I’m thinking of moving to Intelligent Octopus when my Go fix ends in April, but see that there is an exclusion for more than one car in their FAQs. Has anyone found a way round this? It looks like both our cars will be compatible. Is it just a case of only declaring one and charging the other outside of the app? I’m not a natural rule breaker, but it seems a bit daft to penalise people for having more than one EV?
Oli
Are you talking about this FAQ item? Intelligent Octopus: your questions answered
I read it as "we have system limitation and you can only connect 1 car", rather than "you must not charge more than 1 car on this scheme".
No, I don't have IO, I'm on Go 7.5p/35p fixed until July. After Tesla arrived, I don't see any reason to switch and pay more on day rates over winter with less solar production.
In July, I would hopefully have Indra V2H. What I plan to do is to declare home battery rather than a second EV. The majority of energy in our school-run Leaf would be for home use anyway.... so it's truthful in terms of energy use.
In July, I would hopefully have Indra V2H. What I plan to do is to declare home battery rather than a second EV. The majority of energy in our school-run Leaf would be for home use anyway.... so it's truthful in terms of energy use.
They should be able to tell via the car manufacturer's API which one of several cars that they know about is charging at any time... However, they might not be able to tell is whether one of the vehicles is plugged in and charging away from home, and you don't want to modulate the charging.
It's only really going to work reliably when all cars involved, and chargepoints, can actually signal state of charge to the charge point for AC charging, which I think relies on ISO 15118, which at the moment, very few car manufacturers, or charge points, do, but will also enable Plug & Charge authentication.
It's only really going to work reliably when all cars involved, and chargepoints, can actually signal state of charge to the charge point for AC charging, which I think relies on ISO 15118, which at the moment, very few car manufacturers, or charge points, do, but will also enable Plug & Charge authentication.
I’m on intelligent and have two cars that are compatible Mach e and i3 I’ve set it up with the Mach e as that has the larger battery and just charge the I3 in the 6hr time slot I have had no issues at all you get the time slot regardless if your charging or not.
I would set it up like me larger battery ev with the app and the smaller just charge in the time slot
I would set it up like me larger battery ev with the app and the smaller just charge in the time slot
No need to do anything. The i3 is not added to IO so it doesn’t know it exists. I have a zappi so I use that schedule in eco + to charge in the cheap hours for the i3 and I switch into fast mode when charging the Mach-e to use the IO schedule
I have two EVs on Intelligent Octopus, but I enrolled using the Ohme charge point instead of a car. Octopus integrates directly to the Ohme and schedules charging based on the target set in the Ohme app.
Charge point integration is a neat solution that works great. It looks like Zappi integration is in the works, but I’ve not heard of any others planned. Maybe Octopus should launch their own charge point!
Charge point integration is a neat solution that works great. It looks like Zappi integration is in the works, but I’ve not heard of any others planned. Maybe Octopus should launch their own charge point!
I’ve heard it’s in the works for the zappi not sure how it’s going to work as there is no car integration currently with a zappi.
In reality I don’t need the i3 to be integrated to IO as the battery will fully charge in the 6hrs so it’s not a problem for me, and with having the Mach-e on IO and both cars get used a lot we just charge on different days which works well for us
In reality I don’t need the i3 to be integrated to IO as the battery will fully charge in the 6hrs so it’s not a problem for me, and with having the Mach-e on IO and both cars get used a lot we just charge on different days which works well for us
I’m fairly sure it means ‘only one car controlled by the app’ as opposed to ‘you can’t have two EV’s’. I moved to Intelligent Octopus yesterday and although I noted the reference to two cars in the FAQ (and possibly somewhere else), I wasn’t asked this question as part of the onboarding process. We’ve got two BMW’s which are both compatible in terms of the Octopus app interfacing with the BMW app but our charger isn’t. When setting up the system via the Octopus app, it asked me which of the two cars I wanted to associate with it. Presumably if seeing two cars was an issue it would prevent it going further and not give us a choice.
We have two EVs (but only one is compatible with IO) and we have IO integrated via EVSE i.e. Ohme Home Pro. Never had single problem with it (even before when I was on Go Faster) or the app.
I have an Enyaq (compatible) and a Hypervolt (not compatible) charger. I want Intelligent Octopus (I'm currently on Go) simply to take advantage of the long cheap overnight period. So, question:
Can I subscribe and simply disable the intelligent functionality and use it manually through the charger timer?
Can I subscribe and simply disable the intelligent functionality and use it manually through the charger timer?
I only use the octopus scheduling on my tesla. For my wife's e-golf I use the car's onboard timer to control charging. Both have me leave the charger (Zappi) in fast mode and the car waits to accept a charge until it is ready (either from the onboard timer on the golf or by the octopus app setting the api on the tesla)
being a Zappi I considered switching to that for control but it had less awareness (i.e none) of the cars SoC and I wanted more accuracy than that
being a Zappi I considered switching to that for control but it had less awareness (i.e none) of the cars SoC and I wanted more accuracy than that
As others have said, I read the Octopus statement to mean - which is the case - that they can only knowledgeably charge one vehicle at a time. And that if you have a different vehicle you have to re-enter that EVs model details, otherwise it won’t know what the battery capacity is, for example. By ‘knowledgeably’ I mean that Octopus knows the battery kWh and uses this to plan the charge profile for the charge being added. By charge profile I mean the break-up of the charge session into individual charge slots and the rate of charge (which isn’t always going to be at the full 7kW or whatever).
If you have an Ohme, there’s actually a function in the app called ‘SWITCH CAR’ to do exactly this
![Image]()
I charge both a Peugeot e208 and a BMW iX3 on my Ohme Home Pro with Intelligent Octopus Go:
![Image]()
I always get dynamic day time slots if the departure time is outside the 23:30-05:30 window, as here, when I plugged the iX3 in around 10:20 for a departure time of 17:00. In this case, Octopus has allocated a pretty fragmented session into many slots, which didn't necessarily charge at the same kW rate. This is all based on the assumption that the car plugged in is the one I’ve nominated above.
![Image]()
As you can see, I have one schedule for each, which I adjust and enable each charge session. This doesn’t use the API of the BMW, but the ‘add x%’ approach of the non-API Peugeot, so that the process is the same for both cars.
When we switch cars, however, I do have to <Manage my EV><SWITCH CAR> which involves re-selecting the appropriate model and year each time. Which I appreciate some people might find tedious if it’s a daily occurrence.
This is not the only way to operate two vehicles on one charge point with IOG, but it works for us. Key points are
1. We use the Ohme app as the sole management point.
2. Both EVs are set to charge immediately and no other settings or schedules are set in the cars or their apps.
3. I manually set the session parameters ahead of plugging-in (<Added Range> [5] & <Departure Time> [6]) - see photo below.
4. The <My Charger><Price Cap> is disabled
5. I manually calculate the charge% to be added e.g. if the car is at 26% charge I would calculate it needs +54% to get to my target 80%. Then I use the Added Range slider to set the added range that matches the 54%.
6. The <Departure Time> can be any time I want. It doesn't have to be within the night time window.
![Image]()
7. I enable all the weekdays and weekend items and disable <Preconditioning>.
8. I do preconditioning by requesting a start via the vehicle app when I want it to start, each time. I don’t use any preconditioning scheduling in the EV, the EV app, or the Ohme app., as we don’t have any regular use pattern like a weekday commute.
9. Finally, don’t forget to SAVE the settings.
If you have an Ohme, there’s actually a function in the app called ‘SWITCH CAR’ to do exactly this
I charge both a Peugeot e208 and a BMW iX3 on my Ohme Home Pro with Intelligent Octopus Go:
I always get dynamic day time slots if the departure time is outside the 23:30-05:30 window, as here, when I plugged the iX3 in around 10:20 for a departure time of 17:00. In this case, Octopus has allocated a pretty fragmented session into many slots, which didn't necessarily charge at the same kW rate. This is all based on the assumption that the car plugged in is the one I’ve nominated above.
As you can see, I have one schedule for each, which I adjust and enable each charge session. This doesn’t use the API of the BMW, but the ‘add x%’ approach of the non-API Peugeot, so that the process is the same for both cars.
When we switch cars, however, I do have to <Manage my EV><SWITCH CAR> which involves re-selecting the appropriate model and year each time. Which I appreciate some people might find tedious if it’s a daily occurrence.
This is not the only way to operate two vehicles on one charge point with IOG, but it works for us. Key points are
1. We use the Ohme app as the sole management point.
2. Both EVs are set to charge immediately and no other settings or schedules are set in the cars or their apps.
3. I manually set the session parameters ahead of plugging-in (<Added Range> [5] & <Departure Time> [6]) - see photo below.
4. The <My Charger><Price Cap> is disabled
5. I manually calculate the charge% to be added e.g. if the car is at 26% charge I would calculate it needs +54% to get to my target 80%. Then I use the Added Range slider to set the added range that matches the 54%.
6. The <Departure Time> can be any time I want. It doesn't have to be within the night time window.
7. I enable all the weekdays and weekend items and disable <Preconditioning>.
8. I do preconditioning by requesting a start via the vehicle app when I want it to start, each time. I don’t use any preconditioning scheduling in the EV, the EV app, or the Ohme app., as we don’t have any regular use pattern like a weekday commute.
9. Finally, don’t forget to SAVE the settings.
I have to say, we’ve had no problems at all with our Tesla being associated with IO and our Mini not. The Mini always charges off peak and I tend to top the Tesla up in the morning dynamically between about 8.30 and 11 unless I need a full battery. Nice cheap early morning electric to heat my office and do some washing too.
I sort of forgot to mention - the above complexity is mainly because the Peugeot lacks any internal ability to set a charge% ceiling e.g. ‘don’t charge above 80%’. So for consistency, I operate the BMW the same way, even though it does. If both cars had this feature, I could do what others have described, and just plug in for an overnight charge and leave the car to wake up at 23:30 and not charge above the maximum set. For a daytime charge, I could just set the car asa the one with the bigger capacity and plug in, with the smaller battery car stopping the charge when it hit the target early.
Hi,
Hi, I use intelligent octopus to charge my Tesla which works flawlessly. My question is - my wife is getting an electric car tomorrow - I’m assuming we can’t both use intelligent octopus? If so, do she just set a schedule in her car to charge only between say midnight and 5am and if she plugs into the charger rather than myself, this won’t interfere with my intelligent octopus set up?
Any advice most appreciated.
Thanks
hoping someone may see this and can advise. I’ve been on intelligent octopus for a year with a Tesla and it works flawlessly. My mrs has a Nissan Ariya arriving tomorrow - do I just keep my car set up with IO as it is, and in the Nissan just set a schedule between say 12am and 5am, so if she plugs into the pod point it’ll only charge at the cheap times anyway and won’t interfere with my IO schedule?
all advice most welcome
Hi, I use intelligent octopus to charge my Tesla which works flawlessly. My question is - my wife is getting an electric car tomorrow - I’m assuming we can’t both use intelligent octopus? If so, do she just set a schedule in her car to charge only between say midnight and 5am and if she plugs into the charger rather than myself, this won’t interfere with my intelligent octopus set up?
Any advice most appreciated.
Thanks
hoping someone may see this and can advise. I’ve been on intelligent octopus for a year with a Tesla and it works flawlessly. My mrs has a Nissan Ariya arriving tomorrow - do I just keep my car set up with IO as it is, and in the Nissan just set a schedule between say 12am and 5am, so if she plugs into the pod point it’ll only charge at the cheap times anyway and won’t interfere with my IO schedule?
all advice most welcome
From Octopus FAQ... Can I connect more than one car to Intelligent Octopus Go? × No, you can only have one car connected to Intelligent Octopus Go smart charging at a time. If you have a second electric vehicle, then you can charge during this 6-hour off-peak window by manually setting it to charge at these times. Alternatively, if you have a compatible charger, you can connect your charger instead, and we'll be able to smart charge any of your electric cars.
Similar here, with Zappi and two EVs both incompatible with Octopus. Octopus is set for the e-niro's battery capacity; when charging the Mii I just cut the required top up percentage in half and it's near enough right.
If you think about it, this is much the same scenario as when you have a visitor with an EV who needs to charge their car. We have three options to choose from:
1) Pro rata
In our case, the visitor sets their EV to a charge% ceiling of (usually) 80% and I tell our Ohme to add the necessary extra charge%, pro rata* to our 50kW e208.
If the visitor’s EV can’t do this, then I just do the pro rata calculation and the session ends up within +/- a few percent of the target.
Using option [1] and an Ohme with IOG, we always get a daytime ‘Ready by’ session when we ask for it. For example, if a visitor arrives in the morning and is departing at 16:00 and needs it recharging by then. Such sessions have always been at the 7p/kWh rate with a couple of exceptions over 20 months.
*(If the visitor’s car is 80kW then it needs a ratio of 50:80 (1:1.6) more charge to be added. So addingd 35% to their BMW iX3 means adding 1.6 x 35% = 56% to our ‘virtual’ e208.)
2) Change Vehicle
We’ve also successfully done a ‘Change Vehicle’ in the Ohme app but all this does is to save me the pro rata calculation. I then have to reverse the vehicle change and it’s easier to just do the arithmetic.
3) EV:Octopus Integration
And we’ve also done a charge via one visitor’s MyBMW app, effectively resetting the charging to be coordinated between the EV and Octopus. But personally, I find [1] easier and more reliable as we know it works. First time we tried [3] it didn’t work for some reason we never determined.
1) Pro rata
In our case, the visitor sets their EV to a charge% ceiling of (usually) 80% and I tell our Ohme to add the necessary extra charge%, pro rata* to our 50kW e208.
If the visitor’s EV can’t do this, then I just do the pro rata calculation and the session ends up within +/- a few percent of the target.
Using option [1] and an Ohme with IOG, we always get a daytime ‘Ready by’ session when we ask for it. For example, if a visitor arrives in the morning and is departing at 16:00 and needs it recharging by then. Such sessions have always been at the 7p/kWh rate with a couple of exceptions over 20 months.
*(If the visitor’s car is 80kW then it needs a ratio of 50:80 (1:1.6) more charge to be added. So addingd 35% to their BMW iX3 means adding 1.6 x 35% = 56% to our ‘virtual’ e208.)
2) Change Vehicle
We’ve also successfully done a ‘Change Vehicle’ in the Ohme app but all this does is to save me the pro rata calculation. I then have to reverse the vehicle change and it’s easier to just do the arithmetic.
3) EV:Octopus Integration
And we’ve also done a charge via one visitor’s MyBMW app, effectively resetting the charging to be coordinated between the EV and Octopus. But personally, I find [1] easier and more reliable as we know it works. First time we tried [3] it didn’t work for some reason we never determined.
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