Octopus Export rates (Outgoing) are reducing

[JohnMo]

1st March export rates reduce to 12p/kWh, from 15p. So may need to flip to a different tariff for summer, such as Intelligent Octopus Flux

[Beelbeebub]

Inevitable, but a bit annoying as thr current (15p outgoing) rate almost exactly matches the E7 rate (13.8p) effectively making charging and exporting the same which makes organising charging times easy. I just charged at night and exported in the day. 

 

I'll probaly stay on outgoing but go back to fixed rate. 

[Dillsue]

1 hour ago, JohnMo said:

1st March export rates reduce to 12p/kWh, from 15p. So may need to flip to a different tariff for summer, such as Intelligent Octopus Flux

My bill says my 15p outgoing rate is guaranteed til June. Maybe the March drop is for new customers??

[JohnMo]

49 minutes ago, Dillsue said:

My bill says my 15p outgoing rate is guaranteed til June. Maybe the March drop is for new customers??

Maybe by area or post code?

[S2D2]

20 hours ago, Dillsue said:

My bill says my 15p outgoing rate is guaranteed til June. Maybe the March drop is for new customers??

Existing one year fixed tariffs will continue at 15p but they've been renewing onto variable for months now, which is the one that changes in March.

[MikeGrahamT21]

E.on's tariffs have also dropped, I moved to them from Octopus last August, for 16.5p/kWh, but their new tariff which I'll move to this August is now 13p/kWh 😭

[Bonner]

28 minutes ago, MikeGrahamT21 said:

E.on's tariffs have also dropped, I moved to them from Octopus last August, for 16.5p/kWh, but their new tariff which I'll move to this August is now 13p/kWh 😭

Also with EON, looks like that rate applies only on standard import tariffs, 6p/kWh if you are on their EV tariff?

[MikeGrahamT21]

8 minutes ago, Bonner said:

Also with EON, looks like that rate applies only on standard import tariffs, 6p/kWh if you are on their EV tariff?

Yes i noticed that the other day whilst searching, you can't be using one of their smart tariffs which is a bit naff, though I'm on fixed currently, was seeing how much difference there was between charging and not charging the battery over winter (taking into consideration battery wear which for some reason was quite high whilst grid charging, yet haven't lost a percent since just charging up from solar, almost a year, put me off a little from grid charging), and I think if I go down this route again which I may well have to, it might be wise to charge the battery to 50% in november and then switch the system off until mid Feb, as its consumed around 1.5kWh a day just topping itself up to the minimum charge, not ideal!

[Nickfromwales]

On 18/02/2026 at 16:41, MikeGrahamT21 said:

Yes i noticed that the other day whilst searching, you can't be using one of their smart tariffs which is a bit naff, though I'm on fixed currently, was seeing how much difference there was between charging and not charging the battery over winter (taking into consideration battery wear which for some reason was quite high whilst grid charging, yet haven't lost a percent since just charging up from solar, almost a year, put me off a little from grid charging), and I think if I go down this route again which I may well have to, it might be wise to charge the battery to 50% in november and then switch the system off until mid Feb, as its consumed around 1.5kWh a day just topping itself up to the minimum charge, not ideal!

Not all systems are ‘allowed’ to hibernate like that. I know Solarwatt was developed for use in countries with extended periods of near zero solar input, Nordics etc, so were able to do this but also warranties stayed in place. 
 

The caveat is, that the system was able to remain in standby and monitor / manage its heath and status, even ‘re-awakening’ sporadically if there were pockets of solar which could be used to top up.

 

Beware just switching a battery system ‘off’ as this may damage the cells, however a lot has changed in the last few years in this market so may / may not still be relevant (modern offerings may now state that they can cope) but the rule of thumb for batteries is largely the same over time; especially with multiples of cells requiring balanced charge (and discharge). 

[JohnMo]

On 18/02/2026 at 16:41, MikeGrahamT21 said:

fixed currently,

Zero benefit having a battery except for PV offsetting. I'm on Cosy and battery gets charged 3x a day so all my electricity is cheap rate 24/7. 

 

I would just get a decent tariff that pays export and allows cheap rates. Move supplier if you need too 

[MikeGrahamT21]

32 minutes ago, Nickfromwales said:

Not all systems are ‘allowed’ to hibernate like that. I know Solarwatt was developed for use in countries with extended periods of near zero solar input, Nordics etc, so were able to do this but also warranties stayed in place. 
 

The caveat is, that the system was able to remain in standby and monitor / manage its heath and status, even ‘re-awakening’ sporadically if there were pockets of solar which could be used to top up.

 

Beware just switching a battery system ‘off’ as this may damage the cells, however a lot has changed in the last few years in this market so may / may not still be relevant (modern offerings may now state that they can cope) but the rule of thumb for batteries is largely the same over time; especially with multiples of cells requiring balanced charge (and discharge). 

 

Yeah probably worth checking, can't see it being any different to it being sat on a shelf in a warehouse however? Have just done a quick google, and it seems they can, but actually need greater than 90% charge

 

Pylontech US3000C batteries can remain disconnected for up to 6 months without needing a charge, provided they are stored at a high State of Charge (>90%). They have low self-discharge rates, but should be checked and topped up every 6 months to prevent the voltage from dropping too low.

[MikeGrahamT21]

25 minutes ago, JohnMo said:

Zero benefit having a battery except for PV offsetting. I'm on Cosy and battery gets charged 3x a day so all my electricity is cheap rate 24/7. 

 

I would just get a decent tariff that pays export and allows cheap rates. Move supplier if you need too 

The degredation from grid charging was quite extreme, i'm down at 94% SoH now, which hasn't dropped a single percent since stopping charging from the grid. There is only 3-4 months of the year where the battery isn't useful, although that would likely be shortened if it were sunny, the gloomy weather hasn't helped.

 

I'm locked in with Eon until this deceber, so can't do anything until then without paying fees, and i'll re-assess when the time comes.

 

The trouble with the ToU tariffs is that you are instantly paying more standing charge for both electric and gas, and they stick you on gas rates which are quite high (they used to be much better), so that along with battery degredation it becomes less and less economically sensible. There is also the losses to content with too from conversion from AC to DC and back again, they are materially significant.

[S2D2]

52 minutes ago, MikeGrahamT21 said:

The trouble with the ToU tariffs is that you are instantly paying more standing charge for both electric and gas, and they stick you on gas rates which are quite high (they used to be much better), so that along with battery degredation it becomes less and less economically sensible. There is also the losses to content with too from conversion from AC to DC and back again, they are materially significant.

I can't speak for other companies but most Octopus smart tariffs are on the same standing charges as the standard variable tariff. Obviously if you're on a fix the new standing charges will come as a shock, but you'll probably find that either way at renewal.

 

You can also be on a smart electricity tariff and whichever gas tariff you want, e.g. tracker.

 

I factor in 15% round trip losses, which do make a difference, I stopped using Flux because of this. But Cosy/Go still have a large worthwhile saving.

 

The degradation point is an interesting observation, I wonder how the value per unit degradation calculations would come out?

[JohnMo]

2 hours ago, MikeGrahamT21 said:

degredation from grid charging was quite extreme

Can you get it to do a taper charge, so backs off the 10% or so of the charge period

[MikeGrahamT21]

1 hour ago, S2D2 said:

I can't speak for other companies but most Octopus smart tariffs are on the same standing charges as the standard variable tariff. Obviously if you're on a fix the new standing charges will come as a shock, but you'll probably find that either way at renewal.

 

You can also be on a smart electricity tariff and whichever gas tariff you want, e.g. tracker.

 

I factor in 15% round trip losses, which do make a difference, I stopped using Flux because of this. But Cosy/Go still have a large worthwhile saving.

 

The degradation point is an interesting observation, I wonder how the value per unit degradation calculations would come out?

With Octopus yes, but not with Eon, you have to use the bundled gas tariff so its not as flexible.

 

Cosy/Go type tariffs would require ASHP or an EV, both of which I don't have, so that limits me just to flux, which was OK, but became rather expensive.

[MikeGrahamT21]

11 minutes ago, JohnMo said:

Can you get it to do a taper charge, so backs off the 10% or so of the charge period

Currently the unit is set to stop delivering power when it hits 10% SoC, and when the unit drops to 7% SoC (which happens quite often as my current model of inverter is powered by the battery ONLY) it does a force charge at 300W until it hits 10% again and so on. It does slow the charge as it nears 100% SoC as part of the battery firmware.

 

Otherwise the ToU settings allow an Amp Charge and Discharge to be specified (which allows a low and slow charge which reduces wastage), but nothing more other than the time slot. I suspect the fact it charges to 100% probably doesn't help (i'd have to take a wild guess at the Amps and timespan to stop it going all the way), but again this particular model of inverter doesn't have the setting to stop it going above, say 90%. The Generation 6 Solis AC Coupled has all of the relevant features needed, but this would require spending yet more money, so for now its staying and when/if it dies, i'll see whats about at that point

Edited 5 hours ago by MikeGrahamT21