Moving to smart tarrif

[Landwomble]

Hi Folks
My Ovo energy contract is nearly up, and so I want to move to a more EV-friendly tarrif. Octopus seem good.
I have a Model 3, a tethered PodPoint charger (which recently added timed charging) and a smart meter.

Any tips/tricks? Just set a time off peak to charge in the car? Or use timed charges on the charger? Or use ev.energy app or similar to time the charge?

Would appreciate any pointers here!

 

[Medved_77]

The podpoint charger now allows you to set a start and end time each night. I've been using this with Octopus Go for the past few weeks and it works really well.

Just plug the car in when you get home and it'll charge between 00:30-04:30 each night ensuring you get the cheap Octopus Go rate.

This avoids using the car 'smart' timing and any api requests to start/stop timing.

Also means you can pre-heat/condition the car using battery power instead of mains power.

If you already have a compatible smart meter then the move should be straight forward, if you don't the experiences have been mixed.

 

[MrBadger]

Any tips/tricks?

Ask if someone can send you a referral code for the new electricity supplier, or even better, look in the most helpful persons profile/about page to see if they have a link.

 

[Tinca]

I'm on Octopus Go and the 4 hours of power at 5ppu between 0030 and 0430 generally works well for me. I've got an Ohme charger and set it only charge at the cheaper rate unless I need to top up more. Functionally, it all works well. Set the charge level on the car (generally 90%) and plug in every night.

At 13.5ppu standard rate, it's still good value for what else is out there.

Your meter needs to be SMETS2. Octopus fitted ours within 4 weeks of switching.

 

[Landwomble]

So Go looks like the right one for me. I'm with Ovo for electricity AND gas right now, with a SMETS1 meter. If I start the signup process with Octopus now, I presume they negotiate a switch over date with Ovo?
If I want to go straight to Octopus Go (which is electricity only) do I need to sign up for a "standard" plan with them, then move over to Octopus Go?

 

[DaveW]

So Go looks like the right one for me. I'm with Ovo for electricity AND gas right now, with a SMETS1 meter. If I start the signup process with Octopus now, I presume they negotiate a switch over date with Ovo?
If I want to go straight to Octopus Go (which is electricity only) do I need to sign up for a "standard" plan with them, then move over to Octopus Go?

Hi @Landwomble - give my calc a go to double check its the right move (I'm sure it will be): Tesla Cost to charge calculator - TeslaEV.co.uk

I personally use Go Faster, but have kept with 4 hours at 5p, mine starts at 20:30, means I can use the dishwasher in the cheap rate too.

If you sign up, there's nothing else to do, Octopus deal with it on your behalf, you might get a few begging phone calls from Ovo (I had 3 missed called from Bulb).

You go onto an interim tariff, once they have your confirmed smart meter readings, you can then move to Go, Go Faster or Agile if you're feeling saucy

 

[Alex987854]

If I want to go straight to Octopus Go (which is electricity only) do I need to sign up for a "standard" plan with them, then move over to Octopus Go?

Yes. Sign up to a normal tariff and then switch. You have to wait until they are getting readings from your meter before you can switch, but you can easily see this online. Should be less than a couple of weeks from when you get switched over to Octopus from your existing provider.

Remember to use the referral when you switch to Octopus - it's not for Go

 

[Adopado]

So Go looks like the right one for me. I'm with Ovo for electricity AND gas right now, with a SMETS1 meter. If I start the signup process with Octopus now, I presume they negotiate a switch over date with Ovo?
If I want to go straight to Octopus Go (which is electricity only) do I need to sign up for a "standard" plan with them, then move over to Octopus Go?

The smart meter will need to be checked out with Octopus. Some SMETS1 meters work with Octopus but many don't. They will fit a suitable meter if needed but that inevitably introduces some delays to the switch over.

 

[MrBadger]

Octopus Smart Meter Experiences

Moderator comment - threads merged and renamed from "Octopus and smart meters..", "Octopus Energy... disappointed" and "Octopus install ... fabulous!" Just for some balance (as I saw some negativity on another thread about them and appointments). When I moved over to them a few weeks back, I...

teslamotorsclub.com

 

[Avendit]

Is there any way to pre-qualify a property's suitability for a smart meter? I'm reluctant to initiate a switch (from so.energy) to Octopus on the promise of possibly getting a meter and tariff - I'd prefer to get some idea of suitability and likely lead time first?

Do SMETS2 meters cope with PV? We don't have any just now, but I'd like to one day.

 

[Dilly]

Is there any way to pre-qualify a property's suitability for a smart meter? I'm reluctant to initiate a switch (from so.energy) to Octopus on the promise of possibly getting a meter and tariff - I'd prefer to get some idea of suitability and likely lead time first?

Do SMETS2 meters cope with PV? We don't have any just now, but I'd like to one day.

Apparently, some SMETS2 meters can be a bit troublesome. I have a Secure SMETS1 which has been no trouble from day 1. I’ve refused to have it changed several times and I think they’ve given up asking