[GDank]

So I've seen some people mention switching to tariff of 4-5 hours of Off Peak Time (Normally between 00:00-05:00 or 00:30-04:30) for that ultra low rate of £0.05 per kWh.

Well lets take a look. I'm going to have to make some assumptions here ... but I'll leave the figures here for you to do all your own calculations.

1. I'm going to assume that the flat day rate charge is the same regardless of Tariff Options - but that's simple to work out ... (365 days x (rate - normally around 25p)) but will be £70-100 per year, so makes little difference overall.

2. I'm going to base this on the Average House compunction of Electricity of 4,000 kWh / Year (Check online, normally your current company will give you the past years bill history an just work it out) For reference, I have a 4 Bed House, with a teenager, a younger child, and a lot of electronics, and mine is closer to 6,000!

3. I'm going to assume just over one full charge of a Polestar 2 per week, so that's 4,000 kWh / year ... and a max 28kw per night (4 hours x 7k).

Normal Average UK rate (24hr)

£0.16 x 8,000 = £1280

Peak / 4hr Off-Peak rates of 20p/5p

(£0.20 x 4,000) + (0.05 x 4,000) = £1,000


Cheap Average UK rate (24hr)

£0.14 x 8,000 = £1,120

Cheap Peak / 4hr Off-Peak rates of 16p/5p

(£0.15 x 4,000) + (0.05 x 4,000) = £800


If you are a low EV user and have a high day usage at home then something like Simplicity "Celery" tariff might be for you @ 13p / kWh. But if you are going to daily drive your EV then Octopus Go of off-peak 5p / kWh will defiantly benefit you.

Shopping around on Companies will save you more than just switching plans.

I cannot stress this enough ... with a day's researching and some time in excel ... I'm now saving £300 a year by just switching Supplier and Tariff.

 

[boakham]

Well said! It’s always worth considering how the tariffs match your actual usage. And also whether you could shift your other usage around to make use of the lower rates. Dishwashers, washing machines and tumble dryers often now have timers so you can shift their running times to be during the cheaper rate times.
Because I also have night storage heaters and electricity based water heating, my usage is massively skewed (around 65%) to the night time so I think Go might be a good idea for me but I need to consider whether I’m going to exceed the maximum draw of the house and therefore have to use more expensive rate electricity once I get the EV. Lots to think about!

 

[ricisbest]

Average House compunction of Electricity of 12,000 kWh / Year.

Wow that sounds like a lot. Ours (4 bed house with kids) is only ~4200 kWh / year but we have gas heating and hob. The only high power appliances are probably our oven, dishwasher and washing machine.

Octopus are quoting me at 13.96p / kWh for the day rate on the 'Go' tariff (which is actually less than I currently pay on their 'Flexible' tariff: ~15p).

I worked out that if we switch to Go, and use all our current power usage in daytime, but add 3000 kWh of car charging at night, then it will only cost ~£10/month more than now in total. 🤯

 

[ricisbest]

According to these articles, our power usage of 4200 kWh/year is in the 'high' category, or about average for a detached house.

Which is more like what I'd expect TBH. We do do a lot of dishwasher and washing machine loads!

Average Household Gas and Electricity Usage | UKPower

www.ukpower.co.uk

Average Electricity Usage in the UK: How Many kWh Does Your Home Use? | OVO Energy

Find out the average electricity use in UK homes (kWh), if you’re paying too much, and how much it costs to run your appliances.

www.ovoenergy.com

 

[Steve The Techy]

According to these articles, our power usage is in the 'high' category, or about average for a detached house.

Which is more like what I'd expect TBH. We do do a lot of dishwasher and washing machine loads!

Average Household Gas and Electricity Usage | UKPower

www.ukpower.co.uk

Average Electricity Usage in the UK: How Many kWh Does Your Home Use? | OVO Energy

Find out the average electricity use in UK homes (kWh), if you’re paying too much, and how much it costs to run your appliances.

www.ovoenergy.com

We are in the 10,000K range as well. Old poorly insulated house and air source heat pump. No gas where we live, though the days of installing a gas boiler are about to end.

 

[GDank]

Yeah I googled the amount of kW .... and 12,000 came up early and I didn't check it more. About 4K is average. My bad ...

However the point is don't just assume 5p kw/h at night is the best deal. Work it out ;-)

 

[ricisbest]

However the point is don't just assume 5p kw/h at night is the best deal. Work it out ;-)

yeah agree 💯%

 

[GDank]

Ok got my Octopus Smart Meter installed.

Looking at going Agile than Go atm.

Both me and my wife now work from home and on PC's all day. So having 10-11p all day and 7-8p at night will work out cheaper than just having 15p all day and 5p for 4 hours to charge a car I won't be doing a million miles in per week.

 

[ProfessorCook]

... a car I won't be doing a million miles in per week.

Oh, I suspect in the first couple of weeks you might find yourself racking up a few more miles than necessary, eh?

 

[GDank]

Oh, I suspect in the first couple of weeks you might find yourself racking up a few more miles than necessary, eh?

Ok first month .... but THEN I won't be

 

[Fishouttawater]

What did you have to do to get that smart meter installed? Been waiting since May! Going Agile for the same reasons

 

[GDank]

Call them and ask when are they next in your area.

 

[toscal353]

I see no benefit in a smart meter, its just more big brother is watching you stuff.

 

[ricisbest]

Getting a smart meter next week, so we can use Octopus Go.

We do a lot of cooking and washes in the day, so I think Agile is not for me!

 

[GDank]

I see no benefit in a smart meter, its just more big brother is watching you stuff.

Saves you money. Also you are getting a car with Google installed .... and you are worried about big brother knowing your hours consumption of electricity?

We do a lot of cooking and washes in the day, so I think Agile is not for me!

As long as you avoid major loads during 4-7pm then Agile would work out better for you than Go.

Only use Go if you plan to drive 70-90 miles a day and charge every night for those 4 hours.


Agile is (roughly) :-

7am-4pm = 10-11p
4p-7pm = 20-35p (35p cap)
7pm-10pm = 12-15p
10pm-6am = 7-8pm

Go is 15p 04:30-00:30 .... and 5p 00:30 to 04:30

If you use a lot during the day ... little between 4pm-7pm and then charge a few times a week at night ... then it will be cheaper.

Washing Machines / Dish Washers / Ovens* / Cookers** / Electric Heaters are your main loads.

*Obviously Oven's are a something most people use to cook with, but if you can cook stews / casseroles during the day then turn the oven off at 4pm, keep the door shut, it will stay hot until 7pm. Even if you use 2-3 times a week during 4-7pm then it won't effect your bill too much.

**If you don't have a gas hob and you need to cook for a family ... then maybe Agile isn't right for you.

Finally once you are on a smart meter there are apss that track your monthly use and show at the end of the money the cost difference. So you could always switch to GO then use the app to see without changing anything if you would save or lose on Agile.

 

[Fishouttawater]

Getting a smart meter next week, so we can use Octopus Go.

We do a lot of cooking and washes in the day, so I think Agile is not for me!

If you can avoid it 4pm to 7pm...or just use a gas hob if available you'll miss the expensive time. Earlier in the day is cheaper because of solar.

As for why a smartmeter, cheaper electricity even opportunities to be paid for using power would be why. I appreciate it won't be for everyone, and I've avoided alexa/Google home devices, but don't see measuring power usage as overtly invasive.

 

[ricisbest]

Yeah 4-7pm is when we cook the kids meals after school every day (though much of this will be a gas hob tbf), and when they use their electronics a lot etc.

Finally once you are on a smart meter there are apss that track your monthly use and show at the end of the money the cost difference. So you could always switch to GO then use the app to see without changing anything if you would save or lose on Agile.

This is an interesting idea tho - I think I'll run with Go for a while and monitor my usage on the smart meter, and see how it works out in reality. Data driven decisions FTW!

 

[toscal353]

Saves you money

No, it doesn't. It may avail you to cheaper tariffs that are time dependant, but that's a different question. The smart meter does nothing in itself to save money. I will stick with my 12p per kW and not worry about having to do washing etc at times that aren't convenient for me.

 

[SA69-ev]

@Fishouttawater
I had my Octopus meter installed last week, I was advised to contact them via Twitter and it really worked ! Got a response with an appointment link within a few minutes.
@GDank
Is your meter functioning? Mine is still waiting to sync with the back office - I was told it would be a few hours/day but this is a week now!
Cheers

 

[Fishouttawater]

@Fishouttawater
I had my Octopus meter installed last week, I was advised to contact them via Twitter and it really worked ! Got a response with an appointment link within a few minutes.
@GDank
Is your meter functioning? Mine is still waiting to sync with the back office - I was told it would be a few hours/day but this is a week now!
Cheers

Yeah, I had done the same a few days ago, they said they didn't have anything but came back today saying Nov. 6th...that'll mean all of October and Most of Nov before on Agile...not the end of the world given Covid...