OVO Drive Anytime
Discussion
I saw Big Nanas mention they had this tariff - how are you (or anyone else!) finding it? Do you (have a compatible charger? I read on an OVO forum that you could use their app with other non-compatible chargers so long as your car was compatible.
How does it work in terms of setting a departure time - will you always get the amount of energy you asked for, or, if it's a non-windy period will you be stuck on a higher tariff?
It sounds very interesting
Does look interesting and I suspect is a similar thing to Intelligent Octopus. You will almost always get charge overnight at the low rate.
We had a trial locally of some chargers that operated in the same way where if you left the car plugged in while at work and just told them when you need it by and how much charge it needs they balance the charger power delivery, sometimes trickling in 2 Kw but sometimes the full 7Kw. It worked well but works best if you are plugged in a lot so it can average everything out.
We had a trial locally of some chargers that operated in the same way where if you left the car plugged in while at work and just told them when you need it by and how much charge it needs they balance the charger power delivery, sometimes trickling in 2 Kw but sometimes the full 7Kw. It worked well but works best if you are plugged in a lot so it can average everything out.
That's me
It's actually 'Charge Anytime' (sorry to correct!).
We have two EVs here and it's been no problem to set up the app for each so we can each control our own settings from our phones.
On both occasions where we've set the departure time and percentage, it's worked very well. Interestingly it was charging during Sunday afternoon at about 3pm for a couple of hours - obviously a period of low Grid usage. It's useful that the cheap tariff isn't restricted to a few hours past midnight.
I think it's currently on a 'early access invite', but I'm not sure when this will be freely available.
It's actually 'Charge Anytime' (sorry to correct!).
We have two EVs here and it's been no problem to set up the app for each so we can each control our own settings from our phones.
On both occasions where we've set the departure time and percentage, it's worked very well. Interestingly it was charging during Sunday afternoon at about 3pm for a couple of hours - obviously a period of low Grid usage. It's useful that the cheap tariff isn't restricted to a few hours past midnight.
plfrench said:
How does it work in terms of setting a departure time - will you always get the amount of energy you asked for, or, if it's a non-windy period will you be stuck on a higher tariff?
It's a bit early to tell as we've only been using it since Friday, but I'll keep a close eye on it over the next couple of weeks. I think it's currently on a 'early access invite', but I'm not sure when this will be freely available.
Edited by Big Nanas on Monday 30th January 11:03
Thanks Big Nanas!
I suspected you were in a Beta group of sorts as there's not much more information on their website - other than 'coming soon'!
Sounds great - just to confirm, you've not got one of their approved chargers, just a supported car and the Drive Anytime App? I've got a Podpoint Solo 3 which I know isn't on their list, so just want to check.
What are your non-EV rates with Ovo? I'm with OVO now on a fixed 2 year due to finish June this year. My wife's getting her Born in March and I might even have an EV by July too, so this approach certainly sounds interesting.
Be good to hear more as you've given it more of a trial
I suspected you were in a Beta group of sorts as there's not much more information on their website - other than 'coming soon'!
Sounds great - just to confirm, you've not got one of their approved chargers, just a supported car and the Drive Anytime App? I've got a Podpoint Solo 3 which I know isn't on their list, so just want to check.
What are your non-EV rates with Ovo? I'm with OVO now on a fixed 2 year due to finish June this year. My wife's getting her Born in March and I might even have an EV by July too, so this approach certainly sounds interesting.
Be good to hear more as you've given it more of a trial
No problem at all.
We have a ten year old Polar charge point, it's definitely not on their approved list! We do have a recent SMETS2 meter, though.
We downloaded the OVO Charge Anytime app, connected to our OVO account, and then chose our car.
One requirement is that your cars GPS location services need to be enabled.
We are on their standard tariff, which is 33p kWh. We were moved from SSE a year ago and didn't really have an option which tariff.
We have a ten year old Polar charge point, it's definitely not on their approved list!
We do have a recent SMETS2 meter, though.We downloaded the OVO Charge Anytime app, connected to our OVO account, and then chose our car.
One requirement is that your cars GPS location services need to be enabled.
We are on their standard tariff, which is 33p kWh. We were moved from SSE a year ago and didn't really have an option which tariff.
Edited by Big Nanas on Monday 30th January 14:13
I've just set this up - my charger is an Andersen A2 which is definitely not smart anymore. However I've connected my car to their platform and they can schedule the charging directly with the car.
I took part in some user testing for this product a few years ago and they alluded that this was on the horizon. Interesting to see it come to fruition.
I took part in some user testing for this product a few years ago and they alluded that this was on the horizon. Interesting to see it come to fruition.
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