Developed by the Electricity System Operator of Great Britain (ESO), which manages electricity for England, Scotland and Wales, the Demand Flexibility Service (DFS) allows customers with qualified smart meters to receive compensation for reducing their electricity usage at specific times when supply may be short. Qualified SolarEdge Home Battery owners can benefit from a reward, without having to sacrifice home electricity usage. 

How does it work?

Consumers with a smart meter were invited to participate in the DFS programme during the winter of 2022-23, in order to work together to ensure that the grid was able to meet demand. Consumers who opted in were alerted in advance to reduce electricity usage during a specific peak time and those who participated received financial compensation, such as payment, credit or other award. About 1.6 million households and businesses participated in the programme, saving over 3,300MWh of electricity - enough to power approximately 10 million homes across Great Britain. More importantly, the success of this programme can mean that the ESO will not need to employ polluting – and expensive – generators to continue to provide smooth service for peak times. It can also be effective in benefiting the environment and in reducing costs for consumers.

Each DFS event generally lasts about one hour, but it can exceed this. The programme is completely voluntary and there is no penalty for not participating.  

Opportunity for SolarEdge system owners

While some system owners who signed up for DFS had to change their behaviour and turn off appliances when an event occurred, SolarEdge Home battery owners who participated were not inconvenienced at all. Batteries were automatically signalled to charge when necessary and to discharge during the event. System owners sold the energy back at a much higher rate of £2.50 per kWh and earned up to £26 in a one-hour event. 

This is a great opportunity for your SolarEdge Home Battery customers to earn money automatically. Earnings of last year’s SolarEdge Home Battery participants were celebrated in items in several UK newspapers including The Independent, The Standard, and The Daily Mail. 

Following the success of last year’s initiative, the ESO has launched the Demand Flexibility Service again this winter, 2023-24. SolarEdge will again be partnering with Smart Meters to offer the program to our SolarEdge Battery customers. Stay tuned for more details.

Read more about other benefits of SolarEdge Home.