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

 

[tdjohn]

It's our first couple of days with intelligent, it did the first scheduled charging overnight and recorded 22kWh in the Octopus app (nice saving already). We did the school run and brought it back then plugged in as advised. The car started charging as "normal". The OE app is showing "A charging plan will be made shortly after you plug in", this was an hour ago.

This does not seem right that the car is charging outside of the low cost times and the app does not seem to be aware of the car plugged in. There's no scheduling, etc setup on the Tesla app. Do I ignore and leave it charging assuming OE are working behind the scenes or stop the charging on the car until it sorts itself out?

I will say the car is not updating in the Tesla app at the moment either (e.g. last seen an hour ago), I am wondering if the two issues are related. Standing next to the car the phone connects which is how I know it's charging - guessing that's BT.

On another note, when I set up the charger (Tesla 3 Pin) there's the option of 2.3 or 2.4 kWh - which do you select?

 

[WllXM]

It's our first couple of days with intelligent, it did the first scheduled charging overnight and recorded 22kWh in the Octopus app (nice saving already). We did the school run and brought it back then plugged in as advised. The car started charging as "normal". The OE app is showing "A charging plan will be made shortly after you plug in", this was an hour ago.

This does not seem right that the car is charging outside of the low cost times and the app does not seem to be aware of the car plugged in. There's no scheduling, etc setup on the Tesla app. Do I ignore and leave it charging assuming OE are working behind the scenes or stop the charging on the car until it sorts itself out?

On another note, when I set up the charger (Tesla 3 Pin) there's the option of 2.3 or 2.4 kWh - which do you select?

Sometimes Octopus can take a while to stop the charge remotely and generate the cheap rate schedule. You are right that during this time, you are charging at peak rate.

The best option is to set your car 'Start Charging time' at 23:30. This way it will never start to charge immediately when you plug in, but if IO gives you a cheap slot before then, it will still allow the car to start the charge earlier.

Technically you are charging at 10 Amps @ 230V, so 2.3kW is the right option. It's also the most conservative one.

 

[tdjohn]

Sometimes Octopus can take a while to stop the charge remotely and generate the cheap rate schedule. You are right that during this time, you are charging at peak rate.

The best option is to set your car 'Start Charging time' at 23:30. This way it will never start to charge immediately when you plug in, but if IO gives you a cheap slot before then, it will still allow the car to start the charge earlier.

Technically you are charging at 10 Amps @ 230V, so 2.3kW is the right option. It's also the most conservative one.

Many thanks - that is now done, set to 23:30. I assume that if OE setup a schedule for me outside these hours it will override this start time?

 

[WllXM]

Many thanks - that is now done, set to 23:30. I assume that if OE setup a schedule for me outside these hours it will override this start time?

Yes it will. IO controls is basically the same as you pressing Start Charge / Stop Charge buttons on the Tesla app and can override any schedule.

 

[wolf123]

Yes it will. IO controls is basically the same as you pressing Start Charge / Stop Charge buttons on the Tesla app and can override any schedule.

Octopus reset everything and now it’s working!

 

[Bacon]

Oh nice, i'll definitely be switching tomorrow morning then.
The website is a bit confusing cause it seems to want to put me on a normal tariff instead of the IO one, but my understanding is that they automatically change you?

Hey,

As you are with another supplier you will have to join a regular tariff e.g. flexible octopus. You can then switch to a smart tariff like intelligent once octopus can access your smart meter readings every 30 minutes. For me it was about 1 week after switching .

 

[xreyuk]

Hey,

As you are with another supplier you will have to join a regular tariff e.g. flexible octopus. You can then switch to a smart tariff like intelligent once octopus can access your smart meter readings every 30 minutes. For me it was about 1 week after switching .

Yeah thanks, will see how it goes, looks like I've got a bit of reading to do on here about it anyway, but was aware they'd put me on a regular tariff for a short period of time.

 

[silverbirch]

According to the google play store the latest update for the octopus app was 13th Feb. Are those reporting success this week on iOS? I'm still getting the Uh oh message

 

[cyber_knight]

I'm currently on Intelligent Octopus and I'm trading in my Model 3 with a Y this weekend. Do I have to disconnect and reconnect new car under Devices tab on Octopus app to schedule charge my new Y? Will Tesla change their API key when changing cars under the same Tesla account?

 

[Drew57]

I'm currently on Intelligent Octopus and I'm trading in my Model 3 with a Y this weekend. Do I have to disconnect and reconnect new car under Devices tab on Octopus app to schedule charge my new Y? Will Tesla change their API key when changing cars under the same Tesla account?

Yes you will need to disconnect the 3 & go through the process again with the Y to enable Intelligent charging schedules. However, other users have mentioned issues with the setup test so it may be better for you to check with Octopus & in the meantime manually schedule the Model Y during the fixed 6 hour slot until you get confirmation.

 

[cyber_knight]

Yes you will need to disconnect the 3 & go through the process again with the Y to enable Intelligent charging schedules. However, other users have mentioned issues with the setup test so it may be better for you to check with Octopus & in the meantime manually schedule the Model Y during the fixed 6 hour slot until you get confirmation.

thanks - Any idea how does octopus know which car is charging (once it's setup) as they connect to our Tesla account/API and changing the car shouldn't impact the access?

 

[Drew57]

thanks - Any idea how does octopus know which car is charging (once it's setup) as they connect to our Tesla account/API and changing the car shouldn't impact the access?

If IO is temporarily suspended via the app then no, Octopus doesn't know which car is charging.* However, if IO is enabled on the Octopus app, then only the car originally setup will be recognised by IO even if both are compatible.

We have a Model Y (using IO) and a Fiat 500e. The Tesla can charge using either IO (enabled in app) or via a separate charge schedule or solar (IO disabled in app). The Fiat charges overnight very occasionally via a separate charge schedule but only with IO disabled of course.

* There cannot be two Teslas on the same account when a setup test charge is attempted. I've listed various scenarios below (personal experience of this).

• If swapping for a new Model then remove the 'older' car from the Tesla account before attempting the initial test setup with the new one. It won't work otherwise.
• If adding a second Tesla to the same account then just keep IO active with the original car and turn off IO in the app each time you manually schedule a charge with the second one
• If needing to swap IO over to the new car but keep both, it's a little more complicated. The original car will need its own Tesla account which has to be created using a separate email address even if you are the same owner. Create the account, remove the original car from IO via the Octopus app then transfer ('sell') the older car to your new Tesla account. Then you will be able to proceed with the initial IO test setup for the new car on the original account. Whenever you need to charge the older car which is no longer linked to IO, simply log out of the original account & log into the new account and charge that car via a manual schedule.

 

[tdjohn]

How long does it usually take for OE to come up with a schedule?

Yesterday it did nothing after the school run at 09:00 when it was plugged back in, I noticed it adding schedules later in the day but when we did the second school run in the evening and plugged in about 18:30. The schedule vanished and I just had the message about sorting out a schedule when the car is plugged in (which it was), same message I've been seeing all day today. I left it last night and some charging took place, but not the full 6 hours by the look of it as the car only needed 4 to be fully charged (it was not) - confirmed by the Tesla charge history in their app.

We seem to be getting further and further behind with the energy usage in the OI app too, usually about midday we see data from the previous day, but now we have the IO enabled that is taking a couple of days (e.g. today we can see the data/usage from Tuesday), by which time I've forgotten what the car was actually doing. Probably a coincidence but you never know.

I get the feeling I just need chill to leave it, let the car only charge from 23:30 as discussed before and wait to see what's on the bill. Problem is we use so much electricity here and most of the time not so many miles in the car I am not entirely sure we'll be able to work out what's actually gone on come bill time.

 

[Tony Hoyle]

This morning I got a schedule for 9am-12am which I thought was cool, but the car wasn't even plugged in

 

[WllXM]

How long does it usually take for OE to come up with a schedule?

Yesterday it did nothing after the school run at 09:00 when it was plugged back in, I noticed it adding schedules later in the day but when we did the second school run in the evening and plugged in about 18:30. The schedule vanished and I just had the message about sorting out a schedule when the car is plugged in (which it was), same message I've been seeing all day today. I left it last night and some charging took place, but not the full 6 hours by the look of it as the car only needed 4 to be fully charged (it was not) - confirmed by the Tesla charge history in their app.

We seem to be getting further and further behind with the energy usage in the OI app too, usually about midday we see data from the previous day, but now we have the IO enabled that is taking a couple of days (e.g. today we can see the data/usage from Tuesday), by which time I've forgotten what the car was actually doing. Probably a coincidence but you never know.

I get the feeling I just need chill to leave it, let the car only charge from 23:30 as discussed before and wait to see what's on the bill. Problem is we use so much electricity here and most of the time not so many miles in the car I am not entirely sure we'll be able to work out what's actually gone on come bill time.

IO can take up to one hour in some cases. There's a way to 'force' the scheduling to happen if you go into the Octopus app settings, Devices, IO, and disable 'Smart Charging', then enable it again. Then it usually generate a schedule right after. (your car must be plugged in of course).

If it put your mind at ease at the beginning, take a couple screenshots when IO gives you a schedule, and compare it with your bill the following month (you'll get 30 pages bills now with details for each half-hour of every day).
Just one caveat as you found out, even if IO gives you a schedule, it's only 'valid' when the car is plugged in. If you unplug, you'll go back on peak rate from the following half-hour.
So far they've always been fair to me and couldn't find a single discrepancy. So yes, plug and forget is the way, as long as you have defined your desired target time & charge level in IO it's usually a breeze.

Just being wary of your last sentence, if you use 'a lot' of energy for the house and don't do many miles, then IO might not be for you as you are paying above the EPG during the day (39p vs 34p). So of course, try to load-shift as much as you can during off-peak.
And do your calculations wisely to make sure you're not better off with a regular price cap tariff.
Easy way of checking that will be on your first bill as you will have a blended average kWh price, taking into account the off-peak consumption volume + peak consumption volume.
Or share your household usage here & projected charging needs so we can try to come up with a rough estimate.

 

[tdjohn]

Just being wary of your last sentence, if you use 'a lot' of energy for the house and don't do many miles, then IO might not be for you as you are paying above the EPG during the day (39p vs 34p). So of course, try to load-shift as much as you can during off-peak.

Many thanks - it's been 7 hours of the car plugged in and no schedule... and I am about to do the evening school run. I tried your trick and it worked, so clearly something is amiss here - IO does not seem to be identifying when the car is plugged in. I am starting to think just ignore their scheduling as it's clearly not working and just set the car's own schedule between 23:30 and 5:30 if all usage is charged at that rate regardless?

Interested in this part of your comment, I was under the assumption (clearly wrongly) that the daytime tariff was still the currently capped 34p one? We're using about 40kwh a day (excluding car charging).

We do 20k miles a year in the Tesla, I need to work out how much of that we are going to do charging from home (we spend most weekends away where we can plug into an outdoor socket where we're charged £10/day flat rate - that's where we do most of our charging as a result, although I am sure they are going to catch on).

Historically we've had the car limited to 50% at home, we use about 4%/day on average doing school runs and the odd errand, then we charge remotely at the weekend to somewhere around 90% which gets us back home at about 45%... that £10 therefore gets us about 80% charge, give or take conditions.

In theory IO would save us a bit and be more convenient... but at the moment it's proving a pain.

 

[Yuff]

Many thanks - it's been 7 hours of the car plugged in and no schedule... and I am about to do the evening school run. I tried your trick and it worked, so clearly something is amiss here - IO does not seem to be identifying when the car is plugged in. I am starting to think just ignore their scheduling as it's clearly not working and just set the car's own schedule between 23:30 and 5:30 if all usage is charged at that rate regardless?

Interested in this part of your comment, I was under the assumption (clearly wrongly) that the daytime tariff was still the currently capped 34p one? We're using about 40kwh a day (excluding car charging).

We do 20k miles a year in the Tesla, I need to work out how much of that we are going to do charging from home (we spend most weekends away where we can plug into an outdoor socket where we're charged £10/day flat rate - that's where we do most of our charging as a result, although I am sure they are going to catch on).

Historically we've had the car limited to 50% at home, we use about 4%/day on average doing school runs and the odd errand, then we charge remotely at the weekend to somewhere around 90% which gets us back home at about 45%... that £10 therefore gets us about 80% charge, give or take conditions.

In theory IO would save us a bit and be more convenient... but at the moment it's proving a pain.

I’m sure when you get the hang of IO and you generate extra off peak slots you will be happier.
I find sometimes it generates on its own other times I have to do multiple pull downs, on the app, to get the schedule.
But once you’ve got it you can leave it to work it’s magic.

 

[tdjohn]

Yea. I’ve spent the day doing that pull-down thing to no avail. The turn off and on scheduled charging in IO sorts it. I’m not convinced there’s anything to get the hang of. It just needs to do what it says it’s doing, which it is not. No schedule being created without manually tuning on and off scheduled charging in the IO app.

I have to be honest I’ve been very impressed with Octopus, they sorted out our metre in days, something that’s taken our old provider 4 years not to sort out. I have confidence this will sort itself out. I wonder if the recent API problems and 1/2 the country moving to them from Bulb has had an impact.

 

[pdr555]

Hi All,

Sorry if this is a common question regarding IO.

Can you just schedule a charge within the off-peak times, without a smart charge? Say I only need to add 21kw, and just schedule from 11:30pm until desired percentage?

 

[Pink Duck]

IO will only send start and stop charging signals within its scheduled charge plan window (and for a brief bit after they detect vehicle plug-in). Outside that if you manually start charging or use Tesla’s charging features they should also work. It’s often cited that Scheduled Charging is configured for 23:30 to guarantee SoC target just in case IO calls fail to make it. Might help to convert 21 kWh into a percentage for use with IO also.