Solar self-consumption: the rate, the Enedis agreement, sharing
Two percentages not to confuse, what pushes them up or down, and why they now decide whether your panels pay off.
Self-consumption (autoconsommation) means using the power your panels produce yourself, at the moment they produce it. Two figures describe it: the self-consumption rate, the share of output used on site, and the coverage rate, the share of your usage supplied by the panels. They move in opposite directions as size grows. For a Paris household using 4,500 kWh a year without electric heating, 1 kWp is 91 % self-consumed but covers only 23 % of needs; 3 kWp is 47 % self-consumed and covers 36 %; 6 kWp drops to 28 % for 42 % coverage. These values come from an hour-by-hour simulation over a year, using PVGIS output and the load profiles published by Enedis. They match the regulator’s findings: 69 % of small systems self-consume between 30 and 65% of their output. Now that surplus sells for only 1.1 c€/kWh, the self-consumption rate is what makes a system pay.
How much of your output will you use yourself?
Self-consumption rate
46 %
| Used on site | 1,620 kWh |
| Exported to the grid | 1,909 kWh |
| Share of the bill covered | 36 % |
| Saving in year 1 | €324 |
Median French output (1,185 kWh/kWp), roof at 30° due south, hour-by-hour calculation.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
Both rates, size by size
Each cell gives two percentages: the share of output used on site, then the share of the household’s usage covered by the panels. The off-peak profile assumes some usage is shifted to the night, which slightly lowers self-consumption.
| Size | No electric heating | Electric heating | Off-peak contract |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 kWc | 91 % / 23 % | 88 % / 22 % | 73 % / 18 % |
| 2 kWc | 63 % / 32 % | 60 % / 30 % | 47 % / 24 % |
| 3 kWc | 47 % / 36 % | 45 % / 34 % | 35 % / 26 % |
| 4.5 kWc | 35 % / 39 % | 34 % / 38 % | 25 % / 28 % |
| 6 kWc | 28 % / 42 % | 27 % / 40 % | 20 % / 30 % |
| 9 kWc | 20 % / 45 % | 19 % / 43 % | 14 % / 32 % |
Location matters less than you might think. For 3 kWp and the same household, the self-consumption rate is 48 % in Lille, 47 % in Paris and 41 % in Marseille: more sunshine also means more midday surplus that the household does not use.
Why self-consumption matters so much in 2026
A kWh used at home is worth what you would have paid your supplier, 20.01 c€ on the Tarif Bleu base rate. An exported kWh is worth 1.1 c€ since the order of 1 June 2026. Each point of self-consumption gained therefore counts nearly eighteen times more than a point of surplus. That is also the stated aim of the reform: steering small systems towards on-site use (tariff details).
How many panels for your home?
Number of panels
5
| Best-value system size | 2 kWc |
| Output per year | 2,263 kWh |
| Net over 20 years | +€1,022 |
Best 20-year net gain among 13 sizes, at estimated prices. A module’s power is on its datasheet.
Using more of your output without buying anything
- Run the washing machine, dishwasher and dryer late in the morning or early in the afternoon.
- Heat the hot-water tank during the day rather than at night, if your set-up allows it.
- Charge an electric car around midday when it is at home.
- Avoid oversizing: a few panels fewer raise the self-consumption rate.
These habits are not in Enedis’s average profile, so a household that adopts them will beat the calculation. A battery also raises self-consumption, but it has a price, which its own page sets against what it earns.
Self-consumption with or without sales
You can self-consume and sell the surplus under a purchase contract, or self-consume and sell nothing under a simple self-consumption agreement without export (CACSI) signed with Enedis (Service Public guidance). In the second case surplus still flows to the grid unpaid, unless the system curtails its output. The calculator handles both options.
Self-consuming without selling does not exempt you from telling the grid: the system is commissioned only once Enedis has received the signed agreement. There is no home-connected self-consumption without this step, even for a small kit.
Collective self-consumption: producing together
The self-consumption described on this page is individual: one house, one meter, one system. There is a second, collective form, where several producers and consumers share the same solar power. They join an organising legal entity, which sets how the output is split among participants; each keeps their own supplier for the rest of their usage.
- Distance: in mainland France, no more than 2 km between the two participants furthest apart, measured from their connection points (order of 21 November 2019 as amended).
- Exemption: on a reasoned request to the minister, 10 km if all participants are in rural or peri-urban communes, 20 km if they are all in rural communes.
- Capacity: no more than 5 MW in total across all the scheme’s generating systems.
For a household the question is the same as on its own: what share of the output will be used at the moment it is produced. A neighbourhood that uses power by day (a shop, a school, offices) absorbs the midday surplus better than a street of houses empty on weekdays. The calculation on this page does not model these schemes, whose result depends on the sharing key chosen.