SE1 vs SE3 vs SE4 — how the price area affects your heat pump

Sweden is divided into four electricity price areas: SE1 (Luleå), SE2 (Sundsvall), SE3 (Stockholm/Mälardalen) and SE4 (Skåne). They form a band from north to south, and electricity prices differ markedly between them — often by a factor of 2× in winter.

For a heat pump owner, the zone determines two things:

1. How expensive electricity is on average — directly affects your bill.
2. How volatile the price is — directly affects how much smart control can save you.

Average prices 2024 — overview

Area	Avg price (öre/kWh)	Volatility	Savings potential
SE1	35	Low	5–10 %
SE2	40	Low	8–15 %
SE3	85	High	18–28 %
SE4	105	Very high	22–32 %

The logic: the north has hydro surplus and low population. The south has higher consumption, depends on imports from Germany/Denmark, and therefore has much more expensive and volatile electricity.

Why volatility > average price for smart control

Intuitively it seems high average price = more to gain. But it's the volatility — the gap between the cheapest and most expensive hour — that creates the shifting value.

Example:

• SE1: avg 35 öre, peak 60, low 15. Spread: 45 öre. Average saving with 30 % load shifting: ~6 öre/kWh.
• SE4: avg 105 öre, peak 250, low 20. Spread: 230 öre. Average saving with 30 % load shifting: ~30 öre/kWh.

Per kWh you save 5× more in SE4 than in SE1. And because you also use more kWh in winter (colder), the effect compounds.

What this means in money

For a villa with 18,000 kWh heating consumption:

• SE1: SEK 750–1,500/year saved
• SE2: SEK 1,200–2,700/year
• SE3: SEK 3,600–6,700/year
• SE4: SEK 5,200–9,600/year

In SE4 smart control pays for itself in the first month, every year, all year.

What drives the big differences?

SE1 and SE2 — home of hydro power

Northern Sweden has two things: lots of hydro (Lule River, Ume River, Indalsälven, Ångermanälven) and relatively few consumers. That's why electricity is cheap — production exceeds consumption most of the year, especially during spring runoff.

Hydro is also dispatchable — power stations can ramp up and down relatively quickly. That means SE1/SE2 rarely see extreme price peaks: if the price starts climbing, hydro operators simply release more water.

SE3 — the bridge between north and south

SE3 (Stockholm, Uppsala, Mälardalen, eastern Götaland) has Sweden's highest electricity consumption. 65 % of Sweden's population lives here and most industry sits here. The area has some nuclear (Forsmark, Oskarshamn) but not enough to meet demand — surplus from SE1/SE2 is shifted south, but the transmission grid is often overloaded.

Result: medium-high prices, high volatility, sensitive to weather and nuclear disruptions.

SE4 — the south's expensive electricity

Skåne, Blekinge, southern Halland and southern Småland make up SE4. There's no major power generation left here since Ringhals 1 and 2 were shut down. The area is fully dependent on imports from northern Sweden, Denmark and Germany.

It's the German connection that creates SE4's notorious price volatility: when Germany has no wind and it's cold, they pull massive amounts through SE4. The SE4 price in practice follows the German price during difficult days.

"I live near the border" — which area am I in?

Your grid operator determines your area — it's not strictly geographic. Check your bill: the area is clearly listed (SE1/SE2/ SE3/SE4). You can't change area yourself.

Rough guidance:

• SE1 — Norrbotten + northern Västerbotten
• SE2 — Rest of Norrland + northern Dalarna
• SE3 — Svealand + Götaland north of the Halmstad line
• SE4 — Skåne, Blekinge, southern Halland, southern Småland

The lines roughly follow Halmstad → Kalmar for SE3/SE4 and Sundsvall → Hammerdal for SE2/SE3.

Special case: SE4 in winter

In SE4 recent years have had days where the most expensive hour exceeded 1,000 öre/kWh — that's SEK 10 per kWh. A heat pump drawing 3 kW during that hour costs SEK 30. Just that one hour.

Smart control that completely avoids these hours (by pre-heating the house beforehand and letting it coast slightly afterwards) saves enormous sums on extreme days. Over a year a handful of such days can account for 20–30 % of total savings.

How does Therilly use area data?

Therilly reads your electricity price area automatically from your Tibber account, or you set it manually. Then:

1. Pulls the spot price specifically for your area every 15 min
2. Identifies volatility over the next 24 hours
3. Optimises harder in SE3/SE4 where there's more to shift
4. Logs the percentage of spot-price spread you actually captured

For SE1/SE2 users Therilly weights less toward spot-price optimisation and more toward thermal efficiency (right flow temperature, smooth operation). In SE4 it's the opposite — spot-price optimisation is king.

Summary per area

• SE1/SE2: Smart control is nice but not critical. You save a few hundred SEK per year. More focus on efficiency than price optimisation.
• SE3: Sweet spot. Clear financial gain, fast payback, visible on the bill. 65 % of Sweden's heat pumps are here.
• SE4: Everyone with a heat pump and hourly spot should have smart control here. The gain is usually 5-10× the monthly fee. Bonus: lower demand charges at grid operators in the region.

Common questions

Why is it more expensive in the south than the north?

Generation is concentrated in northern Sweden (hydro), consumption in the south (population and industry). The transmission grid can't move all the electricity — that creates price differences. SE4 also depends on imports from Germany when wind there is weak.

Can I pay SE1 prices if I live in SE3?

No. You always pay the spot price for the area where your meter sits. You can choose any retailer in Sweden, but the price is set by Nord Pool for your area.

How much does Therilly save in my area?

Expect 5–10 % in SE1, 8–15 % in SE2, 18–28 % in SE3, 22–32 % in SE4 of heating electricity costs. Use our savings calculator for exact numbers based on your consumption.

Do the area boundaries change?

Rarely. Last adjustment was 2011 when the current system was introduced. There's discussion of splitting SE3 in two but no decision yet.

See what you'd save with your price area or deep-dive in our reference page on electricity price areas.