Discussion
Like a lot of folk, our previous energy supplier went bust and we found ourselves punted onto another firm. I guess everyone's paying pretty much the same (based on usage) just now but yhey're a pain in the arse to deal with so looking to change. We're eagerly awaiting delivery of our Polestar 2 so wondered, are EV tariffs still a thing (in light of current energy prices) or not? If so, who's good these days?
JonnyVTEC said:
Yes new, else someone will come along how that are still paying 5p…
Intelligent is 10p as well, no experience but seems a bit flakey from various sources
No issues with Intelligent here (on the old 7.5p off-peak rate), but we only charge during the dedicated off-peak hours and not the ad-hoc “let octopus control it” during the day hours.Intelligent is 10p as well, no experience but seems a bit flakey from various sources
Only really switched from Go to get the additional 2 hours of off peak.
paradigital said:
JonnyVTEC said:
Yes new, else someone will come along how that are still paying 5p…
Intelligent is 10p as well, no experience but seems a bit flakey from various sources
No issues with Intelligent here (on the old 7.5p off-peak rate), but we only charge during the dedicated off-peak hours and not the ad-hoc “let octopus control it” during the day hours.Intelligent is 10p as well, no experience but seems a bit flakey from various sources
Only really switched from Go to get the additional 2 hours of off peak.
On the rare occasions we have left it plugged in there are nearly almost other ad-hoc cheap periods throughout the day too.
I'd guess that if we always had an EV plugged in ready to charge, Octopus would average out at at least 10 hours a day cheap power. Which is worth thinking about if you have an EV which you can reduce the charge rate of, it could be triggering cheap rate very often at which point anything else using power at the same time would get the same cheap power too
JonnyVTEC said:
I know someone who maps his with a granny’s charger and some days he’s getting 22hrs off peak on Intelligent! Seems he’s smarter than the Octopus 
Easy done, because Octopus give you the prices per half hour, 24 hours before the time.
depends on where you want to draw your line for accepting the kwh prices.
What you need to work out OP is whether your EV mieage and therefore charging requirement outweighs the higher cost of electricty and standing charges for the rest of the time with a deal like Octopus Go/Intelligent.
Also, if you move provider at the minute don't you lose the monthly government support payment?
Also, if you move provider at the minute don't you lose the monthly government support payment?
SWoll said:
What you need to work out OP is whether your EV mieage and therefore charging requirement outweighs the higher cost of electricty and standing charges for the rest of the time with a deal like Octopus Go/Intelligent.
Also, if you move provider at the minute don't you lose the monthly government support payment?
Thanks - all useful posts but this told me what (I'd only vaguely asked) I was trying to figure out - what is the downside to an EV tariff? So you pay more for electricity during the peak times and higher standing charge?Also, if you move provider at the minute don't you lose the monthly government support payment?
The EV will replace my wife's current car, which is typically used for short trips around town. She goes to client site once a week (~30 mile round trip). Once a month or so we'll visit my parents, call that 80 mies round trip. Annual mileage is around 5,500 according to the MOT history.
Not sure on the support payments, I'll look into that - thanks.
8bit said:
SWoll said:
What you need to work out OP is whether your EV mieage and therefore charging requirement outweighs the higher cost of electricty and standing charges for the rest of the time with a deal like Octopus Go/Intelligent.
Also, if you move provider at the minute don't you lose the monthly government support payment?
Thanks - all useful posts but this told me what (I'd only vaguely asked) I was trying to figure out - what is the downside to an EV tariff? So you pay more for electricity during the peak times and higher standing charge?Also, if you move provider at the minute don't you lose the monthly government support payment?
The EV will replace my wife's current car, which is typically used for short trips around town. She goes to client site once a week (~30 mile round trip). Once a month or so we'll visit my parents, call that 80 mies round trip. Annual mileage is around 5,500 according to the MOT history.
Not sure on the support payments, I'll look into that - thanks.
Tbh I'd be very surprised if you didn't save money despite the fairly modest EV mileage/charging. Once you have the cheap rate hours you also naturally start to think of how to move general leccy usage into those hours.. Running the dishwasher overnight for example.
saaby93 said:
Are the normal hours charges for leccy heavily weighted to compensate for the cheap off peak rates
Not heavily.. It depends on your area but I think 42p per kwh is fairly typical right now - vs 34p at the current capped rate, but those caps won't last anyway, certainly not at that level. The off peak power is more like 10-12p right now, which is far cheaper.Most EV's probably do about 8000 miles a year (average) which will take enough power to equal what is used in a typical home, so it's a no brainer - given that they can be exclusively charged cheap rate - instantly at least half of your power usage is at the lower rate, ahead of taking into account the cheap power the house receives for the fixed hours, regardless of the EV being charged.
My monthly average per kwh is about 16p last time I checked. That's less than half the rate paid for by anyone on a typical tariff at the temporary government capped rate.
I'd encourage anyone thinking about it to do the maths of course, every case is different. But virtually anyone with an EV is highly likely to find it works out as a better deal overall.
TheDeuce said:
Just remember that a certain % of existing home power usage will also benefit from the cheaper hours, not just the EV.
Tbh I'd be very surprised if you didn't save money despite the fairly modest EV mileage/charging. Once you have the cheap rate hours you also naturally start to think of how to move general leccy usage into those hours.. Running the dishwasher overnight for example.
I don't disagree, but without knowing the OP's likely usage it's definitely something worth checking. It's also not always possible to do much else overnight if your appliances don't have delayed start timers or the noise generated is problematic. Tbh I'd be very surprised if you didn't save money despite the fairly modest EV mileage/charging. Once you have the cheap rate hours you also naturally start to think of how to move general leccy usage into those hours.. Running the dishwasher overnight for example.
The other thing I forgot to mention in my OP was that we both work from home. I guess the devices we use are mostly just laptops, monitors etc. but obviously we'll be using the kettle a few times a day, oven/air fryer/microwave around lunchtime etc. We do also have an inflatable hot tub, typically we fill that from the hot tap (water and central heating are gas-fired) when refilling and turn the heat down through the week and back up in time for the weekend to use it though but I guess even at low temp and with the extra thermal cover on it'll always be using a certain amount of energy.
On a related but possibly supporting note, I remember when smart meters first became available there were lots of horror stories etc. Are they better now? If we had one of those would it make it easier to understand our energy usage and what times of day we're using most?
On a related but possibly supporting note, I remember when smart meters first became available there were lots of horror stories etc. Are they better now? If we had one of those would it make it easier to understand our energy usage and what times of day we're using most?
8bit said:
On a related but possibly supporting note, I remember when smart meters first became available there were lots of horror stories etc. Are they better now? If we had one of those would it make it easier to understand our energy usage and what times of day we're using most?
Yes, and also you need one for any of the EV special tariffs (so far as I'm aware), certainly for Octopus. Not heard any horror stories for years, the only problem can be that fitting them to certain properties can prove difficult or in rare cases actually impossible or impractical.Probably best you call Octopus to discuss the tariff and getting the smart meter installed.
Edited by TheDeuce on Tuesday 22 November 15:28
TheDeuce said:
paradigital said:
JonnyVTEC said:
Yes new, else someone will come along how that are still paying 5p…
Intelligent is 10p as well, no experience but seems a bit flakey from various sources
No issues with Intelligent here (on the old 7.5p off-peak rate), but we only charge during the dedicated off-peak hours and not the ad-hoc “let octopus control it” during the day hours.Intelligent is 10p as well, no experience but seems a bit flakey from various sources
Only really switched from Go to get the additional 2 hours of off peak.
On the rare occasions we have left it plugged in there are nearly almost other ad-hoc cheap periods throughout the day too.
I'd guess that if we always had an EV plugged in ready to charge, Octopus would average out at at least 10 hours a day cheap power. Which is worth thinking about if you have an EV which you can reduce the charge rate of, it could be triggering cheap rate very often at which point anything else using power at the same time would get the same cheap power too
saaby93 said:
Are the normal hours charges for leccy heavily weighted to compensate for the cheap off peak rates
Rates on OI are set to come out at an average over 24 hrs of current tariff cap (34p) BUT that assumes equal use over 24 hrs. If you can push more use to off peak - eg nightly charging (I get 90 miles a night on cheap rate), dishwasher, washing machine - then it saves a lot. Even immersion at night if heating not that efficient for hot water.jonty88 said:
TheDeuce said:
paradigital said:
JonnyVTEC said:
Yes new, else someone will come along how that are still paying 5p…
Intelligent is 10p as well, no experience but seems a bit flakey from various sources
No issues with Intelligent here (on the old 7.5p off-peak rate), but we only charge during the dedicated off-peak hours and not the ad-hoc “let octopus control it” during the day hours.Intelligent is 10p as well, no experience but seems a bit flakey from various sources
Only really switched from Go to get the additional 2 hours of off peak.
On the rare occasions we have left it plugged in there are nearly almost other ad-hoc cheap periods throughout the day too.
I'd guess that if we always had an EV plugged in ready to charge, Octopus would average out at at least 10 hours a day cheap power. Which is worth thinking about if you have an EV which you can reduce the charge rate of, it could be triggering cheap rate very often at which point anything else using power at the same time would get the same cheap power too
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