Intelligent Octopus Go Smart Charging Schedule

[Pistonheadsdicoverer]

Today is the first real time I am charging my EV on IOG from low and was wondering what's the ideal way of going it.
Trickle charge it so as to get several smart charging schedules spread over multiple days (rather than one long one) or just plug it in and leave IOG and the app to do its thing.

What I don't know is whether when you charge your car (say for an extra 10%), the entire smart charging schedule remains opened.
For example, right now, SCS says 1830 to 0800. Would it mean that if IOG charges my car to my preferred percentage say, 30%, the smart charging schedule ends and tariff reverts back to normal outside of the 2330 to 0530 discounted window?

[Mark-ri571]

Yes once your car reaches the desired % the charging will stop and your tariff will revert to your normal tariff for that time of day. If I want to power the whole house at cheap rate I plug our car ( Mini SE 3 pin plug charging) in when car battery is low and set desired charge to 100% and end time at say 04.30.. Octopus IO will then set charging schedule and 90% of the time I will get whole house charging including the car at cheap rate ( although it normally won’t give you charging at cheap rate during peak hours of 16.30 to 18.00 ). If you don’t want a 100% full battery just reset the desired % once you get to 11.30pm.

[annodomini2]

Which car and which charger?

[Th3 D0n]

Depends on your interpretation of ideal.
Personally I plug the car in when it needs charging and tell IOG how much charge I want by when via my Ohme charger app.
You can game the system as posted above and you’ll probably get away with it. Octopus don’t like this apparently, but I don’t know how much of an eye they keep on it.
There should be a fb group for your smart charger and IOG. I used the Ohme one when first getting started and all the info is there

[Pistonheadsdicoverer]

Mark-ri571 said:

Yes once your car reaches the desired % the charging will stop and your tariff will revert to your normal tariff for that time of day. If I want to power the whole house at cheap rate I plug our car ( Mini SE 3 pin plug charging) in when car battery is low and set desired charge to 100% and end time at say 04.30.. Octopus IO will then set charging schedule and 90% of the time I will get whole house charging including the car at cheap rate ( although it normally won’t give you charging at cheap rate during peak hours of 16.30 to 18.00 ). If you don’t want a 100% full battery just reset the desired % once you get to 11.30pm.

So you are using a granny charger? I guess in your case, IOG communicates with your car, otherwise, you'd need a compatible charger.

[Road2Ruin]

You certainly can 'play' the system, if you cab be bothered. The time, effort and stress though, in the long run, I think is nit worth it.
I plug the car in, look what it's offered me and the adjust my usage accordingly, if I can.
My last bill for April was an average of 7.6p pkwh, 650 Kwh. It does help that I have a better too, so charge and run the house from that.
I also export as much as I can, as it is more cost effective.

[KTF]

Just to check my understanding about this tariff works.

Is it:

• By default you get the cheap rate at the overnight period and you can schedule the car to charge during this window yourself.
• You let the app work it out and if it decides to charge in the middle of the day then you get the cheap rate only whilst charging?
• You get the cheap rate overnight plus the cheap rate if the app decides to charge your car during the day as well?
• Something else?

Just trying to get my head round it.

[Road2Ruin]

KTF said:

Just to check my understanding about this tariff works.

Is it:

• By default you get the cheap rate at the overnight period and you can schedule the car to charge during this window yourself.
• You let the app work it out and if it decides to charge in the middle of the day then you get the cheap rate only whilst charging?
• You get the cheap rate overnight plus the cheap rate if the app decides to charge your car during the day as well?
• Something else?

Just trying to get my head round it.

You will always get the cheap rate at night, whether the car is charging or not. You may also get a cheap rate during the day, if the app schedules it. When charging at cheap rate, everything in the house is at cheap rate.

[Mark-ri571]

Road2Ruin said:

KTF said:

Just to check my understanding about this tariff works.

Is it:

• By default you get the cheap rate at the overnight period and you can schedule the car to charge during this window yourself.
• You let the app work it out and if it decides to charge in the middle of the day then you get the cheap rate only whilst charging?
• You get the cheap rate overnight plus the cheap rate if the app decides to charge your car during the day as well?
• Something else?

Just trying to get my head round it.

You will always get the cheap rate at night, whether the car is charging or not. You may also get a cheap rate during the day, if the app schedules it. When charging at cheap rate, everything in the house is at cheap rate.

Whenever I want to top the battery up I plug my car into the 3 pin socket. Octopus then within seconds recognises that my car is plugged in and I get a pop up on my phone and iPad telling me what Smart Charge times I have been given.
Octopus communicates directly to my car ( over the air somehow??) and of course the smart meter bills at the reduced rate during the Smart Charge period as well as the normal overnight cheap rate period.
You always get 6 hours 23:30-05:30 at cheap rate plus whatever you get during the day as Smart Charge. If I know we are putting the washing machine on or ovens on I plug the car in so as to get whole house cheap rate. You won’t tend to get cheap rate between 16:30 and 18:00 as that’s obviously when demand is at a peak.
Below screenshot is what it looks like on my billing for a day when I had Smart Charge

Moderator edit: no referral codes

[Mark-ri571]

This is the pop up notification you will see on your phone or iPad

[KTF]

Road2Ruin said:

You will always get the cheap rate at night, whether the car is charging or not. You may also get a cheap rate during the day, if the app schedules it. When charging at cheap rate, everything in the house is at cheap rate.

Ok. That’s interesting as you might get ‘bonus’ daytime cheap rate as well. Didn’t realise that.

Thanks both for your replies.

[cheerfulcharlie]

How do you stop the car charging as soon as you plug it in. We have a Pod point wallbox and we have to 'tell' the car when it can charge (overnight) or it starts charging straight away.

[Road2Ruin]

As soon as you plug it in, hit stop charge (in the car). It will then wait until Octopus tells it to charge.

[Mark-ri571]

Road2Ruin said:

As soon as you plug it in, hit stop charge (in the car). It will then wait until Octopus tells it to charge.

Normally the Octopus app takes control of the car charging pretty quickly after plugging in.