Services
As part of our transition to green energy we need to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and shift to full electrification of our homes. We are developing a variety of services and products to help people and communities effortlessly optimise their electricity use, save money, and accelerate the transition to renewable energy.
Frequently asked questions
As we explain in this blog post, smart tariffs reward people who consume most of their power - or are able to shift their consumption - to off-peak hours. The most innovative tariffs, which track the wholesale price of electricity, tend to provide the greatest potential for savings. They will be particularly beneficial for people who have invested in an electric vehicle, heat pump, or battery storage, as these devices can be programmed to import (or export) power to match the best rates. But smart tariffs will not be cheaper for everyone: for those using gas heating, where electricity consumption takes place mostly in peak hours (for example, regularly using an electric hob or oven between 4-7pm to cook the family meal!), smart tariffs could be more expensive. Use our calculator tool to find out if a smart tariff could work for you!
TOU tariffs, or as we say “smart tariffs”, are electricity tariffs that charge a different price per unit of electricity depending on the time of day. Some TOU tariffs have fixed periods where they provide low cost electricity, such as for charging an electric vehicle (EV) overnight. More innovative TOU tariffs have dynamic variable pricing, where the cost of power changes every half-hour to reflect the wholesale cost of electricity. TOU tariffs are intended to reward people who are able to use power in - or shift their consumption to - off-peak hours. This can lead to substantial bill savings, and helps support a greener electricity system as we outline in this blog.
Time-of-use (TOU) electricity tariffs help accelerate the transition to a green energy system in three key ways: i) incentivising people to shift consumption away from peak hours, where electricity generation is the most carbon intensive; ii) rewarding people who are able to flex their consumption over the day, which helps with the integration of variable solar and wind generation; and iii) reducing the need to build lots of additional electricity infrastructure, such as pylons and substations, by reducing our total peak load. The independent Committee on Climate Change, the national grid operator, and the Citizens Advice Bureau (plus many others!) all agree that TOU electricity tariffs have a critical role to play in making the electricity system more flexible, and therefore cheaper and greener.
Yes, many energy suppliers offer special tariffs for EVs and solar panels, and increasingly for heat pumps and battery storage systems. Many of these tariffs are time-of-use tariffs (or as we say, smart tariffs), in that the price for imported or exported power varies depending on the time of day. Determining the right tariff for you can be complicated, which is why we have created our smart tariff comparison tool.
The amount you can save with a smart tariff depends on your unique electricity consumption and the tariff you’re currently on. However, we estimate that most households can save up to 20-40% on their electricity bills by taking advantage of a smart tariff. The more flexible you are with how you use your electricity, the more money you can save.
We compare smart and fixed tariffs from a range of electricity suppliers, including the Big Five (ScottishPower, SSE, E. ON Next, EDF Energy and British Gas), Octopus Energy and many others. We’re constantly scouring the market to find the latest deals so we can ensure we’re giving the best recommendations possible.
Electricity imports and exports are a complicated way of calling the electricity you buy from the grid and the electricity you sell back to it. All households in the UK which use electricity are currently importers. However, people who have renewables or batteries installed are also electricity exporters, because they make money from selling their production back to the grid. Import and export tariffs are simply the price you pay or receive for each unit of electricity you buy or sell.
Yes, you can only switch to a smart tariff if you have a smart meter installed by your energy supplier. The reason for this is that energy suppliers need to be able to vary electricity prices by the half-hour for smart tariffs to work, and only smart meters have the ability to record and communicate half-hourly consumption data back to suppliers. Getting a smart meter has other benefits: you will no longer need to submit or have estimated electricity readings, and you will get access to detailed information on your consumption by the hour, day, month and year. If you do not already have a smart meter, or your existing smart meter is not working, you can request one for free from your energy supplier. Alternatively, you can find a lot of helpful information from Smart Energy GB, a not-for-profit organisation set up to facilitate the smart meter roll-out.
You will need to have a smart meter installed in your home to obtain the benefits of a smart tariff. If you do not yet have a smart meter, follow our guidance on this page to get one.
All energy suppliers (the companies that bill you for electricity and gas consumption) buy their electricity via the national grid. This means that the electricity you consume will consist of the mix of generation sources operating at the time you consume it; this could be some combination of gas, hydropower, nuclear, solar and wind power. However, several suppliers certify that the electricity they supply is 100% renewable energy. We explore what this means in this blog post and give our recommendation on what we believe are the greenest UK energy suppliers.
We are developing a plug in device which gives more accurate and granular data about your energy consumption to help you make the best decisions for your home. Unlike your smart meter, this is data you actually own and can use for your benefit.
If this sounds like something you are interested in, email hello@smartshift.energy
Coming soon...
Tariff comparison
We help people find the greenest, fairest, and cheapest energy tariffs in the UK - tailored to their home's unique profile and stage of electrification.
We believe that it should be easy to find the best tariff that suits you and your home and aim to provide that information in an accessible and easy to understand way.
