I'd go with Octopus. They're already cheaper, but also:

) Better customer service
) More ethical company
) Better integration with vehicles

 

It really depends on how much you can move to the night rate and how many miles you do but OVO in my calculations only became cheaper when you piled on the commute miles.

 

Thanks both - I agree the cost difference is probably minor (and I expect that my mileage will be fairly low and that I will be able to do most of my charging at the night rate); so I'm interested in other factors, e.g. reliability etc.

Given that this is a Niro EV, should I be concerned about this remark in relation to Intelligent Octopus?

Intelligent Octopus and Kia EV6

I'm trying to switch from Octopus Go to Intelligent Octopus and need some help please. I've downloaded the Octopus App, started the switch and it's identified the car. (I know there had been a previous problem with the EV6 on IO, but believe that it's fixed now). We're at the Set Up Charger...

www.speakev.com

 

That link didn't preview properly: it was this post from @Steven4 :

Then you should get a portable 12V battery jump starter, as Intelligent Octopus will remotely wake up the car every 75 minutes, which drains the 12v battery - it will eventually degrade and one day will leave you stranded.

 

I was on Octopus Go until my deal ended then I went onto IO.
I do about 15k a year and shift most of my home use to the overnight tariff too.
If you do high mileage then OVO may suit you better but it is only for the car.

 

Depends how much you value the simplicity/accessibility of Octopus bills/customer service over the awful OVO

Also each 10k of miles per year is roughly 3000kwh of juice, and if you charge ALL of that at home it is £30 a year per 1p difference in the rate

And the Octopus rate is for everything in the house( immersion heater for example)

 

I think the OVO offering is like a supermarket loss leader, to persuade you to go with them. It's not environmentally friendly to plug in whenever you like, plus they have the cheek to charge you normal rates for everything else you run at night.

I'd go with Octopus, almost as a matter of principle.

 

deleted

 

Thanks all. I'm currently on Ovo (not deliberately, SSE sold me to them), so it seemed like a possibly simpler solution. But most of the posts above point to Intelligent O. However, should I be concerned about this point (see above)

Then you should get a portable 12V battery jump starter, as Intelligent Octopus will remotely wake up the car every 75 minutes, which drains the 12v battery - it will eventually degrade and one day will leave you stranded.

???

 

Thanks all. I'm currently on Ovo (not deliberately, SSE sold me to them), so it seemed like a possibly simpler solution. But most of the posts above point to Intelligent O. However, should I be concerned about this point (see above)


???

My understanding was this was fixed now, Hyundai updated the car software. However, you'd probably get a better answer on the Hyundai sub-forum.

 

The OVO offering works best for folk who want to charge during the day and sleep at night without fear of the neighbours banging on the door and demanding they are allowed to sleep without all the racket from washing machines etc.
It might not be the cheapest option but if people are so skint they have to live nocturnally then perhaps car ownership is beyond their means anyway.

The OVO tariff is unaffected by the bolt-on but any car charging which uses the green schedule which charges when the grid is greenest within the constraints of when you tell it the car is needed will have the bulk of the energy used refunded to bring it down to 10p, this had been 5p so perhaps a reduction is on the cards to stay competitive.

From what you say, you are happy to charge at night anyway so the only thing to look at is the additional cost of using certain tariffs during the day against savings you might make by becoming nocturnal for certain activities.

As octopus bring out differing tariffs which some customers might be able to take advantage of it seems more attractive to move to them and as they become more and more compatible it seems to reinforce the idea that they are the best choice.

The initial statement about getting the car through octopus probably tips you towards using them for the tariff too and trying to get the best deal and shifting heavy usage as much as possible into the middle of the night.

OVO works well enough for me at the moment but things could change.

Gaz

 

@Sosumi I am with IO, and it's been completely reliable (BMW iX with Easee charger) and I hardly charge during the formal off-peak period, but charge in the morning usually for a few hours between 5.30-11am, as with IO for me, if I plug in before 11am, it will still allocate off-peak charge slots during peak hours, and the house and the car get charged 7.5p per kwh.

I WFH, so I run the washing machine or other energy intensive applicances in the morning before 11am when the car is charging. As a result, my overall price per kwh for everything combined is about 20 p per kwh.

 

In my experience, Intelligent Octopus works far better if you enroll using the Ohme Pro instead of the car. That avoids polling of the car, and means you can use cars that aren’t even supported for direct IO integration, and even multiple cars.

You can decide to have the Ohme use the Kia API to set a target % (e.g. 100% by 8am) or leave it disconnected to and tell it to add a specific % (e.g. add 40% by 8am)

 

Aha - I didn't know that!

 

I’m very happy with IO, it works for me because I have a small solar system that reduces my daytime peak rate consumption, I have a big thirsty car and I do quite a lot of miles. Therefore a lot of my energy consumption is in the off peak hours and it works out cheapest for me.
But given that you have an efficient car, will possibly do less miles than me and may not have solar, then OVO is almost certainly the way to go. I am not aware of how the timing of smart charging works with OVO.
As you have the Ohme charger that is compatible with either supplier on these innovative tariffs, set up via the charger, rather than via the car and you’ll avoid all the issues with 12v battery drain.

 

Have you spotted that the day rate has now also been reduced from 1st July? It is about 0.3 of a pence more than the Flexible tariff. (So not even a penny more) Plus you get the 7.5p off-peak.

Intelligent Octopus v OVO Charge Anytime.

If you are looking for a cheap EV tariff Intelligent Octopus chargers 7.5p per kWh and OVO anytime 7p per kWh but which one is best?

octopusreferral.link

 

I’m down south and haven’t had anything official yet, but it looks like a new video will be needed!

 

Dont ever believe in OVO’s BS! 10p per kw my ass! They are charging me 21p/kw even with numerous calls and complaints! Plus not entirely sure if there are causing damage to the charger or car itself as OVO keeps on cutting off the charge almost every 10mins during the day and few hours after midnight! Im moving to IO!

 

EDF 4.49p for 5 hours each night. At least in my region.