Complete guide to solar self-consumption 2026: rates, strategies and home battery

What is solar self-consumption?

Self-consuming means using the electricity produced by your panels directly, at the very moment it is generated, without it passing through the grid. Every kilowatt-hour you self-consume replaces a kilowatt-hour you would otherwise have bought from your supplier.

This is where the fundamental economic logic lies: in 2026, a kilowatt-hour bought from the grid (EDF regulated “tarif bleu” Base rate) costs about 0.2001 €/kWh (as at 1 August 2026). A kilowatt-hour exported to the grid as surplus is bought by EDF OA at only 0.011 €/kWh (ministerial order (arrêté) of 1 June 2026). Self-consuming 1 kWh is therefore worth about 18 times more than selling it.

That is why maximising self-consumption is the priority strategy for making a residential solar installation pay off. A kWh that is poorly used (exported at 0.011 €) rather than consumed directly (0.2001 €) represents a loss of 0.1891 €. Over thousands of kWh exported each year, the difference is significant.

Not to be confused with full export

Full export is another way of using your production, in which all of the generation is sold to EDF OA at a rate indexed at +2%/year over 20 years, which varies with installed capacity (e.g. 0.011 €/kWh from 9 to 36 kWp, 0.011 €/kWh from 36 to 100 kWp, as set by the arrêté of 1 June 2026). The household continues to buy all its electricity from the grid at the market price (~0.20 €/kWh). This mode can be worthwhile for large installations or in specific tariff configurations, but it is a minority choice for households in 2026.

Self-consumption rate vs self-sufficiency rate

These two indicators are often confused. Yet they measure different, complementary things. Understanding them is essential to judge the performance of your installation honestly. To keep this article simple, we will use the following acronyms: TAC for the self-consumption rate (taux d'autoconsommation), and TAP for the self-sufficiency rate (taux d'autoproduction).

Self-consumption rate (TAC)

TAC = self-consumed energy / total energy produced × 100

It answers the question: “What share of what I produce do I use directly?” A TAC of 35% means that 35% of your installation's generation powers your appliances directly, and that 65% is re-exported to the grid (for free, or at 0.011 €/kWh depending on your contract).

Here are some typical TAC examples for a 6 kWp installation in Bordeaux, depending on the household's consumption profile:

• No battery, household away during the day: 25–35%
• No battery, retirees or remote workers at home: 35–55%
• With a 10 kWh battery: 55–70%

Self-sufficiency rate (TAP)

TAP = self-consumed energy / total energy consumed × 100

It answers the question: “What share of my total consumption is covered by my panels?” A TAP of 24% means that your panels cover 24% of your annual needs. This is the rate that measures your degree of “energy independence”.

Here are some typical TAP examples:

• 6 kWp + consumption of 10,000 kWh/year: 30–45%
• 3 kWp + consumption of 5,000 kWh/year: 40–55%

The diagram above illustrates a common paradox: a 6 kWp installation in Bordeaux produces more than is needed on certain spring days, but the household is made up of working adults who are away, so they do not consume the electricity produced and most of that generation is exported back to the grid. The TAC is low (35%) and the TAP remains modest (24%). It is the combination of the two indicators that shows where the levers for improvement lie.

The 3 ways of using your generation

There are three ways of making use of the electricity produced by your photovoltaic panels. The mode you choose determines the administrative procedures, the potential income and the optimisation strategy.

Maximising self-consumption

Without a battery or any extra investment, it is possible to gain 5 to 20% of self-consumption rate simply by adapting your consumption habits. The key: shifting energy-hungry uses to the hours of solar generation (10:00–15:00).

Solar generation follows a bell curve, peaking at around 12:30–13:00 in France. Most households have their consumption peaks in the morning and evening, two periods when generation is low or zero. Reducing this mismatch is the main objective.

What additional saving can you expect?

By shifting the washing machine, dishwasher and water heater to 11:00–14:00, a household can self-consume an extra 500 to 1,000 kWh a year. At 0.2001 €/kWh saved (vs 0.011 €/kWh if it is re-exported), the annual gain can reach 190 €/year, with no investment at all, just by reprogramming.

Is a storage battery worth the cost?

A battery is sometimes presented as the miracle solution for achieving energy independence. The reality is more nuanced. Here is an honest analysis, backed by figures.

What a battery actually does

A domestic storage battery stores the day's surplus generation and releases it in the evening (typically between 20:00 and 23:00) and overnight. It does not store energy from one day to the next in any significant way.

• Typical TAC gain: +15 to +30% compared with no battery
• Example for 6 kWp in Bordeaux: from 35% → 55–62% with a 10 kWh battery
• Extra kilowatt-hours self-consumed: about 1,500 kWh/year

Financial return calculation for a 10 kWh battery

Let us set out the figures for a standard household with a 6 kWp installation in self-consumption with sale of the surplus:

• Cost of the installed battery: 9,000 – 12,000 € incl. VAT (VAT at 20%)
• Additional annual gain: 1,500 kWh × (0.2001 – 0.011) €/kWh = about 284 €/year
• Payback period of the battery alone: 9,000 / 284 = about 32 years
• Lifetime of a lithium battery: 10 to 15 years (3,000 to 6,000 cycles)

The conclusion is clear: for a standard household, a battery is not financially worthwhile over its lifetime. It generates a real economic gain, but not enough to repay its purchase cost before it has to be replaced.

When is a battery worthwhile despite all this?

• Areas with frequent load shedding or power cuts: the resilience value can justify the investment, but note that not all batteries can keep running during a grid outage. This feature (“islanding” or “backup” mode) requires a compatible hybrid inverter and dedicated wiring. Without both of these, the battery shuts down along with the grid during an outage. Check this capability explicitly with your installer before buying.
• Very high electricity price (>0.35 €/kWh) or a sharp rise expected: the payback period improves mechanically as the price of a kWh rises.
• High night-time consumption: if you charge your electric vehicle at night or have a night-time hot water tank that cannot be reprogrammed.
• Large overall project (9 kWp+) with a high surplus: the gain in absolute terms increases.

A 5–7 year outlook: with the underlying rise in electricity prices (+3%/year on historical average), the profitability threshold for batteries improves over time. If lithium battery prices also keep falling (~8%/year), batteries could become economically worthwhile for certain profiles within a few years (2030–2032?). One to watch.

Which profile for which installation?

There is no universal configuration. The consumption profile (times of presence, energy-hungry uses, electric vehicle) largely determines the self-consumption rate that can be achieved and the optimal sizing.

The virtual battery: storing without hardware, but not without cost

The virtual battery is a service offered by some alternative energy suppliers (Plüm Énergie, Urban Solar Energy, TotalEnergies…) that lets you make use of your solar surplus without investing in a physical battery. But contrary to what marketing sometimes suggests, this service is neither free nor unlimited.

How does it work?

Your surplus is exported to the grid as usual. Your supplier credits the value in kWh to a virtual account. You can then use these credited kWh to offset your night-time or winter consumption, as if you were drawing on a physical battery.

The real costs to factor in

Two cost items are always present, but rarely highlighted:

• Activation or set-up fee: between 0 and 300 € depending on the offer.
• Monthly subscription: between 5 and 20 €/month depending on the supplier and the plan, i.e. 60 to 240 €/year. Over 10 years, a subscription of 10 €/month adds up to 1,200 €, which you should include in your financial return calculation.

The kWh you get back are not free

This is the least known aspect of virtual batteries: when you consume your credited kWh, you do not pay the generation price, but you still pay the taxes and grid charges: TURPE (the grid access charge), the contribution tarifaire d'acheminement (CTA, a grid tariff contribution) and VAT. In practice, a kWh “returned” from your virtual battery still costs you around 0.08 to 0.12 €/kWh in taxes.

Capacities that are sometimes limited

Some offers cap the volume of kWh that can be stored virtually (per year or per period), or limit the daily power returned. These constraints can significantly reduce the appeal of the offer for installations producing a large surplus. Read the terms and conditions carefully before signing up.

Physical battery vs virtual battery

The virtual battery suits you if you do not want to tie up capital, if your surplus is moderate, and if you accept depending on a third-party supplier whose contractual terms may change. The physical battery returns energy without grid charges, can provide backup in a power cut (if the inverter is compatible), and gives a degree of independence, but its payback period can often exceed 15–20 years for a standard household in 2026.

Frequently asked questions about self-consumption

Glossary of common terms

The world of photovoltaics is full of abbreviations and technical terms. Here are the essential definitions for understanding this article and your conversations with industry professionals.