Solar self-consumption (autoconsommation): how it works in France

How does solar autoconsommation work in France?

The panels feed your house first. Whatever is running at that moment, from the fridge to the pool pump, takes its power from the roof. When the panels produce more than you use, the surplus flows out to the grid. When you use more than they produce, the grid tops you up as normal.

The surplus is bought by EDF OA, the state-appointed buyer, under a 20-year contract. The rate is 1.1 c EUR per kWh before tax. You pay many times that for each kWh you buy, so a kWh you use yourself is worth far more than one you export. Your installer sends the connection request to Enedis, the grid operator, before the system is switched on.

Can you still sell all your solar power (vente totale)?

No, not with a home-sized system. Vente totale meant exporting everything the panels made at a fixed rate and buying all your own power from the supplier as usual. The June 2026 reform removed that option for small installations, so self-consumption with sale of the surplus (autoconsommation avec vente du surplus) is now the only route. Contracts already signed under vente totale carry on, which is why a neighbour may still describe it.

What happened to the prime à l'autoconsommation?

It was a one-off bonus paid by EDF OA on the size of your system, and it no longer exists. A ministerial order of June 2026 repealed it, and grid-connection requests filed from 5 June 2026 get nothing in its place. Owners whose systems were already connected keep what they were awarded. That's why many French installer sites still describe it as current. If a quote or payback sum includes it, ask the installer to take it out.

Which TVA rate applies to a self-consumption system?

On an existing home, panels up to 9 kWc (kilowatt-peak, the panels' rated power) are charged TVA (French VAT) at 5.5% if conditions are met. The panels must be low-carbon, the system must include energy management, and the installer must hold RGE QualiPV (the state's approved-installer label for solar panels). Miss one, or go above 9 kWc, and the rate is 20%. Ask the installer to confirm on the devis (written quote) which rate applies and why.

A battery changes the sum. If it's part of the same supply-and-install job as the panels, the whole invoice is taxed at 20%, panels included. Ask for the battery to be quoted and invoiced as a separate job.

Does a battery raise your share of self-consumed solar?

It can. Panels produce most around midday, while a household uses most in the morning and evening. Without storage, much of the midday output leaves for the grid at 1.1 c. A battery keeps it for the evening instead. Whether that pays depends on how much of the year you're there to use it and on the price of the battery. One condition to know: to keep your surplus contract, the battery must charge only from the panels, never from the grid. MaPrimeRénov' (the state renovation grant) doesn't cover batteries.

How does autoconsommation work for a second home on the Côte d'Azur?

Less well than for a house you live in. While the house is empty, it uses almost nothing, so the panels export nearly everything at 1.1 c. Since the prime ended and the surplus rate fell, a system on a house used only in summer earns much less than the same system on a main home. Before you sign, ask the installer to model your own occupancy: which months you're there, and what keeps running while you're away. A pool pump or a hot-water tank on a timer uses solar that would otherwise be exported for almost nothing.

More on solar grants, installers and batteries

• MaPrimeRénov': never covers photovoltaic panels; solar water heating now qualifies only inside a rénovation d'ampleur project, and batteries don't qualify at all
• RGE certification: for solar PV the label is QualiPV, and the 5.5% TVA rate depends on it
• Onduleur: the solar inverter, and when you need a hybrid one
• Solar panels on the Côte d'Azur
• Battery storage