Energy prices - gone nuts.

[SeikoKid]

My logic is that if I’m putting a medium/large charge to the car (100KWh battery) with my rates at 02.00-05.00 at 13.94p/KWh and day rate at 23.23p/KWh, I would have it charging (7.5KWh charger) from the storage batteries (41Kw), starting prior to the 02.00 cheap rate, then between 02.00-05.00 charge the car and the batteries on cheap rate, any further car charging if needed from the batteries after 05.00 from the cheap rate stored electricity.

I have a very good warranty on my batteries, inverters and panels (double all the standard warranty duration due to the system being installed by one of the manufacturers ‘master installers’, a grand title ) I’ve no concerns on using them as intended, the warranty will take me comfortably into retirement when my annual mileage should tumble.

Chris.

gotcha.

would the intelligent tariff not be more suited? 11.30-5.30 @ 7p kWh ? charge you batteries and car off peak? works very well in the winter when the panels don't. You could have the charger data connected to the inverter and utilise the intelligent system also for car charging at 7p during the day
Warranty is 5 years so you have 10? I guess your batteries are 4kw approx each around £1400 a pop?

 

[Monkeyboypaul]

June '24: £17.68 credit.

--->>> Electric Import: £29.76 (it's really high because we charged the car battery up 6 times in June) + £19.61 standing charges
--->>> Gas import: £16.66 + £8.85 standing charges
vs
<<<--- Electric Export: £92.56 (617kWh @15p/kWh)

Octopus Intelligent Go tariff, 2x 64kWh EVs,13.5kWh AC-coupled Tesla battery, 7.47kWp solar, 6kW solar inverter, 6kW solar export limitation - no battery export allowed because Northern Power Grid are knob heads.

 

[M4carp]

This YouTube video made me laugh.

My bro bought a new Tesla then traded it in for the bigger one with the rear gull wing type doors. Sends me pics of the car cooling the interior down before he gets in it ffs
I think he loves it but he can afford to spunk money and he has no solar panels etc.

Edit: Forgot he owns a solar farm in Turkey, needs a long cable

 

[taz turbo]

Octopus sent me an email to let me know that today from 13.00-14.00 any electricity used over and above my normal usage at that time will be free, between those times we’re always running from battery storage so our usage would typically be zero, so thought it best to charge the car and the storage batteries…



Only for the hour, but nice for nothing, especially on a grey raining day.

Chris.

 

[Marvello]

Octopus sent me an email to let me know that today from 13.00-14.00 any electricity used over and above my normal usage at that time will be free, between those times we’re always running from battery storage so our usage would typically be zero, so thought it best to charge the car and the storage batteries…

View attachment 258836

Only for the hour, but nice for nothing, especially on a grey raining day.

Chris.

I got that email too, bit of an odd promotion and I didn't really have any use to burn up some free electricity. If it was winter I would have gone mental with the electric heaters.

 

[russdx1]

I had the same email and battery was at 30% I couldn’t be bothered to log into the app to force charge it.

 

[Pooman2084]

I used that too. Made some bread, put the washing machine and dishwasher on, charged all devices and batteries and plugged the car in.

I’ve paid them the best part of £2k this year so wanted to claw back a bit!

 

[Fenny]

No solar panels but a good deal from Octopus on a tracker rate - had the free hour and today was 18.01 p/kWh….

 

[SeikoKid]

Ok. So i had Solar / Battery system fitted last August and finally been able to compare usage
My consumption has increased due to 40kw electric car bought Autumn last year and increased battery capacity by 12kw 2 months ago.
Also some other appliances that I am running more constantly due to the benefit of solar so my overall usage this example month is more than the meter readings show compared to last year where everything used was direct from the grid

real rough calc gives me full payback of solar install in approx 6 years


Comparison is
16/6-15/7 2023 781kw/h £262
16/6-15/7 2024 973kw/h £91

Rough take off for July below is 1550kw/h so even half that additional solar use is 250kw/h for July period that is totally free

 

[daveyp]

Looking at adding battery storage to my solar system getting installed and wondered what peoples thoughts are and what systems they have. Battery prices seem to range wildly but looked at this link below.

Fogstar Energy 30kWh 48V Rack Battery Bundle

30kWh 48v Rack Battery Lithium (LiFePO4) heating, pre-loaded inverter protocols, LCD touch screen, Grade A EVE Cells, a DC Rated Breaker and an 8 year warranty.

www.fogstar.co.uk

Dave.

 

[Supersprint]

Looking at adding battery storage to my solar system getting installed and wondered what peoples thoughts are and what systems they have. Battery prices seem to range wildly but looked at this link below.

Fogstar Energy 30kWh 48V Rack Battery Bundle

30kWh 48v Rack Battery Lithium (LiFePO4) heating, pre-loaded inverter protocols, LCD touch screen, Grade A EVE Cells, a DC Rated Breaker and an 8 year warranty.

www.fogstar.co.uk

Dave.

Are you currently exporting much?
How many kWh do your panels produce in the winter?
It’s a calculation as to how much you spend vs how much you’ll save.
Any decent company will take your usage into account, it’s very easy to spend more on kit than you’ll get back, you ROI has to make sense or it’s not worth it.

 

[daveyp]

Are you currently exporting much?
How many kWh do your panels produce in the winter?
It’s a calculation as to how much you spend vs how much you’ll save.
Any decent company will take your usage into account, it’s very easy to spend more on kit than you’ll get back, you ROI has to make sense or it’s not worth it.

I can’t export as I can’t have a smart meter but my usage is high with a 17kw Air Source heat pump and a hot tub so saving anything is better than nothing. I will be having 10 panels installed at no cost to me under a home upgrade the council are doing. But the 30kw battery I linked is cheap compared to others so was after people’s thoughts.

 

[Biff]

In order to gain from this, you will at least need a dual tariff to feed into your batteries at night. As 10 panels won’t hardly touch your battery levels especially over winter.

 

[Biff]

I have 16 panels. 10kwh batteries. No EV. I really can’t be ****d with the trading apps so do not have dual tariff. In winter I 60% charge my batteries then switch them off then just use the panels to supplement the load for any days where we do have some sunshine it also means I’m not thrasing the **** out of my batteries, the more you use them the more chemical wear and tear they suffer and the less capacity they will ultimately hold. If I didn’t switch off the batteries over winter. Every three or four weeks I would have to balance them from the mains electrical supply which is obviously counterintuitive. If i had an EV things would be different.

 

[Taxiturn]

Looking at adding battery storage to my solar system getting installed and wondered what peoples thoughts are and what systems they have. Battery prices seem to range wildly but looked at this link below.

Fogstar Energy 30kWh 48V Rack Battery Bundle

30kWh 48v Rack Battery Lithium (LiFePO4) heating, pre-loaded inverter protocols, LCD touch screen, Grade A EVE Cells, a DC Rated Breaker and an 8 year warranty.

www.fogstar.co.uk

Dave.

With no smart meter and 10 panels you’ll barely get any benefit from the battery, so I probably wouldn’t in your shoes.

I’ve got 28 panels (12kWp), 18.6kWh of batteries (FoxESS) and just had a 7kW Vaillant heat pump installed. I’m export limited so over the summer I can discharge the battery slowly at night and then use the headroom to soak up more of the excess solar which would otherwise be lost to throttling. In the winter I’ll be using time-of-use tariffs to charge the battery cheaply at least once a day, so I should never have to buy peak price electric - but that option won’t be available to you if you can’t get a smart meter.

 

[crsedgar]

A friend recently installed some batteries. He is a Solar FIT customer with eON since 2011 when the panels were installed. Currently, he uses Octopus for his domestic energy needs but has struggled to set up a variable rate tariff to take advantage of the newly purchased batteries.

During his first call to Octopus, he was advised to contact eON. On his second call, they requested an approval code for his solar panels. My question is: why are the panels relevant at all? He is only trying to arrange a setup with Octopus regarding the batteries, and nothing will change regarding his eON FIT agreement.

 

[Dinsdale]

A friend recently installed some batteries. He is a Solar FIT customer with eON since 2011 when the panels were installed. Currently, he uses Octopus for his domestic energy needs but has struggled to set up a variable rate tariff to take advantage of the newly purchased batteries.

During his first call to Octopus, he was advised to contact eON. On his second call, they requested an approval code for his solar panels. My question is: why are the panels relevant at all? He is only trying to arrange a setup with Octopus regarding the batteries, and nothing will change regarding his eON FIT agreement.

Are you talking about him trying to get onto the Tracker Tariff? If so, you need to email hello@octopus.energy and ask to be put on - but there is a waiting list.

If you're talking about something else to do with batteries specifically, I'm not sure (As like you say, the batteries are irrelevant)

He should download an app called Octo-Aid which API's to his account and will allow him to see the rate of gas and electric daily.

EDIT: He needs to be an Octopus customer on a standard tariff first. You can't go straight onto the tariff. If he needs a referral code, DM me. We'll both get £50 credit.

 

[Fantazia2]

Are you talking about him trying to get onto the Tracker Tariff? If so, you need to email hello@octopus.energy and ask to be put on - but there is a waiting list.

If you're talking about something else to do with batteries specifically, I'm not sure (As like you say, the batteries are irrelevant)

He should download an app called Octo-Aid which API's to his account and will allow him to see the rate of gas and electric daily.

EDIT: He needs to be an Octopus customer on a standard tariff first. You can't go straight onto the tariff. If he needs a referral code, DM me. We'll both get £50 credit.

Yeah, he might not want to mention anything about the batteries or solar, unless its a specific tariff where they want proof of solar. He will also need a smart meter if he hasnt got one yet to get the variable rates.

I use Octopus's Heat Pump tariff that gives cheaper power from 4am to 7am, 1pm to 4pm and 10pm to 12midnight, and to get on this I didnt need to prove that I had a heat pump installed, that was about a year ago though.

I then have my battery storage configured to charge up during those times and not run so Im always pull from the grid when cheapest and then run from solar/batteries at the other times.

The tarrif is called Octopus Cosy. If hes already an octopus customer with a smart meter, he will first need to make sure his account is setup for half hourly readings from his meter and then he should be able to switch online to the cosy tariff.

Cosy Octopus

The UK's most awarded energy supplier. We're doing energy better - for you and the environment.

octopus.energy

He should off course be able to sign up to Agile in the same way which is the variable rate per 30mins that gets published the day before but you need some form of automated system setup to work out when to charge/discharge for best use if he doesnt want to sit there every night and change the schedule manually.

 

[Calimori]

It really does depend what they are asking Octopus for but Flux requires you are a solar and battery owner. So they may be asking for evidence customers have solar to get on the tariff.

 

[Fantazia2]

It really does depend what they are asking Octopus for but Flux requires you are a solar and battery owner. So they may be asking for evidence customers have solar to get on the tariff.

Yes he wont be able to get that or any export tariff if on a FIT solar contract until the original contract expires, he will want Flex instead, or one of the other variable import tariffs.

 

[crsedgar]

Yeah, he might not want to mention anything about the batteries or solar, unless its a specific tariff where they want proof of solar. He will also need a smart meter if he hasnt got one yet to get the variable rates.

I use Octopus's Heat Pump tariff that gives cheaper power from 4am to 7am, 1pm to 4pm and 10pm to 12midnight, and to get on this I didnt need to prove that I had a heat pump installed, that was about a year ago though.

I then have my battery storage configured to charge up during those times and not run so Im always pull from the grid when cheapest and then run from solar/batteries at the other times.

The tarrif is called Octopus Cosy. If hes already an octopus customer with a smart meter, he will first need to make sure his account is setup for half hourly readings from his meter and then he should be able to switch online to the cosy tariff.

Cosy Octopus

The UK's most awarded energy supplier. We're doing energy better - for you and the environment.

octopus.energy

He should off course be able to sign up to Agile in the same way which is the variable rate per 30mins that gets published the day before but you need some form of automated system setup to work out when to charge/discharge for best use if he doesnt want to sit there every night and change the schedule manually.

Thanks fellas for the replies.

Chris 'Cosy' sounds like a good option for him I'll go back to him with your setup cheers

 

[SeikoKid]

You need MCS cert to show it’s a a legit system fitted by approved installer for the tariff , same as you need to plug in your car for ev tarrif

 

[Fantazia2]

You need MCS cert to show it’s a a legit system fitted by approved installer for the tariff , same as you need to plug in your car for ev tarrif

MCS cert is only for signing up to a solar export tariff, not needed for a smart import tarrif. For the EV tariff you need proof of ownership of an EV.

Also now for Octopus you don't need an MCS cert for solar export, you can get the export tariff without it, or at least you could last year.

 

[Pick Holder]

Can I ask you a few questions.

How many years will it take to get your money back?
Also will the panels be outdated by then?
Would you be tempted to change panels even before they make your money back?
What are the life of the batteries?

I had some guy here trying to sell me them (on a terrace house). I pay £120 a month gas and electric. It was £70 before the increase. There is no way they would pay for themselves with my use.

 

[Fantazia2]

Would have to go back and check as I think I posted in here my estimate when I set it up, but I think that was before the cost per KWh shot up for a while and never envisioned being able to get export payments.

Also now I'm on a tariff that gives 8 hours a day of cheap electric that I use to charge my battery so getting extra savings that way, paying roughly 12p per KWh against 22 odd for the current cap.

It's been installed for just over 3 years now and at a guess with the changes mentioned I could be close to breaking even next year.

Panels I think we're guaranteed to still be producing 85% after 20 years, would need to double check that info though.

If the inverter ever failed thats only £300/400 odd to replace.

Can't remember how long the cells in the battery were rated for but I think it was quoted as several thousand cycles instead of years, sure it was at least 10/15 years but will still work after then with reduced capacity, you can also lengthen life by not fully charging and discharging to the limits. And also this year I've bought some new cells to increase the usable storage from 6KW to 11KW and those were only about £920 as my battery is self built.

But this was all self install though at 2021 prices, they did all shoot up shortly after I got all my bits but not looked recently to see if they came back down.

I think all in my system was under £3k for a 3KW solar inverter, 3.4KW of panels, 3KW battery inverter with 8KWh DIY battery (6KWh usable) and all the cables and fittings.

Whether is worth it for anyone else really depends on cost to install vs usage etc. As every case is different.

 

[domlouis]

Sorry, i didn't quite fancy reading the 72 pages of this thread. Could someone point me towards a reliable calculator to size up a new system, both in terms of panel capacity and battery size? We have just moved in. Our first estimation of daily usage of electricity is around 17-20 kWh per day. Our roof is large and facing South. Thank you.

 

[PAX]

Currently (no pun intended) with Octopus but thinking of switching to Tomato Energy.
Rates are cheaper and their tariffs are easy to understand.
Anyone else with them?