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Octopus go and compatible cars

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3.4K views 27 replies 13 participants last post by  JeffG  
#1 ·
When changing over to Octopus go (OG) from Octopus standard Tariff ,I went through a a questionare and informed them I had a Nissan leaf and Bp pulse charger ( both of which are working fine on OG. I also tried to change to Intellegent OG but neither car or charger are compatible.
After contacting their customer service I am led to believe that only certain cars which are listed are compatible with OG.as well as IOG and is listed on their website.
I intend to change my car next year and do not wish to change my charger for the time being. I can find the list of manufactures but for the life of meI cannot find which models are compatible with OG. However it does state somewhere on the Octopus we site that OG is for people who do not have Intellegent compatible chargers and cars. So why was I informed my Octopus customer service to check the car manufacturer and model when I can,t find the information for OG. Only if I want to change to IOG. This is so frustrating . Hope someone can clarify. Thank you
 
#3 ·
Octopus Go is a fixed time period, you only get cheap charging during that time and Octopus have no control over your charging, so there's no need for charger/car to communicate with Octopus, With intelligent, Octopus control when they deliver charge to your car, so need to communicate with either the charger or car, so you need to check 8f the car or charger can communicate with Octopus.
 
#4 ·
So why was I informed my Octopus customer service to check the car manufacturer and model when I can,t find the information for OG. Only if I want to change to IOG. This is so frustrating . Hope someone can clarify. Thank you
Because while Octopus are generally pretty good, not all the customer service people really understand everything they do. Possibly because they do so many things.

You’re fine with Octopus Go all you need is a working smart meter.

If you want to change car in future worth checking which models are compatible with intelligent nearer the time and if there’s one that fits your other requirements etc.
 
#8 ·
Than you for your prompt reply .I will take another look.
Than you for your prompt reply .I will take another look.

If you have the Device Tab just select it and then select add a device, there you will see nearly all the manufacturers and models supported, my car has a REX but isn't shown so I just used the BEV model.
 
#12 ·
I've just been looking at Tomato Energy, they instantly knew I had a S2ADE (SMETS2) Smart Meter!
I completely missed the guy/gal dashing into my garage to check, they are quicker than a speeding bullet.

I'm going to drag my price comparison spreadsheet back into service to check their tariffs against Octopus.
 
#13 · (Edited)
I’m not sure that I’d choose my EV on the basis of whether it’s integrated with any tariff or not, for three reasons. Firstly, if it isn’t, then all you have to do is buy a charge point that is, and compared to the cost of the car, that’s relatively small. Second, even if it’s integrated now, there’s no guarantee that this will continue, as there’s no interface standard and manufacturers have no obligation to maintain them. There have been cases of EV models ceasing to be supported, or developing bugs as the software gets updated. Thirdly, even where there is EV/tariff integration, some owners have found that they prefer to use the charge point/tariff integration because it’s more reliable, if slightly more effort to setup.

So my advice to people is to choose the car that best matches their driving needs, and then separately, look at tariffs and charge points that match their charging profile. If they’re lucky, there may be integration with the EV, but if not, all it means is that they have to specify a charge% to add rather than the more convenient target charge%.
 
#14 · (Edited)
It was an easy choice for me, starting with two EV's (mine and my wife's) neither of which is compatible with IOG..
Another reason to choose a compatible charge point is that you are more likely to change your car than the charge point some time in the future, and having a compatible charge point means less constraint in choice of new EV.
 
#18 ·
IO has never worked for me. They think I'm on it but I just charge between fixed hours.
Over 4 years whenever I've dealt with Octopus customer service I've found them terrible.
Currently going through a solar and heat pump process with Octopus.
I'm about to cancel as they have postponed twice and I'm 6 months in and still waiting for installation dates.
 
#23 · (Edited)
@OB1CCFC - Do you have an IOG-intergrated charge point (like an Ohme, ApPI or Wallbox)? From what you said it sounds as if you don’t. And are you saying that although your EV is supposed to be integrated with IOG, the interface doesn’t seem to work? In which case yes, IOG is not going to work for you other than as a 23:30-05:30 fixed discount ‘window’.

I can see it’s frustrating if the EV:Octopus interface is supposed to work, but doesn’t. But this seems to be a common theme on the Forum. I’m not surprised, as the car manufacaturers are under no obligation to support one; there is no industry standard; and it needs software engineering effort they may feel isn’t justified.

I certainly get the impression that whilst it may be irksome, the best strategy for an owner is to get a charge point that’s compatible with the likes of IOG
if they want reliable, daytime, charge sessions.
 
#26 · (Edited)
And is your complaint that you have

(1) an EV that’s supposed to be integrated with IOG, but it doesn’t seem to work; or
(2) a charge point that’s supposed to be integrated with IOG, but it doesn’t work?

I ask because if it’s [1], then this is not that unusual if Forum postings are anything to go by. And you may just have to suck it up and resort to using the Wallbox:IOG interface. You won’t be able to set a charge%ceiling once, but will have to set the charge% to add before each session. But at least it will work, and you can do this any time of the day as well.

If it’s [2]. then I’d sympathise, as the fall-back for issues with EV:IOG interface problems is what you already have in the form of the Wallbox. If that’s not working, then you have been let down by one/other/both parties responsible for making the integration work.

The third potential issue is, as mentioned, that some models of EV are intolerant of charge sessions being discontinuous. The car manufacturer has simply assumed that the only charge model they'll support is where you plug in and charge continuously until complete. Which is fairly typical of their arrogant short-sightedness.
 
#27 ·
My complaint is I have a car (new model Niro EV) and a charger (Wallbox Pulsar plus) that Octopus says works with IO but they don't.
I typically need to charge twice a week, 4 hours each session. Which I now do a la Go although I'm on IO.
As it's been well over a year working like this I'll probably flatten everything and try again soon. Especially as I assume my soon to be installed solar batteries will need connecting under IO also.