Import

Import is electricity flowing from the electricity network into a property or installation. In home energy documents it is the grid electricity used when household demand, EV charging, battery charging or heat-pump operation is not being supplied by on-site generation or stored energy. Import is different from generation, export, self-consumption and backup power: a solar array can reduce grid import without changing how much electricity the home uses, and a battery can import electricity if it is deliberately charged from the grid. Import affects electricity bills because suppliers charge unit rates for electricity used, and it may also appear in DNO, meter and smart-chargepoint material as a measured flow across the site boundary.