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Octopus EnergyOctopus Flux: is it worth switching with a battery?
Octopus Flux prices your electricity in three daily bands and pays you the same way for what you export. It is built for a home that already has solar and a battery, checked directly against Octopus's own tariff page today.
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What Octopus Flux is
Octopus Flux is a single tariff that prices both what you import and what you export on the same three-band structure, built specifically for a household with solar panels and a home battery. Rather than a flat rate day and night, the day is split into a cheap overnight band, a standard band, and a short evening peak band, and the same three bands apply whether electricity is flowing into your home or out of it.
The idea is straightforward: charge the battery (from the grid or from solar) when power is cheapest, run the home from solar and battery through the day, and let the battery export into the peak band in the early evening, when Flux pays the most for every exported unit. Octopus Flux is entirely self-managed - you or your battery's own app decide when it charges and discharges. Its sibling, Intelligent Octopus Flux, automates that decision but is currently closed to most new customers (see that page).
The rate, as checked today
- Cheap band, around 02:00-05:00 - the lowest rate of the day, for both import and export
- Standard band, the rest of the day outside the two bands above - the middle rate
- Peak band, around 16:00-19:00 - the highest rate of the day - the best time to be exporting, the most expensive time to be importing
Octopus's own page is explicit that Flux rates 'vary depending on your location' and does not publish one UK-wide pence figure for any of the three bands; the exact rate is shown only once a postcode is entered on Octopus's own tariff page. We have not seen a single national rate to quote, so none appears on this page - see the worked example below for how the shape of the tariff changes the maths, and your design call for your own postcode's figures.
Source: octopus.energy, checked 25 September 2026. Not linked: suppliers are named factually, this is not a partnership or endorsement.
Who can get it
- A smart meter capable of half-hourly readings (SMETS2, or a compatible SMETS1)
- Solar panels on the property - Octopus's own page states you need solar panels to be eligible
- A home battery
- An Export MPAN, which Octopus can apply for if the property doesn't already have one
- A copy of the MCS documentation for the installation, before the switch completes
- Must be an Octopus Energy customer for both import and export
Who it suits: A household that already has, or is adding, both solar panels and a home battery, is comfortable checking or automating a charge/discharge schedule against three time bands, and wants export income and import savings priced on the same tariff rather than juggling two separate products.
Does this pair with a Clearline installation?
Yes, in principle. Octopus does not require the solar or battery to have been installed by Octopus itself to join Flux: a system installed by our MCS-certified, fully insured teams can qualify, provided the MCS paperwork for the install is in order.
Every installation is carried out by our teams, who hold:
How Flux pairs with each route
Solar
Required. Flux is not available on a solar-only property; the tariff's whole structure depends on there being a battery to shift power into and out of the peak band.
Battery
Required, and central to the tariff. The value in Flux comes from charging the battery in the cheap band and either using that power in the standard band or exporting it in the peak band - whichever the household's own usage pattern rewards more.
EV charging
Flux has no EV-specific scheduling of its own; an EV plugged in during the cheap overnight band still charges at the cheap rate, so it works passively for EV owners, but a household charging a car regularly may find a dedicated EV tariff such as Intelligent Octopus Go a closer fit for that one load, run alongside Flux for the rest of the home.
Heat pump
Workable but not purpose-built: Flux's cheap band sits at a similar time of night to most heat-pump tariffs, but it has none of Cosy Octopus's extra daytime off-peak windows aimed specifically at a heat pump's heating pattern. A heat-pump household should compare Flux against Octopus Cosy directly.
What a battery changes, illustratively
Octopus does not publish a national rate for Flux, so the table below is not Flux's own figures. It illustrates the shape of a time-banded tariff using the site's own off-peak assumption (8p/kWh, the same figure used across Clearline's calculators) as a stand-in for a cheap band, run through the same solar-and-battery model as every county page on this site, on a standard 12-panel, 6.36 kWp system.
| Setup | System, installed | Total year one benefit | Simple payback |
|---|---|---|---|
Solar only | £6,360 | £667 | 9.5 yrs |
Solar + Duracell Dura16 | £10,810 | £961 | 11.3 yrs |
Ask us for Flux's actual banded rates for your postcode on your free design call; we will run the real numbers, not this illustrative stand-in.
Talk it through on your free call
We confirm your postcode's actual rates and run your real numbers, not an illustrative example.
Related tariffs and guides
Octopus Energy Flux questions, answered
What is Octopus Flux?
A combined import-and-export tariff for solar-and-battery households, priced in three daily bands: a cheap overnight band, a standard band, and a peak evening band (around 4pm to 7pm) where exporting pays the most. The same three-band structure applies to what you import and what you export.
How much does Octopus Flux pay for exported solar?
Octopus does not publish a single UK-wide rate. Flux rates vary by location and are shown only once a postcode is entered on Octopus's own tariff page. We do not repeat a third-party estimate here; your design call can confirm the current bands for your postcode.
Do I need a battery for Octopus Flux?
Yes. Flux is built around a solar-and-battery household and Octopus's own eligibility page states a home battery is required, alongside solar panels, a smart meter and an Export MPAN.
Is Octopus Flux open to new customers right now?
Yes, checked directly against Octopus's own page today: the sign-up flow was live with no closed or waitlist message. This is separate from Intelligent Octopus Flux, which is currently closed to most new customers - see that page for the distinction.
Can a Clearline installation qualify for Octopus Flux?
Yes, in principle. Octopus does not require the solar and battery to have been installed by Octopus itself; a system installed by our MCS-certified teams can qualify for Flux, provided the MCS documentation is in order.
How is Octopus Flux different from Intelligent Octopus Flux?
Flux is self-managed: you or your battery's own app decide when it charges and discharges against the three bands. Intelligent Octopus Flux automates that decision, but at the time of writing it is closed to most new customers - see that page for the current status and the nearest open alternative.
Does Octopus Flux suit a heat pump household?
It can, since the cheap overnight band sits at a similar time to most heat-pump-friendly tariffs, but Flux has no daytime off-peak windows built for a heat pump's schedule the way Octopus Cosy does. Compare the two directly if heating, not solar export, is the main driver.
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Takes about two minutes. We call or text within one working day to book your free 30-minute video design call at a time that suits you. We design it around your roof and your numbers, and our MCS-certified, fully insured installation teams install it.