Tariff guide

Octopus Flux was built for homes with solar panels and a battery. It combines import and export pricing so an existing customer can charge a battery cheaply overnight, use stored energy through the day and export during the evening peak.

The important caveat is availability. Flux is not a normal new-switcher recommendation at the moment. If you are not already on it, compare Octopus's current export options instead of assuming Flux is still the route to choose.

Current availability

Octopus's live Flux page says the tariff is temporarily unavailable. That means the useful reader question has changed from "should I switch to Flux?" to "what should I compare if I have solar and a battery now?"

Start with the live Octopus Flux page, the current Intelligent Octopus Flux page if your battery may be compatible, and the export rates guide for a plain-English comparison of export choices.

How Flux works

Flux has three daily periods for import and export:

• Off-peak, 02:00-05:00: a lower import period designed for charging your battery from the grid.
• Day periods: the standard-rate parts of the day, when solar generation and battery use do most of the work.
• Peak, 16:00-19:00: a higher import and export period, when a well-managed battery can avoid importing and may export surplus energy.

The idea is simple, but the outcome is not automatic. Flux depends on having enough battery capacity, enough solar generation and a system that can be scheduled sensibly. The more you import during the evening peak, the weaker the case becomes.

Manual Flux versus Intelligent Flux

Standard Flux asks you to manage the battery strategy yourself. You normally need to decide when to charge from the grid, how much reserve to keep and whether to export in the evening or save energy for your own home.

Intelligent Octopus Flux is the more automated route, but only for compatible battery systems and eligible homes. It may suit people who want Octopus to optimise charging and exporting, while standard Flux has historically suited people who are comfortable tuning their own setup.

The live Intelligent Flux eligibility flow currently asks for solar panels and a supported battery brand before it treats the home as eligible. That makes the battery check more than a formality. Confirm the brand, app access, installer support and any warranty or control conditions before letting another company schedule battery charging and exporting.

For billing evidence, keep Octopus smart-meter data separate from inverter, battery or solar-app screenshots. Those apps can help you understand what happened, but Octopus's smart-tariff terms say billing depends on compatible smart-meter and half-hourly reading data, not third-party app data.

What to check if you are already on Flux

• Your actual import pattern. Check whether you are still avoiding the evening peak, not just whether the export headline looks attractive.
• Battery behaviour. A battery that fills too early, empties before peak time or cannot grid-charge cleanly may not deliver the tariff's intended benefit.
• Export setup. Make sure your export MPAN, half-hourly readings and export payments are behaving as expected before changing tariff.
• Smart-meter evidence. If your app, inverter and bill disagree, use the apps as evidence but check the Octopus bill and half-hourly meter data before blaming the tariff.
• Current alternatives. Compare Outgoing Octopus, Intelligent Octopus Flux if eligible, Agile-style import timing and any EV tariff needs before giving up a legacy setup.

Who should avoid treating Flux as the answer?

• New switchers who cannot join Flux from the live Octopus page.
• Solar-only homes without a battery, where a separate export tariff may be simpler.
• Homes with high 16:00-19:00 demand that cannot be shifted or covered by the battery.
• EV households where Intelligent Go, Go or another EV tariff is the bigger bill driver.

Bottom line

Flux remains useful context for solar-and-battery households, especially if you are already on the tariff and understand your battery behaviour. It should not be presented as the current default choice for a new Octopus switcher. Check the live Octopus availability page, compare export options and only move away from a legacy Flux setup once you know what would replace it.