H F Posted August 19, 2019 Author Share Posted August 19, 2019 Anyone heard good things about Octopus. They have an interesting tariff for charing electric cars (would work great for our ASHP): Off-peak unit rate (00:30-04:30):5.00 p / kWhPeak unit rate (04:30-00:30):14.63 p / kWhStanding Charge:25.00 p / day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted August 19, 2019 Share Posted August 19, 2019 Yes, we were with them when they took over after our old supplier went bust. They annoyed the living daylights out of me, with all their "love and peace" crap in every bit of correspondence. They also managed to get our billing wrong several times in a row. The "Go" tariff is really intended to persuade people to have a "smart" meter, as all the suppliers are pretty desperate that everyone gets one of these, so they can reduce their tariff risk by passing it on to customers (this is probably the thing that causes some of the smaller suppliers to go out of business). For us, the very short off-peak period just isn't long enough to be useful. If my car needs a full charge it isn't long enough to charge it, either, whereas the E7 off peak period is fine. It's really a matter of analysing usage carefully, and making sure you can switch around half of it, or more, to the off-peak period for any split rate tariff. For us, Bulb came out on top, as I refuse to have a "smart" meter (and anyway, one won't work here) and we really need the 7 hour cheap rate period to be able to charge up our slab with heat in cold weather. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted August 19, 2019 Share Posted August 19, 2019 56 minutes ago, Home Farm said: Anyone heard good things about Octopus. They have an interesting tariff for charing electric cars (would work great for our ASHP): Off-peak unit rate (00:30-04:30):5.00 p / kWhPeak unit rate (04:30-00:30):14.63 p / kWhStanding Charge:25.00 p / day I am with Octopus. Same boat as @JSHarris I was transferred to them when Iresa went bust, but I have stayed with them. They are not the cheapest but not expensive and they do seem to get a lot of praise for good customer service. You have to wear dark glasses when using their website that I think was designed by a school kid, and ignore all the peace and love stuff. I like the fact YOU can set your monthly DD amount and I like the fact if you are in credit you can request some money back. And they don't get bothered if you are in arrears in winter. Check your inbox @Home Farm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H F Posted August 19, 2019 Author Share Posted August 19, 2019 59 minutes ago, JSHarris said: It's really a matter of analysing usage carefully, and making sure you can switch around half of it, or more, to the off-peak period for any split rate tariff. Would the 0:30-4:30 timeframe not help the ASHP and get the house warmer overnight? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H F Posted August 19, 2019 Author Share Posted August 19, 2019 15 minutes ago, ProDave said: They are not the cheapest but not expensive and they do seem to get a lot of praise for good customer service. I assume you've not gone with the smart metre either... What are the arguments about smart metres (or am I opening an enormous can of worms by asking)? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted August 19, 2019 Share Posted August 19, 2019 15 minutes ago, Home Farm said: Would the 0:30-4:30 timeframe not help the ASHP and get the house warmer overnight? It's nowhere near long enough for us. It takes a fair time to pump heat into the slab, and we use all of the E7 period, not for peak power, but just for the longer time. Same with the car. I can't charge it from almost discharged in just four hours, so it's not really a good tariff for EV owners, unless they don't need to do a long charge from home. For us, E7 makes more sense, and means we aren't forced to have a "smart" meter (which wouldn't work here anyway, so the Octopus Go tariff wouldn't be available) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdinand Posted August 19, 2019 Share Posted August 19, 2019 20 minutes ago, Home Farm said: I assume you've not gone with the smart metre either... What are the arguments about smart metres (or am I opening an enormous can of worms by asking)? No worries. This can of worms will sit quite happily in the row with all the others you open with all these excellent questions ???. Soon there will be enough for an off grid loo. ? F Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted August 19, 2019 Share Posted August 19, 2019 23 minutes ago, Home Farm said: I assume you've not gone with the smart metre either... What are the arguments about smart metres (or am I opening an enormous can of worms by asking)? No, I am resisting a smart meter until the law says I must have one. My main objection is they have the ability for half hour metering, so you can have a different rate charged for every half hour period of the day. I don't want that, and fear that is what we will all be forced to accept. the thought of paying 40p per KWh if I have the audacity to want to cook my dinner between 5 and 7 PM is my main objection. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterW Posted August 19, 2019 Share Posted August 19, 2019 1 minute ago, ProDave said: No, I am resisting a smart meter until the law says I must have one. It never will. It was removed from legislation as too difficult to impose. And there will be the suppliers who are there for those that don’t have them, and they will be competitive too.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted August 19, 2019 Share Posted August 19, 2019 Apart from the deliberate deception as to why "smart" meters are being rolled out, there are two things that concern me about them. The first is that they are already proving to be less than reliable than existing metering solutions (and less accurate in some cases). As they have the facility for your supplier to remotely disconnect your supply at your meter, via what amounts to an internet connection, we are already seeing instances where failures in the communications or data handling system has resulted in people losing power for hours, as a result of a remote disconnection command being sent in error. The second concern is the same as @ProDave, that the primary driver for them for suppliers is to allow the introduction of flexible tariffs, which removes risk from the suppliers and places it on the consumer. Suppliers want to be free from the half-hourly, day ahead, wholesale auction risk, and want to be able to sell electricity to consumers on a cost-plus basis. That will mean that consumers will find it very difficult to compare prices from different suppliers, as with tariffs changing potentially every 30 minutes, there will be no easy way to decide who is best value. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteamyTea Posted August 19, 2019 Share Posted August 19, 2019 6 hours ago, Home Farm said: 5.00 p / kWhPeak unit rate (04:30-00:30):14.63 p / kWhStanding Charge:25.00 p / day Would do me a treat, I may have to look at it. I can easily charge everything up in 4 hours. I suspect that the rate won't apply for a second year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H F Posted August 20, 2019 Author Share Posted August 20, 2019 15 hours ago, ProDave said: My main objection is they have the ability for half hour metering, so you can have a different rate charged for every half hour period of the day. I don't want that, and fear that is what we will all be forced to accept. the thought of paying 40p per KWh if I have the audacity to want to cook my dinner between 5 and 7 PM is my main objection. Very interesting. Looks like I'm going to just try and get the best fixed rate I can then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteamyTea Posted August 20, 2019 Share Posted August 20, 2019 (edited) 3 minutes ago, Home Farm said: best fixed rate I can then. Wholesale pries have dropped recently, so current fixed deals may not be the best. Should have an update from OFGEM about new pricing soon. Edited August 20, 2019 by SteamyTea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H F Posted August 26, 2019 Author Share Posted August 26, 2019 This may seem like an obvious question, but when I look at tariffs from electricity providers, what does "Variable" mean? Will this be a fixed rate or will it vary as per its name? It's looking increasingly likely that I'll switch to Bulb, but not really sure what they mean by variable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted August 26, 2019 Share Posted August 26, 2019 Just now, Home Farm said: This may seem like an obvious question, but when I look at tariffs from electricity providers, what does "Variable" mean? Will this be a fixed rate or will it vary as per its name? It's looking increasingly likely that I'll switch to Bulb, but not really sure what they mean by variable. Variable can mean two things. Most commonly it means that they can vary the tariff from time to time (so it may well go down soon, as the regulator is pushing suppliers to reduce prices). Fixed means the rate won't change at all for the fixed duration of the contract. In the context of the Octopus Agile tariff, variable seems to mean that the tariff can vary throughout the day, so it can go up and down more or less in line with the variation in wholesale price. AFAIK, this is the only truly variable rate tariff around at the moment, although I suspect that there will be more before long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H F Posted August 26, 2019 Author Share Posted August 26, 2019 Thanks Jeremy - are you on a variable rate with Bulb? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted August 26, 2019 Share Posted August 26, 2019 9 minutes ago, Home Farm said: Thanks Jeremy - are you on a variable rate with Bulb? Yes, we're on their normal variable E7 tariff, Vari-Fair, currently 15.729p/kWh peak, 8.148p/kWh off-peak and 20.44p/day standing charge. We're currently paying about £48/month, which covers all our heating, hot water etc, and I anticipate that will reduce a bit when I get the battery system installed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H F Posted August 26, 2019 Author Share Posted August 26, 2019 Do you run your ASHP 24/7 in winter? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted August 26, 2019 Share Posted August 26, 2019 5 minutes ago, Home Farm said: Do you run your ASHP 24/7 in winter? No, it only ever runs during the cheap rate period, and often only comes on once every two or three days during the heating season (around October to March). It's only in cold weather that it comes on every night. Most of our electricity goes on hot water and other stuff, rather than heating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H F Posted August 26, 2019 Author Share Posted August 26, 2019 That's very helpful. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteamyTea Posted August 26, 2019 Share Posted August 26, 2019 25 minutes ago, Home Farm said: Do you run your ASHP 24/7 in winter Have you done breakdown of your electrical usages. It is worth knowing how much goes to heating space, water, food ect. If you haven't, get an energy logger so you do know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H F Posted August 26, 2019 Author Share Posted August 26, 2019 9 minutes ago, SteamyTea said: If you haven't, get an energy logger so you do know. What would you recommend? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteamyTea Posted August 26, 2019 Share Posted August 26, 2019 Home made one. Failing that, get an old Current cost one from eBay, link it to a raspberry pi, ask for some software (a few of us use them), log for a few weeks, then dissect the data. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H F Posted August 26, 2019 Author Share Posted August 26, 2019 We have metres connected to our ASHP system that monitor our heating (DHW and CH, combined) versus the electricity used to generate that heat. I guess that leaves everything else (fridges, oven, computers, etc.). I was hoping to get an idea of how that electricity usage is split up because I'm convinced there are some appliances that are really energy hungry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteamyTea Posted August 26, 2019 Share Posted August 26, 2019 Does it log the time it uses energy. Know that is quite important if you want to change to time of day tariffs. Then you can knock up something like this and analysis it properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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