Feed-in Tariff or SEG: Which Should a FIT Owner Be On?
If your panels are on the Feed-in Tariff (FIT), you never have to choose between FIT and SEG outright. Your FIT generation payments carry on whatever you decide. The only choice is where your export is paid: FIT export (usually deemed at 50% of your generation, at 5.43p or 7.64p per kWh in 2026-27) or a Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) tariff on what your smart meter actually records. You cannot be paid for the same export under both.
In This Guide
How FIT and SEG differ
FIT closed to new applications on 1 April 2019. The Smart Export Guarantee started on 1 January 2020 and is open to new and existing systems, FIT ones included. The two schemes pay for different things:
| Feed-in Tariff | Smart Export Guarantee | |
|---|---|---|
| Pays for generation | Yes, every kWh on your generation meter | No |
| Pays for export | Yes, usually deemed at 50% of generation | Yes, metered export only |
| Who sets the rate | Set by the scheme, adjusted each April for inflation (CPI from 2026) | Each supplier sets its own |
| Meter needed | Generation meter | Smart or export meter with an export MPAN |
| Open to new systems | No, closed 1 April 2019 | Yes |
On most FIT systems the generation payment is the big one. Ofgem's figures for April to June 2026 show £551.1m paid out for generation and £31.5m for export across the whole scheme. Generation rates range from well under 1p to 76.90p per kWh in 2026-27, depending on when and how a system was registered. Moving your export to SEG does not touch that money.
What Ofgem allows
- No double paymentYou cannot receive FIT export and SEG for the same panels, whether your FIT export is deemed or metered.
- Keep FIT generation, move exportYou can opt out of FIT export, take an SEG tariff for your export and keep your FIT generation payments. Ofgem confirms the two can be paid at the same time on the same panels.
- Any SEG supplierYour SEG tariff does not have to come from your FIT supplier.
- Not every monthOnce you have chosen, you can only switch between FIT export and selling your export elsewhere once every 12 months.
When moving export to SEG pays
Deemed FIT export pays on half your generation at your FIT export rate, whatever you actually send to the grid. SEG pays on what your meter records at the SEG rate. So the question is: what SEG rate would you need to match FIT export, given how much of your generation you really export?
| Share of your generation you actually export | SEG rate needed to match 7.64p FIT export | SEG rate needed to match 5.43p FIT export |
|---|---|---|
| 20% | 19.1p | 13.6p |
| 30% | 12.7p | 9.1p |
| 40% | 9.6p | 6.8p |
| 50% | 7.6p | 5.4p |
Worked out from Ofgem's 2026-27 FIT export rates. Break-even SEG rate = FIT export rate x 50% / your real export share. Rounded to one decimal place. The table only applies while your FIT export is deemed: if your smart meter already records export and your FIT export has moved to metered, simply compare your FIT export rate with the SEG rate.
If you use most of your solar at home, especially with a battery, your real export share is low, and deemed FIT export is hard to beat. If you are out all day and export a lot, a good SEG rate can pay more. Your smart meter app shows your real export; compare it with your generation meter over the same months before you decide. Current SEG tariffs are in our SEG rates comparison, and our guide to selling electricity back to the grid covers how export payments work.
Smart meters and deemed export
Deemed export only applies to FIT systems of 30kW or less whose export is not measured by an export meter. Ofgem's guidance says that once an export meter is commissioned, export can normally no longer be deemed and you are paid on the metered figure instead, although its guidance for suppliers allows deemed export to continue where a battery means FIT export cannot be separated out. A smart meter can record export, so if you are getting one, ask your FIT supplier how your export will be paid. That answer changes the sums above.
Batteries and extra panels change the answer
Most FIT owners looking at this question are also thinking about a battery or more panels, and both shift the balance:
- A batteryKeeps more of your solar in the house, so your real export share falls. On deemed FIT export that costs you nothing, because you are still paid on 50% of generation. Our guide to adding a battery on the Feed-in Tariff explains the meter rules.
- Extra panelsNew panels earn no FIT. On a home with one supply they can only earn SEG if you opt out of FIT export and take SEG on all your export; otherwise FIT export is pro-rated across the combined system. Our guide to adding panels on the Feed-in Tariff covers both options.
When your FIT ends
Solar systems accredited before 1 August 2012 get FIT for 25 years; most later ones get 20 years, counted from their eligibility date. Older micro-generators (50kW or less) that transferred onto FIT from the Renewables Obligation run to set end dates: solar ones commissioned before 15 July 2009 finish on 31 March 2027, and those commissioned from 15 July 2009 to 31 March 2010 on 31 March 2035. Ofgem's September 2026 report shows no solar installation has reached the end of its FIT term yet.
When your FIT does end, your panels keep generating and you keep the electricity you use. Export can then be sold under SEG, which needs a smart meter and an MCS certified installation (or an equivalent scheme). That is also the point where a battery earns the most, because every kWh you store is one you use yourself rather than export and buy back later.
Thinking about a battery or more panels on your FIT system?
Tell us about your system on our property form and say it is on the Feed-in Tariff. We design around your FIT meter and email an all-in quote, normally within 2 to 4 days.
Get a quote for your FIT systemFrequently asked questions
Can I get the Feed-in Tariff and SEG at the same time?
Yes, but not for the same export. You can keep your FIT generation payments and take SEG for your export, as long as you first opt out of FIT export with your FIT supplier. Ofgem says FIT generation and SEG export can be paid on the same panels at the same time.
Is FIT or SEG more profitable?
For generation, FIT wins outright, because SEG pays nothing for generation. For export it depends on your numbers: deemed FIT export pays on 50% of generation at 5.43p or 7.64p per kWh in 2026-27, while SEG pays on metered export at the supplier's rate. Use the break-even table above.
Will I lose my FIT generation payments if I switch export to SEG?
No. Opting out of FIT export does not affect FIT generation payments. Ofgem's guidance says you do not have to opt out of generation payments to claim SEG, and your SEG supplier can be a different company from your FIT supplier.
Can I switch back to FIT export later?
Ofgem's FIT guidance lets generators change between opting in and out of FIT export, but no more than once every 12 months. Check the terms with your FIT supplier before you opt out, and compare a full year of real export figures first.
What happens when my Feed-in Tariff ends?
Your FIT payments stop at the end of your 20 or 25 year term, but the panels carry on working. You can then sell export under SEG with a smart meter, and a battery becomes more valuable because it stores electricity you would otherwise export cheaply.
Sources: Ofgem, Feed-in Tariffs guidance for generators (version 19, April 2026) and FIT guidance for licensed suppliers (version 18); Ofgem FIT tariff table from 1 April 2026; Ofgem FIT quarterly report, issue 65 (September 2026); Ofgem, Smart Export Guarantee.
Related reading
- Adding a battery on the Feed-in Tariff
- Adding solar panels on the Feed-in Tariff
- Smart Export Guarantee rates by supplier
- Selling electricity back to the grid
- How battery time-shifting works
FIT systems across the East Midlands
We are Spectrum Energy Systems, MCS certified (NIC200223), installing solar and batteries across Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Lincolnshire since 2011 with our own crews and a 5-year workmanship guarantee. Call 0115 773 7575, 8am to 8pm, Monday to Friday.
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