Is your solar battery working hard enough? How Next Optimise automates your savings.

When it comes to energy at home, we know that most of us are looking for the exact same things. We want lower bills, less hassle, and a little bit more control over how we use our electricity.

If you already have solar panels and a home battery, you’re well on your way there. You are generating your own electricity, which is a fantastic first step. But we wanted to go further, and help our customers get even more value from their set up.

That is exactly what our brand-new smart energy service, Next Optimise, is designed to do. Here’s everything you need to know about how it works, where the technology comes from, and how you can get involved.

Understanding the basics of Next Optimise.

At its core, Next Optimise is about charging your battery when electricity prices are lower and exporting when rates are more attractive.

It combines a dynamic, half hourly electricity tariff with smart, automated battery control. As wholesale energy prices go up and down throughout the day, Next Optimise constantly watches the market for you, looking ahead to identify good times to use your battery. For example, it might tell your battery to charge up when grid electricity is at its cheapest, and then use that stored power in your home, or export your surplus solar energy, when prices peak.

The best part is that you don’t need to become an energy market expert to use it. The smart technology handles all the complex decisions in the background. You don’t have to change your routine, constantly check apps, or worry about the weather forecast. Your home simply does the hard work for you.

Bringing proven technology to the UK.

To bring Next Optimise to life, we’ve partnered with Amber Electric. The intelligent technology powering this service is already a massive success in Australia,used across thousands of systems every day.

Having a strong foundation of real-world experience gives us huge confidence as we bring this service to UK households. But we didn’t just want to take their word for it, we wanted to prove it works right here at home.

What we learnt from our early rollout.

Over the last few months, we ran an early rollout of this technology with real households across the country under the name E.ON Next Solar Max. The results were incredibly clear.

On average, our pilot customers reduced their bills by around £18 a month compared to a modelled baseline of similar homes on a standard Solar Export Guarantee (SEG) tariff and our standard import tariff. Based on our data, some households could potentially save in the region of £3001 off their electricity bill over a full year.

The overwhelming feedback from our community was how much they loved the hands-off approach. They felt perfectly in control without having to micromanage their systems, proving that automation and clear visibility are a powerful combination.

Want to see if your setup is eligible? Check your eligibility and get a quote in minutes.

What’s next on our shared journey.

Your solar panels and battery already give you a fantastic head start. Next Optimise is simply about making sure that investment reaches its full potential, automatically, every single day.

If you are ready to let your home do the hard work for you, register your interest and find out if your current setup is compatible. We’re starting with a few systems initially, but expanding to include other manufacturers and technologies as soon as we can.

Less guesswork, more value, and a simpler way to understand your home energy. Let us make your setup work harder, so you can get back to enjoying the positive energy.

Please note that savings figures are based on data from our early pilot and modelled projections. Actual savings will vary depending on your energy usage, equipment, tariff, and market conditions. Past performance is not a guarantee of future savings.

Your FAQs about Next Optimise.

What is Next Optimise?

Next Optimise solves the manual side of owning solar panels and a battery. It combines two things: a dynamic tariff, where your import and export prices update every half hour based on real-world supply and demand, and AI automation through SmartShift™, which talks to your battery so you don't have to. 

Instead of guessing when to charge or export, the service does it for you, automatically spotting the cheapest windows to charge from the grid and the most valuable moments to send energy back, so your solar investment works as hard as it can.

How much could I save with Next Optimise?

During our early UK pilot, the majority of households saw a reduction in their bills, saving an average of £18 a month compared to a modelled baseline of similar homes on a standard Solar Export Guarantee (SEG) tariff and our standard import tariff.

Based on our modelling, some households could potentially save in the region of £300 over a full year. Please remember that savings are not guaranteed and will always vary depending on your specific setup, energy use, and the size of your panels and battery.

Do I need to understand energy markets to use it?

Not at all. Next Optimise is built to handle all of that for you. The system constantly monitors wholesale prices and makes the smartest decisions about when to charge, store, and export your energy. You do not need to change your daily routine or keep a constant eye on the market.

How is Next Optimise different from the Solar Export Guarantee (SEG)?

The standard Solar Export Guarantee (SEG) tariff pays you a fixed, flat rate for any surplus energy you send to the grid. Next Optimise goes much further by connecting your home to real-time market prices for both import and export.

By automating your battery to react to these changing prices, you can potentially unlock much more financial value from the energy you generate, store, and sell.

Do I get any extra perks?

We're launching Next Optimise in beta, which means it's still evolving and your feedback will play a real part in shaping where it goes next. To say thank you to the people who get involved early, we're giving the first 1,000 customers an early bird booster for the first 12 months.

That means your electricity will be 3p cheaper per kWh overnight between midnight and 6am, when you're most likely to be charging your battery from the grid. And when you export energy back during the early evening peak, between 4pm and 7pm, you'll earn an extra 3p per kWh on top of the live export price.

It's our way of rewarding you for getting involved early, while making sure your setup is working as hard as it possibly can from day one.

Ready to put your setup to work? Check your eligibility and see if you can be one of our first 1,000 early birds.

Do I need specific equipment to use Next Optimise?

Yes, you will need to already have solar panels and a compatible home battery installed (we need to be able to communicate with your inverter and battery for Next Optimise to work). If you are unsure whether your current setup will work with our technology, check your eligibility for Next Optimise.

Will this wear out my battery faster?

Next Optimise is designed to work within your battery's warranty limits, which typically allow for up to two cycles per day. Because the service responds to live prices, solar production and your household usage rather than a fixed daily schedule, it only acts when there is real value in doing so. On quieter days, your battery may actually be used less than you'd expect. Think of it less like forced daily cycling and more like the natural wear you'd see on a phone battery over time.

You also have the choice of two automation settings: a more active mode that captures import and export value throughout the day, or a conservative mode that keeps your battery more topped up and prioritises powering your home first.

What if the internet goes down?

Your battery will still work normally if your internet connection drops. It will continue to store your solar energy and look to match its output to your household usage, falling back to its default self-consumption settings. What pauses is the active forecasting of solar production and consumption.

You may get a little less value from your battery during that time, but your system will keep running as normal. Once your connection is restored, the automation picks back up where it left off.

Why does the battery sometimes sit idle?

This is the automation working as intended. There are two main reasons it might happen.

The first is “preserve mode”. Sometimes the system tells your battery to hold its current charge rather than act straight away. During periods of high solar output or low export prices, it can make more sense to wait for a better moment to charge or export. This can also happen overnight in winter, when low night-time prices and a forecast price rise in the morning mean it is more economical to use grid power overnight and charge from solar later in the day.

The second is low price volatility. When dynamic prices are relatively flat and export rates are low, the smartest option is sometimes to do nothing - the system considers the future pricing, and if there’s not enough value able to be created by charging or discharging, then it will choose to do nothing. In this case the system leaves your battery in self-consumption mode and waits for conditions to improve.

Curious? Get a Next Optimise quote and find out if it's right for you.

• 1. Savings benchmark based on the Standard Variable Rate set by Ofgem (26.89 p/kWh, East Midlands, used as a representative average) and a 6 p/kWh export rate in line with the existing Solar Export Guarantee (SEG). Your actual savings will vary depending on your tariff, location, solar and battery setup, and energy use.