do you have any high-electricity appliances?
Knowing whether you charge an electric car or heat with a heat pump lets us automatically match you with specialized super-cheap smart tariffs (like 7p/kWh overnight electricity).
2A Do you have an Electric Car (EV) or plug-in hybrid?
Or plan to get one within the next 12 months:
2B How is your home heated?
Select your primary heating source:
Roof space & what matters most to you
We'll automatically configure the exact number of high-efficiency Aiko panels, match the Hanchu battery size, and select the best Octopus tariff for your goal.
3A Roughly how much roof space do you have?
Don't worry about exact measurements — pick the visual estimate below:
3B What is your main priority?
We'll optimize the automated calculations toward this goal:
Recommended Solar & Battery Package for Your Home
Hanchu 9.4kWh Blade Battery + 10x Aiko 465W Panels + 5kW Hybrid Inverter
The ideal UK domestic balance: captures strong daytime solar, stores low-cost off-peak grid energy, and exports at peak evening rates.
~£98 per month off your bills
Free solar & low-cost battery power
18+ years of 100% pure profit afterwards
Includes 0% VAT & standard UK install
Why this specific setup was chosen for you:
Want to fine-tune exact roof angles, battery floors, or view hourly dispatch graphs?
All these calculated numbers carry straight over into the Advanced Optimizer, where you can inspect month-by-month cash flows, adjust roof pitch, or export the automation schedule for your inverter!
Solar & Battery Strategy Optimizer
Guided Setup Auto-Save ReadyFollow the 4 simple input stages below to build your system and calculate your optimal smart tariff dispatch strategy.
Local-Only Privacy: Inputs stay 100% inside this browser (connect-src 'none', zero network telemetry). On a shared device, click Reset when finished.
All your custom solar strings, battery sizing, consumption figures, and stage position were remembered.
New to Solar? Quick-Start with a Typical UK Home
Don't know all the technical numbers? Pick a standard home setup below — everything is pre-filled for you.
Looking for specific installer packages? (3.68kW to 8.0kW with 5.12kWh to 28.2kWh)
Where is your home & what solar panels can fit on your roof?
Don't worry if you don't know exact technical measurements — standard UK averages (10 panels, South-facing roof, 5 kW inverter) are already set for you below.
1A Where is your home located? (UK Region)
Sunlight varies slightly across the UK. Select your nearest area to get accurate local sunshine figures.
1B Your Roof Facing Direction & Number of Panels
Tell us which way your roof faces and how many panels will fit. Have panels on multiple roof faces (e.g. front & back)? Click + Add Another Roof Section.
1C
5.0 kW is standard and recommended for most UK homes — you rarely need to change this.
Would you like a home battery to store cheap solar & night electricity?
Home batteries store free solar energy during the day, or charge with cheap overnight electricity (e.g. 7p/kWh on Octopus), powering your home when grid prices are highest.
2A Choose your Battery Size
Select a common UK battery size below, or choose 0 kWh if you only want solar panels without a battery.
2B Battery Charge & Discharge Speed (kW)
How fast your battery can fill during cheap overnight rates or run heavy appliances. 3.6 kW to 5.0 kW is standard and recommended.
2C Minimum SoC During Discharge Periods
Lowest battery charge % allowed during forced grid discharge windows (e.g. 16:00–19:00 Peak). Remaining energy powers your home for the rest of the day.
How much electricity does your household use?
Enter your current annual electricity usage from a recent bill so we can accurately calculate your Before vs After Solar savings.
3A Current Annual Electricity Consumption
Don't know your exact annual kWh? Pick a typical house size below, or check your annual energy statement.
3B
When do people in your home use the most electricity?
Which energy tariff & system quote are you modelling?
Smart tariffs from Octopus Energy, E.ON Next, OVO, British Gas, EDF, ScottishPower, and more offer cheap overnight electricity to fill your battery and pay you when you export excess solar power.
4A
Select a smart time-of-use or export tariff. Octopus Flux, OVO, E.ON Next Drive, or EDF GoElectric are popular choices for solar + battery homes.
4B Estimated System Installation Cost
We automatically calculate realistic UK turnkey MCS installation costs including 0% VAT. If you have an installer quote, tick Enter Custom Quote.
Optimal Dispatch Strategy & Financial Analysis
Seasonal Month-by-Month Optimal Strategy Plan
Maximum economic return by selecting the best operating strategy for each month
Loading tailored month-by-month strategy analysis...
2. Before vs After Solar & Battery Installation
Direct annual bill comparison against your pre-solar baseline
3. Best Operating Strategy for Each Month (Jan – Dec)
Solar generation and heating/lighting demand shift dramatically across the UK seasons. Below is the highest-saving strategy for each individual month — click any month to inspect its 24-hour dispatch profile.
View Full 12-Month × 4-Strategy Net Bill & Savings Comparison Table Show table
| Month | Baseline | 1. Eco Self-Use | 2. Balanced 50% | 3. Peak Export | 4. Full 100% Hold | Winning Strategy & Savings |
|---|
4. Compare Seasonal Optimal Plan vs Fixed Year-Round Strategies
Keep the recommended Month-by-Month Optimal Plan active, or click any single strategy below to inspect how it performs if locked all year:
5. 24-Hour Half-Hourly Power Dispatch Simulation
Explore half-hourly power flows between Solar, Battery, Home, and Grid across the year
6. 12-Month Seasonal Breakdown
Monthly solar generation vs consumption, import & export
7. 25-Year Cumulative ROI & Payback
Includes 2.5% inflation, 0.35%/yr degradation & mid-life battery service
8. Top 10 Energy Tariffs Ranked for Your System (UK Market Comparison)
We simulated 26 leading UK tariffs across Octopus, E.ON Next, OVO, British Gas, EDF, ScottishPower, Good Energy and more. Here are the 10 highest-saving options for your setup:
9. Technical Assumptions & Calculation Methodology
Review all hardware specifications, yield deratings, efficiency factors, and tariff simulation assumptions used in this report.
View Assumptions
9. Technical Assumptions & Calculation Methodology
Review all hardware specifications, yield deratings, efficiency factors, and tariff simulation assumptions used in this report.
- High-Efficiency N-Type ABC Cells (+4.5% Yield Gain) 23.8%+ module efficiency with 0% front-grid contact shading and superior diffuse light capture under typical UK overcast conditions. Ultra-low temperature coefficient of -0.26%/°C minimizes summer thermal degradation losses.
- 100% Full-Array DC Power Optimisers (+5.5% Base Yield Gain) Dedicated module-level Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) fitted to every panel eliminates string-current bottlenecking caused by partial chimney, gable, or tree shading. Extends generation window during dawn and dusk.
- Oblique Orientation Bonus (Up to +2.5%) On non-optimal orientations (e.g. East-West splits or steep pitches), module-level optimisers recover up to an additional +2.5% of energy by independently harvesting each roof aspect without cross-string voltage drag.
- Long-Term Linear Module Degradation (0.35%/yr) Modeled with a premium 0.35% annual linear degradation rate over the 25-year financial evaluation horizon, retaining over 91.2% of original generation capacity at Year 25.
- High-Efficiency Power Conversion (+2.0% Yield Boost) 97.6% maximum Euro-efficiency with 99.9% MPPT accuracy and ultra-low 50V start-up threshold, allowing early morning and late evening solar capture.
- 200% DC Array Oversizing Direct to Battery Hybrid inverter supports up to 200% DC array oversizing. Midday solar generation exceeding the AC grid power rating charges the DC-coupled battery directly on the DC bus before inverter clipping occurs.
- Combined Base Yield Multiplier (1.1245× / +12.45%) The compounding combination of N-Type ABC cells (1.045×), 100% DC optimisers (1.055×), and high-efficiency inverter conversion (1.020×) yields a combined 1.1245× multiplier over standard legacy UK PVGIS baselines.
- Grid AC Power Rating Limits Export and maximum continuous AC output are capped at the inverter rating (e.g. 3.68 kW for G98 fast-track domestic connection, 5.0 kW to 8.0 kW with G99 DNO approval).
- LFP Chemistry & 95% Depth of Discharge (DoD) Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) chemistry operating with 95% usable DoD (reserving a 5% minimum State of Charge safety buffer for cell preservation and emergency standby).
- 94.5% DC-Coupled Round-Trip Efficiency Direct DC-to-DC solar charging into battery operates at 98% efficiency; battery discharge through inverter operates at 96.5% efficiency, yielding a 94.5% net DC-coupled round-trip efficiency.
- Dynamic Arbitrage Discharge Floor (Auto-Optimized or Manual) During smart peak export arbitrage windows (16:00–19:00), the optimizer automatically calculates the minimum SoC per month (5%–100%) that maximizes net savings, reserving enough energy for evening home loads—or uses your Stage 2C manual override.
- Cycle Life & Mid-Life Maintenance Allowance Rated for 6,000–8,000+ operational cycles. Financial ROI models include a £1,600 mid-life inverter/battery maintenance allowance at Year 15.
- MCS 003 & PVGIS Regional Insolation Datasets 13 UK regional climate zones with baseline annual yields ranging from 770 kWh/kWp in Northern Scotland to 1,080 kWh/kWp in the South West (scaling to 865–1,215 kWh/kWp with modern hardware).
- MCS Pitch & Orientation Derating Matrix Continuous 2D bilinear interpolation across azimuth (0° North to 180° South to 360°) and roof pitch (0° flat to 90° vertical) applied per individual string.
- 12-Month Seasonal Insolation Curve Monthly solar generation weights model realistic UK seasons: Midsummer (June) produces ~15.1% of annual generation, whereas Midwinter (December) produces ~1.4%.
- Seasonal Household Demand Variations Household electricity consumption dynamically varies from 80% of baseline in summer up to 125% in winter to reflect seasonal lighting, electronics, and heating loads.
- Half-Hourly Dispatch Simulation (48 Slots/Day) Simulates power flows across 48 discrete half-hour intervals for every representative calendar month, accounting for state of charge, charge rates, solar generation, and load curves.
- Monthly Optimal Strategy Selection Independently evaluates 4 operating modes (Eco Self-Consumption, Balanced 50% Top-Up, Peak Export Arbitrage, and Full Charge & Hold) to identify the highest-saving strategy for each month.
- 26 UK Smart & Solar Export Tariff Models Half-hourly import and export schedules modeled for 26 leading UK tariffs across Octopus Energy, E.ON Next, OVO Energy, British Gas, EDF Energy, ScottishPower, Good Energy, Fuse Energy, So Energy, 100Green, and Utilita.
- Baseline & Financial Cash Flow Modeling Direct before-vs-after comparison against Ofgem default price cap (or user benchmark). 25-year ROI incorporates 2.5% compound annual energy inflation, turnkey MCS pricing, 0% VAT on renewables, and 0.193 kg CO2e/kWh carbon displacement factor.
Frequently Asked Questions & Tariff Strategy Guide
Clear answers to common questions about Octopus Energy smart tariffs, battery storage, and solar export economics.
Which Octopus tariff is best for solar and battery storage?
For households with home batteries (9.5kWh+) and strong spring/summer solar generation, Octopus Flux typically delivers the highest returns due to premium peak export rates (up to 28p+/kWh). During winter or for homes with lower solar generation, Octopus Agile or Intelligent Octopus Go often yield greater savings by allowing cheap overnight battery charging (down to 7p–15p/kWh) to power daytime household consumption.
How does this solar optimizer calculate payback and savings?
The optimizer models your annual PV generation using UK latitude-adjusted solar irradiance profiles, accounts for battery charge/discharge efficiency losses (typically ~90%), and simulates hourly load shifting against live unit rates and standing charges across all 26 UK Distribution Network Operator (DNO) regions.
How often are the Octopus Energy tariffs updated?
Tariff unit rates and daily standing charges are automatically updated weekly directly from official Octopus Energy APIs across all 26 UK regional DNO product codes, ensuring calculations reflect active market pricing.
Can I pair a home battery with Octopus Agile?
Yes. With an automated inverter or Home Assistant automation, you can charge your battery during half-hourly periods when wholesale prices plunge (or turn negative), discharging during the 4pm–7pm peak window to eliminate expensive peak electricity consumption.
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