Wiki Everything you wanted to know about Intelligent Octopus But Were Afraid To Ask

Why write this post?
A lot of people are starting to get interested in IO. I don't think Octopus do a very good job of spelling out the benefits in their website. They have some FAQs, but the same questions keep coming up over and over on the forums.

What is it?
In a nutshell, IO is a split tariff that gives you a cheap off-peak rate for charging your EV and other electrical items in the household, including home batteries.

Isn’t that the same as Octopus Go or Go Faster?
The principle is the same, but in exchange for some benefits which we’ll explain, you allow Octopus to control the timing of your EV charge, so they can choose low carbon intensity and/or cheap wholesale priced time slots.

So I’m not in control of my charge? I don’t like the sound of that!
Well yes…and no. You’re in control of how much to charge and when you want the car to be ready, just like you would be normally. Within those parameters, you’re allowing Octopus to control which half-hour slots the car chooses to get to that target % charge. And you can always override IO if you want to “bump charge” through the day.

OK, but what are the benefits you mentioned for this trade off?
First of all, you get a larger guaranteed off-peak window for using household appliances and charging home batteries, etc. It’s six hours between 23:30-05:30. Go, for example, is a fixed 4 hour window.
In addition, when IO schedules your EV charging slots it sometimes creates schedules that fall outside of the fixed, six hour window. If that happens your EV charging and all your household use in these extra-slots is also charged at off-peak rates.
I have frequently had schedules give me seven or more hours of off-peak rates. On one occasion, I had a total of ten hours of off-peak rates.

Am I eligible?
You need a smart meter and a compatible car and/or charger. Since you’re reading this here, I assume you’ve got or are thinking of getting a Tesla. IO works with the Tesla API to create the charging schedules. The advantage of this is that IO will work with any* home charger. If you have a charger with smart features, you need to disable them so that the charger acts as a dumb switch. IO will control everything via Tesla’s API to start and stop your charging.
*Even your granny charger - but you need to tell IO what the max throughput is when you go through setup so that it can work out your schedules properly.

Some of this sounds too good to be true.
Phantom drain caused by having smart charging enabled in the Octopus app has been fixed as of 30th August 2022. One small side effect appears to be that schedules sometimes take longer to appear in the app after plugging in.

Further questions (to be updated in the main thread body once the edit timer on this post expires)

I have two EVs, can I charge the other while on IO?
Not with IO scheduling the charging, but you can charge any other car in the fixed 23:30-05:30 off peak window or at any other time at peak prices.

What are the rates etc?
Octopus do a decent job of explaining the peak and off-peak rates along with contracts etc. Head over to their pages to discover that.

I asked for a target % of x, but I got less than x.
There are two or three reasons for this.

The first, most common reason, is that Tesla reports battery % differently depending on where you look. The API (that IO uses) reports the gross battery %. This is generally fixed but can fluctuate very slightly. The Tesla app shows usable %. Apps like Teslamate and Teslafi can display both. Quite often, there is a delta of 2-3% which may be down to battery temp or other factors. This usable % will often be recovered as the battery warms up during a drive.

Some users have reported charging % being way off, perhaps 10% or more. This could be down to an error in the onboarding process. Some of the charger database entries incorrectly assume the charger you are onboarding is the 11kW version, without actually saying so in the charger description. The Andersen A2 was an early example of this. If you suspect this may be the case, the easiest thing to do is go through the on-boarding again and choose "Generic 7.4kW charger". It won't affect your functionality on IO in any way.

Lastly, it has to be mentioned that occasionally IO just craps out. It may be down to a comms error, a server error at Octopus' end, or just reasons. IO is a beta product and it's wise to expect one or two quirks from time to time

 

[DaveNN]

ok, maybe anyone tried this:
I have IO set up on the car, and usually use my Pod-Point charger (7kw)
we are having some works done and my charger will be unavailable for a week or two.

Will IO set up charging slots if I use Tesla mobile connector (granny charger)?

It is an option and you can request it.

 

[Drew57]

ok, maybe anyone tried this:
I have IO set up on the car, and usually use my Pod-Point charger (7kw)
we are having some works done and my charger will be unavailable for a week or two.

Will IO set up charging slots if I use Tesla mobile connector (granny charger)?

As I recall reading of others reducing the charging amperage in the car & getting slower/longer charging slots, maybe it would work to just plug in the granny charger and reduce to 10A in the car?

 

[DaveNN]

As I recall reading of others reducing the charging amperage in the car & getting slower/longer charging slots, maybe it would work to just plug in the granny charger and reduce to 10A in the car?

Yes
However, the GG would need setting up.

 

[DaveNN]

I'm asking for 100% and my charge starts at 10am.
My hottub will be getting a boost tonight.

 

[RedMod3]

I moved to Octopus with an old style Economy 7 meter with an auxiliary switch for my electric night storage heaters. The timing for this was 12 to 7. After the switch the tariff night hours were out of line at 12:30 to 7:30. Since it was still summer and I wasn’t using the heating I left this and requested a smart meter.

The smart meter was installed and the ALCS (Auxiliary Load Control Switch) also switched between 12 and 7. October came and I started using heating. So now the heaters run from 12 but for the first half hour they are being charged at peak day rate. I leave it as my.Tesla is coming and I will be moving to Intelligent Octopus.

I switch to IO. My tariff cheap rate is now 11:30 to 5:30. The ALCS timing remains at 12 to 7. So now I am missing out on my first half hour of charge time, and getting charged peak rate from 5:30 to 7.

Why is the ALCS not changing with the tariff? With a SMETS meter the ALCS timing should be adjusted by a meter instruction sent alongside the tariff instruction. Does Octopus not have any mechanism to do this? Surely it cant be down to the customer to identify this. In the absence of half hourly billing many customers would not even be aware that the incorrect ALCS timing is causing unexpected peak rate heating charges.

You need to contact Octopus Energy Services to get them to set the ALCS properly; the standard Octopus Help number are not familiar with the procedure for 5th terminal switching.

 

[Astrape]

You need to contact Octopus Energy Services to get them to set the ALCS properly; the standard Octopus Help number are not familiar with the procedure for 5th terminal switching.

I have emailled the smart team. Just waiting to see what happens. I also submitted feedback to the link, to comment that ALCS should be automatically adjusted on 5 port meters when moving tariffs.

 

[RedMod3]

I have emailled the smart team. Just waiting to see what happens. I also submitted feedback to the link, to comment that ALCS should be automatically adjusted on 5 port meters when moving tariffs.

They reset my ALCS manually every 6 months as the ALCS switches on GMT times for all months of the year.

 

[Astrape]

They reset my ALCS manually every 6 months as the ALCS switches on GMT times for all months of the year.

Have they learnt to do that by themselves or do you prompt them each time? What contact email/phone do you use to contact them?

 

[RedMod3]

Have they learnt to do that by themselves or do you prompt them each time? What contact email/phone do you use to contact them?

You have to prompt them; there are not very many of us in this situation, so it seems they don't mind doing it manually.

 

[Astrape]

I have emailled the smart team. Just waiting to see what happens. I also submitted feedback to the link, to comment that ALCS should be automatically adjusted on 5 port meters when moving tariffs.

After two emails so far nothing happened.

You need to contact Octopus Energy Services to get them to set the ALCS properly; the standard Octopus Help number are not familiar with the procedure for 5th terminal switching.

@RedMod3 I looked for a contact number for Octopus Energy Services on the web and came up empty. How do you make direct contact with them?

 

[Neilman]

After two emails so far nothing happened.

@RedMod3 I looked for a contact number for Octopus Energy Services on the web and came up empty. How do you make direct contact with them?

Octopus customer services? (9-5 Mon-Fri) 0808 164 1088

 

[yessuz]

Just got new tarriff quoted (although I am guaranteed til february)

 

[RedMod3]

Octopus customer services? (9-5 Mon-Fri) 0808 164 1088

You need Octopus Energy Services 0203 095 8286

 

[Astrape]

Octopus customer services? (9-5 Mon-Fri) 0808 164 1088

Unfortunately not, @RedMod3 was originally pointing out that the general advisors dont understand what ALCS is or how to route the request.

You need Octopus Energy Services 0203 095 8286

Thank you my friend, have an awesome Christmas.

 

[Astrape]

After two emails so far nothing happened.

I had emailled smart@octopus
But when the reply came back it came from the normal advisers, it seems smart@ may no longer get through to the smart team.
They claimed to be making it happen. I'll give it a few days and see if thats true

 

[novemberRomeo]

I had emailled smart@octopus
But when the reply came back it came from the normal advisers, it seems smart@ may no longer get through to the smart team.
They claimed to be making it happen. I'll give it a few days and see if thats true

I had a similar experience last week. Emailed smart@ with a question about the Home Mini, got back a completely irrelevant answer from customer services about my IHD! I gave up.

 

[Cardo]

I have today switched over to IO now that my Go Faster super cheap rate has come to an end. I went through the set up and Octopus were happy they were connected to my car (test charge ran for around 5-10 mins then the car stopped charging). Later in the day I received an email stating I’d been switched to IO. I’ve checked my Octopus app and have the new section called Devices. It’s informing me they’ve mapped tonight’s smart charge and there’s a couple of charging periods showing. I went out and plugged my car in and it started charging immediately. After 20 minutes and around £1 worth of electric later I went out and unplugged the car. I’ve read the FAQ and it states it can take up to half hour to set the schedule in the car, so I left it for a while and have just gone back to try again. Plugged in, and once again it started charging away. I gave it a couple of minutes then manually stopped the charge.

I carried out the setup with the car on the driveway, and it hasn’t moved since, so there shouldn’t be any confusion as to its location.

What am I doing wrong? Surely, I can‘t expect the car to chug down a few quid’s worth of electric before it stops charging?

Does the mapped charge show anywhere other than in the app? Does the car’s built-in schedule update to reflect the map? At the moment, the car isn’t showing any schedule.

I’ve gone back a few pages and seen this issue has come up previously, but someone suggested user error. Not really sure where the user error can creep in, there’s not much user intervention.

Update:
I’ve just checked the Octopus app and now it’s telling me to plug in my device after 5pm to create the smart charge plan. The car has been plugged in but “stopped” for the past half hour or so.

 

[Coinneach Cìr]

Does the mapped charge show anywhere other than in the app? Does the car’s built-in schedule update to reflect the map? At the moment, the car isn’t showing any schedule.

I can't remember the exact wording in the car's settings but I have mine set so that the off peak electricity window stops at 05:30. That way when I plug the car in (usually many hours before that) the car won't start charging right away which gives IO time to generate a schedule.

 

[browellm]

I have today switched over to IO now that my Go Faster super cheap rate has come to an end. I went through the set up and Octopus were happy they were connected to my car (test charge ran for around 5-10 mins then the car stopped charging). Later in the day I received an email stating I’d been switched to IO. I’ve checked my Octopus app and have the new section called Devices. It’s informing me they’ve mapped tonight’s smart charge and there’s a couple of charging periods showing. I went out and plugged my car in and it started charging immediately. After 20 minutes and around £1 worth of electric later I went out and unplugged the car. I’ve read the FAQ and it states it can take up to half hour to set the schedule in the car, so I left it for a while and have just gone back to try again. Plugged in, and once again it started charging away. I gave it a couple of minutes then manually stopped the charge.

I carried out the setup with the car on the driveway, and it hasn’t moved since, so there shouldn’t be any confusion as to its location.

What am I doing wrong? Surely, I can‘t expect the car to chug down a few quid’s worth of electric before it stops charging?

Does the mapped charge show anywhere other than in the app? Does the car’s built-in schedule update to reflect the map? At the moment, the car isn’t showing any schedule.

I’ve gone back a few pages and seen this issue has come up previously, but someone suggested user error. Not really sure where the user error can creep in, there’s not much user intervention.

Update:
I’ve just checked the Octopus app and now it’s telling me to plug in my device after 5pm to create the smart charge plan. The car has been plugged in but “stopped” for the past half hour or so.

If I could edit the OP, I would.

When Octopus "cured" phantom drain that was keeping cars awake that weren't plugged in, they did so by reducing the frequency of API polling they performed so the car could fall asleep normally.

Unfortunately, this has created a new side-effect which means that schedules are now often slow to arrive after plugging in (sometimes a few hours) and charging is no longer auto-stopped promptly after plugging in, as it used to be.

A workaround is simply to stop the charge in the Tesla app, just after you plug in. IO will control your charge later.

There are other workarounds the community will also offer up around setting schedules in the app which stops the car from charging on plugging in (IO will still control your charge). These can work well, but it depends on your circumstances. They don't work as well for me but it's a personal preference thing.

Annoying to have to do this, but worth it for the 6 hours off-peak electricity and chance for additional off-peak slots.

 

[Cardo]

If I could edit the OP, I would.

When Octopus "cured" phantom drain that was keeping cars awake that weren't plugged in, they did so by reducing the frequency of API polling they performed so the car could fall asleep normally.

Unfortunately, this has created a new side-effect which means that schedules are now often slow to arrive after plugging in (sometimes a few hours) and charging is no longer auto-stopped promptly after plugging in, as it used to be.

A workaround is simply to stop the charge in the Tesla app, just after you plug in. IO will control your charge later.

There are other workarounds the community will also offer up around setting schedules in the app which stops the car from charging on plugging in (IO will still control your charge). These can work well, but it depends on your circumstances. They don't work as well for me but it's a personal preference thing.

Annoying to have to do this, but worth it for the 6 hours off-peak electricity and chance for additional off-peak slots.

Thanks for the response. This makes sense, though is unfortunately a terrible implementation by Octopus.

Manually stopping the charge every time I plug in is asking for trouble, as one of us is bound to forget and end up chugging away electric at 43p/kWh. Would leaving the Zappi on Eco+ but with a boost timer covering a wide range (ie. 2200 - 0800) work? The car recognises it’s plugged in, would that be good enough for IO to map a charge?