Beat the New Net Billing: A Practical Guide to Running Your Heavy Appliances on Free Solar Hours

• By Best Solar Company PK
• 17 Jul, 2026
• Energy Savings
• 8 min read

For years, rooftop solar in Pakistan worked on a simple promise: whatever units you didn't use, you sent to the grid and got credited at nearly full retail value. Under the old net metering regime, exported units were worth around **Rs 22–27 per unit** — practically the same as what you paid to buy electricity.

That era is over. Under NEPRA's new **Prosumer Regulations, 2026**, the country has shifted from net metering to a **net billing** model. Now the utility buys your exported units at the national average energy purchase price — roughly **Rs 11 per unit** — while still charging you full retail tariff (up to **Rs 47–48 per unit** in the highest slabs) for every unit you import at night.

The maths has flipped completely. A unit you *export* is worth about Rs 11. A unit you *consume yourself* during the day saves you the full retail rate you'd otherwise pay — Rs 22 to Rs 27, and much more if you're in a high slab.

This guide shows you exactly how to do that by timing your heavy appliances to run during "solar hours."

Why self-consumption now beats export

Think of it as two different prices for the same electron:

• **Export value:** ~Rs 11 per unit (what the grid pays you)
• **Self-consumption value:** Rs 22–27+ per unit (what you *avoid paying* the grid)

If your 10 kW system produces a surplus at 1 PM and you push it to the grid, you bank Rs 11. If instead you run your air conditioner at that moment, you avoid buying a Rs 25 unit that evening. The difference — about Rs 14 per unit — is pure saving, and it repeats every single hour of every sunny day.

Across a month, a household that shifts even 8–10 units of daily load into solar hours can save **Rs 3,500–4,500 per month** compared to exporting that same energy and buying it back after dark.

Know your "solar window"

Solar generation follows a bell curve. In most of Pakistan the usable window looks like this:

• **8:00–10:00 AM** — ramping up, moderate output
• **10:00 AM–3:00 PM** — peak production, often at or above your system's rating
• **3:00–5:00 PM** — tapering off
• **After sunset** — zero; you're back on the grid or battery

Your fattest surplus is the **10 AM–3 PM** block. That's the "free energy" window where any heavy appliance you switch on is running on sunshine you'd otherwise sell for a pittance. Remember too that DISCO **peak hours are 6:00–10:00 PM**, the worst time to run heavy loads — the sun is gone and the tariff is highest.

The appliance timing playbook

Here's how to shift Pakistan's biggest household energy hogs into the solar window.

**Air conditioners (1.0–2.0 tons, ~1,000–1,800 W each).** ACs are usually the single largest load. Pre-cool your rooms while the sun is strong: run the AC hard from **noon to 4 PM**, then let the room coast in the evening. Set the thermostat a degree or two lower during solar hours and a degree higher at night. If you have an inverter AC, this pre-cooling strategy is especially efficient. Shifting two ACs into the solar window instead of running them at 8 PM peak can save Rs 100–150 per day.

**Electric geysers (1,500–3,000 W).** A geyser is essentially a big battery for hot water. Switch it on around **11 AM**, let it heat a full tank on solar, then switch it **off** — the insulated tank holds heat for evening baths. Never let an electric geyser run on a thermostat overnight; that's grid electricity at peak-adjacent rates. This one habit alone can save Rs 60–120 a day for a family.

**Water pumps and motors (0.5–1.5 HP, ~400–1,100 W).** Fill your overhead and underground tanks between **11 AM and 2 PM**. Gravity does the rest for the evening. Running a 1 HP pump for an hour on solar instead of at night saves you the retail cost of roughly 1 unit — and keeps the pump off the grid entirely.

**Washing machines, dryers and dishwashers (500–2,500 W).** These are fully flexible. Do laundry and dishes at **midday**, not after dinner. Use the delay-start timer if your machine has one so a load finishes right in the solar peak.

**Electric ovens, irons and other heavy loads.** Batch-iron clothes and do heavy cooking or baking in the early afternoon whenever the household routine allows.

Practical setup tips to make shifting effortless

• **Use timers and smart plugs.** A Rs 1,500–3,000 Wi-Fi smart plug or a mechanical timer can automatically switch your geyser or pump on at 11 AM and off at 2 PM — no need to remember.
• **Watch your inverter app.** Most hybrid and on-grid inverters show live production versus consumption. When you see surplus being exported, that's your cue to switch something on. You want that export figure as close to zero as possible.
• **Sequence, don't stack.** Your inverter has a maximum output. Don't fire up two ACs, the geyser and the pump at the same instant — stagger them so total demand stays within what the panels are producing.
• **Consider a battery for the evening shift.** With export worth only Rs 11, storing midday surplus in a battery to use at the 6–10 PM peak (worth Rs 25+) now makes far more financial sense than it did under old net metering. Even a small lithium bank can cover evening fans, lights and one AC.

A quick example

Take a Lahore household on a 10 kW system using about 40 units a day. Before, they ran the AC and geyser mostly in the evening and exported their midday surplus.

• **Old habit:** Export ~15 units at Rs 11 = Rs 165 earned, then buy ~15 units back at Rs 25 in the evening = Rs 375 spent. Net evening cost: **Rs 210/day.**
• **New habit:** Shift the geyser, pump and pre-cooling into solar hours, self-consuming those 15 units directly. They avoid Rs 375 of purchases and only miss Rs 165 of export income. Net gain versus before: roughly **Rs 210/day**, or about **Rs 6,000/month.**

Same panels. Same bill of materials. The only change is *timing*.

Frequently Asked Questions

**Does this apply to me if I already have old net metering?**

Existing net metering agreements are generally honoured for their original term, but new and renewing systems fall under the net billing regime with the ~Rs 11 buyback rate and a shorter (around five-year) agreement period. Either way, self-consumption is now the winning strategy — even on an old agreement, using your own units costs you nothing while export credits are capped in value. Check your specific agreement and confirm current rules with your DISCO or installer.

**How much can load-shifting realistically save me?**

For an average household that moves a geyser, water pump and a few hours of AC into the solar window, savings of **Rs 3,000–6,000 per month** are realistic, depending on system size, consumption and your tariff slab. Larger homes and businesses with bigger loads save proportionally more.

**Should I buy a battery now that export pays so little?**

If your evening consumption is high, yes — the case for batteries is stronger than ever. Storing a midday unit (worth Rs 11 if exported) to displace an evening unit (worth Rs 25+) captures the full spread. Just weigh the battery cost against your evening usage; households with modest night loads may prefer simple appliance timing first.

**Won't pre-cooling my house with AC at noon waste energy?**

Not if the energy is coming from panels you'd otherwise export at Rs 11. Pre-cooling a well-insulated room during solar hours and coasting through the evening shifts your comfort onto free daytime generation. Close curtains and blinds to hold the cool air longer.

**What's the single easiest change to start with?**

Put your electric geyser on a timer set for 11 AM to 2 PM and switch it off outside that window. It's the fastest, cheapest habit to adopt and often saves Rs 60–120 a day on its own.

The rules changed, but rooftop solar is still one of the best investments a Pakistani home or business can make. The winners under net billing are simply the ones who **use the sun as it shines** instead of banking it for pennies. Time your loads well, and your panels will pay you back faster than ever.

*Sources: NEPRA Prosumer Regulations 2026 coverage — Profit by Pakistan Today, Rs 11 buyback rate — Hamariweb, FY 2025–26 tariff — checkyourbill.pk.*

Best Solar Company PK designs and installs reliable solar systems in Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Lahore, Multan, Taunsa Sharif and Karachi. Contact us for a free survey and the best advice for your home or business.