Just Joined the Intelligent Octopus Tariff

[Joeboy]

Guys, I am requesting to go onto Octopus Go faster once the meter is replaced on the 8th Dec. Is this tariff u fellas are on better than that?

I think so but I seem to be the ONLY fella on it here !, but for now you need your Tesla first !

Go faster gives you either,
4.5p / kWh for 3 fixed hours
5p / kWh for 4 fixed hours
5.5p / kWh for 5 fixed hours

But this tariff gives you 6 fixed hours 11:30pm to 05:30am for 5p / kWh and sometimes extra 5p half hour slots depending on weather and / or how much charge your Tesla requires. The only issue is if you agree to the extra cheap slots and you have a battery inverter, then you have to change the settings to avoid your battery inverter charging your car via your battery bank.

The important thing is if you want to use it just like Go Faster you can by simply plugging your car in at 11:30pm except you get an extra hour for 10% less cost.

Outstanding explanation Nowty, thank you.

[Stinsy]

Guys, I am requesting to go onto Octopus Go faster once the meter is replaced on the 8th Dec. Is this tariff u fellas are on better than that?

I’m on Go Faster, 4hrs, starting 2030.

I was a bit tempted by the 3hr tariff because my batteries can just about charge in that time. But with an EV that takes over 12hrs to charge on order and plans for a storage heater in the garden office, 3hrs wouldn’t really cut it. Octopus made it clear they wouldn’t let you chop-and-change between different ToU tariffs (I think you have to endure 2 weeks on a standard tariff or something).

The 2030 start is perfect for batteries because it tops off anything not filled by solar in summer and the batteries are depleted slightly before the sun comes up. We also always have run the dishwasher at that time.

If I had a WBS I’d be tempted by a cheap rate finishing at 0630. While that is less perfect for your batteries, you can heat with the WBS in the evening then wake up to fully charged storage heaters. It is also good if you have an immersion and take showers in the morning.

One thing to understand is that “cheap” electric isn’t free! Shifting usage into the cheap period is good. It isn’t a competition to use as much as you can in the cheap period. Eg using resistive heat at a time when you’d otherwise allow the room to be cooler isn’t really a “win”.

[Joeboy]

Guys, I am requesting to go onto Octopus Go faster once the meter is replaced on the 8th Dec. Is this tariff u fellas are on better than that?

I’m on Go Faster, 4hrs, starting 2030.

I was a bit tempted by the 3hr tariff because my batteries can just about charge in that time. But with an EV that takes over 12hrs to charge on order and plans for a storage heater in the garden office, 3hrs wouldn’t really cut it. Octopus made it clear they wouldn’t let you chop-and-change between different ToU tariffs (I think you have to endure 2 weeks on a standard tariff or something).

The 2030 start is perfect for batteries because it tops off anything not filled by solar in summer and the batteries are depleted slightly before the sun comes up. We also always have run the dishwasher at that time.

If I had a WBS I’d be tempted by a cheap rate finishing at 0630. While that is less perfect for your batteries, you can heat with the WBS in the evening then wake up to fully charged storage heaters. It is also good if you have an immersion and take showers in the morning.

One thing to understand is that “cheap” electric isn’t free! Shifting usage into the cheap period is good. It isn’t a competition to use as much as you can in the cheap period. Eg using resistive heat at a time when you’d otherwise allow the room to be cooler isn’t really a “win”.

Thanks Stinsy I will be going for the 5hrs @ 5.5p. If for nothing else to max out the HWT and kill the gas use to it. Got an Eddi zappi in the pipeline too so should be able to chuck 35kWh at the car. That's around 140/150 miles covers 99% of our daily travel.

[Joeboy]

Also bought a charmast 23800mAh battery bank from amazon Black friday. A small yet relevant part of the time shifting power use.


I am looking forward to getting back up and running properly with the smart meter. Been thinking about Nowtys 13.8kW max load on single phase.

4kW Home Battery charging (4 hours)
3kW HWT (4 hours)
7kW EV ( expect 3 hours per night on average)
2.4kW storage heater centre of house (5 hours)

That's 16.4kW to cover the HUGE storage req's. The remainder is timeshifted 0.8kW storage heaters, dishwasher, washing machine, tumble dryer etc. Surprising how fast it can stack up. Winter & worst case too. I'll keep an eye on it once its all running properly and slide the times about via Hive etc. Will try and wheedle an 11pm start but in truth that would be so we could put the washing machine on late before heading off. Glad I bought the Thermal imaging cam to keep an eye on the tails.
Also writing it down like this for the first time shows how far FF will be kicked out of our house and travel.

I've never been the fastest cat off the blocks yet this combination of a working meter, Go Faster and the Ripple WT have got me quite anticipatory.

[Stinsy]

I’ve been thinking of buying the new MacBook Pro. The battery life is astonishing. It’d easily power itself from only cheap rate electric. The £2k price tag would take a long time to repay based on this however…

My thoughts:

• The washing machine / dishwasher heating elements are only transitory so don’t worry about their contribution towards the 13.8kW.

• 4hrs of battery charging is “winter only” you’ll only need an hour or two in the shoulder months and none in summer.

• While there will be some occasions when you’ll need to charge the EV at full whack for the full cheap period on consecutive days. Most of the time it’ll only need a partial charge, the Zappi can be programmed to throttle charging based on what else is drawing power. I’ve seen a load of installs on YouTube never seen one set to anything other than main-fuse rating but no problem setting it to 60A (13.8kW).

• How long/what size are your main tails?

[Joeboy]

I’ve been thinking of buying the new MacBook Pro. The battery life is astonishing. It’d easily power itself from only cheap rate electric. The £2k price tag would take a long time to repay based on this however…

My thoughts:

• The washing machine / dishwasher heating elements are only transitory so don’t worry about their contribution towards the 13.8kW.

• 4hrs of battery charging is “winter only” you’ll only need an hour or two in the shoulder months and none in summer.

• While there will be some occasions when you’ll need to charge the EV at full whack for the full cheap period on consecutive days. Most of the time it’ll only need a partial charge, the Zappi can be programmed to throttle charging based on what else is drawing power. I’ve seen a load of installs on YouTube never seen one set to anything other than main-fuse rating but no problem setting it to 60A (13.8kW).

• How long/what size are your main tails?

From the incoming to the CU is around 7 mtrs. they look around 4AWG (10 to 12mm OD on insulation)
I have just went from a Samsung Note 4 to a Samsung A525G, the upgrade is incredible. Doesn't have wireless charging but thats ok. its USB C as is the powerbank with fast charging capability. Real handy to have around on the coffee table. Get the Macbook, u know u want to.

[Stinsy]

If they are standard grey, double-insulated tails then 11mm OD = 25mm² so officially rated for 110A (16mm² is 9.1mm OD and only rated for 87A).

7meters is a bit long, the requirement these days is 3m max length from cut-out to CU, but I wouldn't sweat it. Just keep an eye on your voltage "sag".

You could consider fitting henley blocks at the cutout and a 2nd CU for the EV charging point to lighten the load on the tails from the cutout to main CU. But I don't think that is required given the circumstances.

[Andy]

7 meters is a bit long, the requirement these days is 3m max length from cut-out to CU, but I wouldn't sweat it. Just keep an eye on your voltage "sag".

Ah, I was wanting to go from the Fuse to my 'power station' and back to the CU. 20 meters each way. I was intending to use 25mm cabling. Is this allowed in that circumstance? The higher power units would be connected direct to the 'power station'I don't want all the batteries in the house and the closest place I can have a shed is about 20m from where the power enters the house. I was working on about 3 V sag which would take me to 235V.

I will be getting an electrician for all this, but doing the general planning before hand.

'power station' = batteries + solar + generator.

[Fintray]

Andy

After the power outage I was thinking of doing something very similar i.e. taking the output from the meter into the automatic changeover for my generator (soon to be re-commissioned, after sitting 25yrs!) then back to the CU in the house, I'll check if this is ok with my neighbour as he is an electrician.

[Stinsy]

7 meters is a bit long, the requirement these days is 3m max length from cut-out to CU, but I wouldn't sweat it. Just keep an eye on your voltage "sag".

Ah, I was wanting to go from the Fuse to my 'power station' and back to the CU. 20 meters each way. I was intending to use 25mm cabling. Is this allowed in that circumstance? The higher power units would be connected direct to the 'power station'I don't want all the batteries in the house and the closest place I can have a shed is about 20m from where the power enters the house. I was working on about 3 V sag which would take me to 235V.

I will be getting an electrician for all this, but doing the general planning before hand.

'power station' = batteries + solar + generator.

You can achieve what you want, you just might have to do it slightly differently.

The tails from your meter will have to be 25mm² and will have to be terminated in a CU (Consumer Unit) within 3m. However you can go for a DB (Distribution Board) arrangement. A DB is a CU that feeds other CUs (the device is the same thing).

Here is an example: 25mm² tails from meter to DB. DB has 3 ways in use plus room for expansion: 50A MCB feeding 10mm² armoured to the "power station" CU. 50A MCB feeding 10mm² armoured to main house CU, 40A MCB feeding 6mm² armoured to EV charging point.

Obviously you have to get an electrician to do the calculations and specify the exact details based on the various criteria. Don't forget voltage "sag" works both ways! If your inverter is trying to push power into the grid, it'll have to increase the voltage, if the cable is too long and too thin the voltage will go too high and the inverter will turn off.