Do you mean Go or Intelligent Octopus Go?

Intelligent Octopus Go
My understanding is that to use Intelligent Octopus Go (IOG) you need a smart meter, plus either (1) a compatible charge point or (2) a compatible vehicle. You can check compatibility on the Octopus website.

IOG gives you two discounted 7.5p/kWh rate slots: (a) a fixed 23:30 to 05:30 window, plus (b) on-demand, day time slots.

The tariff suits customers who can shift the bulk of their electricity consumption into (a) and/or (b). The standard rate is relatively high (31p/kWh) while the discounted rate is relatively low. If you can’t take advantage of this then a different tariff like Octopus Agile may suit you better, or something from another supplier.

If your car is compatible with IOG, then as I understand it, it’s Octopus and the car that manage any charge session, and your Granny Charger will be fine. But If your car isn’t compatible then you need an ‘intelligent’ charge point like a Ohme, Zappi or Wallbox that‘s integrated with IOG and manages the charge session. In this case, your GC won’t be suitable.

Limitations of a Granny Charger
And when I say ‘fine’ I only mean it in terms of working with IOG. Many people on the forum will advise you strongly against using a GC, other than as an emergency contingency. And definitely not as a regular charge point.

As implied below, if you run the GC at a safe rate then the Go ‘window’ is not long enough to do a lot of charging.

Get a proper Charge Point (EVSE)
And as also mentioned below, a proper EVSE will run at ~7kW an hour compared to the ~2kW (if that). So your charging sessions will be faster. And if it’s an ‘intelligent’ model like the Ohme, Zappi or Wallbox, then you have the option of IOG which a. has a longer fixed window (23:30-05:30) and b. Offers dynamic, day time, on-demand charging sessions as well.

Get a local electrician to quote for EVSE installation
If you are interested in the potential for an EVSE then just get a local electrician or two to come and survey your home and quote. In the first instance, don’t go to a corporate website: they all assume a ‘standard’ installation and while they’ll take your deposit, they don’t survey in person. It’s only when their subcontractor arrives that you find yours isn’t ‘standard’ after all and the problems begin.

 

Thanks

Yes I was talking about Octopus Go as I had a headache trying to arrange an OHME charger with Octopus. and you are right, I think they are only interested in "standard installations" which is why I gave up with them as they wouldn't answer basic questions about the installation.

I'm hoping I can find someone locally who can install a charger and possibly sort out the trench I need to get the cable to the garage across the driveway. I had a quote for just hiding the cable under the driveway which was £1500. Add on the £1000 for the separate installation of the charger and its quite a lot of money.

 

Go runs 12:30 to 4:30 any electricity used in that time will be at the go rate, be it a dishwasher or a car being charged or a house battery being charged. Doesn't the kona have on board timers you can set?
Perhaps it's time to update to proper evse.
IO is different and needs a compatible car or chargepoint and gives you 6 hours.

 

Thank you

I had been looking at getting an OHME charger installed by Octopus but I couldn't get them to answer even basic questions about the installation. couple that with the £1500 I needed to spend just to bury 10ft of cable under the driveway and I figured I'd give up for now..

I shall look to see if I can set it manually in the car though as that would make things a bit easier..

 

Only if you can schedule those times in the car, you'd only get around 2.2 kw, so that's around 8.8 kwh in 4 hours, so if your EV did 4 miles per kwh that would be 32 miles of added range.

 

I granny charged my ioniq but when I got my Kona 64 I got an home charger fitted . Gone from charging every few nights to pretty much once a week . On intelligent octopus and saving a fortune against normal standard tariff averaging 11p a kWh on all electric.
So glad I invested in a compatible charger.

 

mrkfm, like Ian I am a fellow Kona owner and as far as I am aware it is not on the list of compatible EV's for IOG, so unless you have another EV that does qualify, OG is probably your best option. What size battery is in your Kona? 39 or 64?

 

Yes, it is difficult to know if the expense is worth it. Your quotes are on a par with our installation, where the consumer unit was just about as far away, and awkwardly-placed as it could be for installing a charge point in the garage. Our challenge was laying cable under hardwood floors. In the end, we got a nice setup as we wanted it:

Of course, it may confirmation bias, but I think it was worth it in the end. But we have no plans to move and keep our cars for at least 6-8 years, so the payback time can be fairly distant. It’s turned out that almost all our charging is done at the cheap rate and on IOG, our day:night time charging is about 7:5, which is more than we expected. It also means we’re getting domestic consumption at the cheap rate during the day more often than we thought we would. I wrote it all up here.

 

That is a lovely Peugeot e208, which I test drove and loved it before purchasing the current Kona electric. The car at the time did not have the option of setting up a maximum charge level or a charge finish time to ensure it only charges when off peak rates which I get from Octopus Go. Wondered if there have been any software or hardware updates since to allow you to be able to do this ? How do you find the one pedal driving experience? Thank you.

 

Also according to some report somewhere this week I saw, fitting a charger increases the sale value of your house up to £5k. So a good investment really.

 

The KONA was on a beta status at the time I was on ZAPPI beta, I tried to see if I could intergrate through KONA when I was having trouble connecting the ZAPPI, there was a time when KIA was compatable but I believe that it is no longer,so I would presume that KONA is no longer either

 

I charged my E-Niro with a granny for six months before the EVSE was fitted, worked OK but as said only around 30 miles added in the 00:30 to 04:30 with Octopus Go, but it worked well enough for me at the time.

 

@Sri With the e208 + Ohme + IOG I have to specify a charge% to be added, and a charge finish time, as there’s still no integration between Octopus and the e208 models:

In reality, it’s no big deal. It takes no more than 20-30 seconds to turn on the app and set the Added Range slider and enter the Departure Time (if it's changed from the last session). But yes, I do have to remember to clock the Charge% when I park the car, or grapple with the hideous Peugeot app to query the Charge%.

And we have been able to get day time slots whenever we want them (like the 11:30am above), which has proved more useful than we expected. We do about 7 day slots for every 5 night ones, which has meant being able to use domestic appliances at the low rate more often than we thought, which helps the payback equation.

It’s not totally a 1-pedal drive: the regen setup is relatively moderate compared to some other cars. For me, it seems a good balance, but that may be just because I‘ve grown used to it.

 

Daytime slots if your flat. 😂😂 I had done 290 miles since I last charged.

 

Thank you.

 

@Sri With the e208 + Ohme + IOG I have to specify a charge% to be added, and a charge finish time, as there’s still no integration between Octopus and the e208 models:
View attachment 189888
In reality, it’s no big deal. It takes no more than 20-30 seconds to turn on the app and set the Added Range slider and enter the Departure Time (if it's changed from the last session). But yes, I do have to remember to clock the Charge% when I park the car, or grapple with the hideous Peugeot app to query the Charge%.

And we have been able to get day time slots whenever we want them (like the 11:30am above), which has proved more useful than we expected. We do about 7 day slots for every 5 night ones, which has meant being able to use domestic appliances at the low rate more often than we thought, which helps the payback equation.

It’s not totally a 1-pedal drive: the regen setup is relatively moderate compared to some other cars. For me, it seems a good balance, but that may be just because I‘ve grown used to it.

I have octopus go, which is different from In

@Sri With the e208 + Ohme + IOG I have to specify a charge% to be added, and a charge finish time, as there’s still no integration between Octopus and the e208 models:
View attachment 189888
In reality, it’s no big deal. It takes no more than 20-30 seconds to turn on the app and set the Added Range slider and enter the Departure Time (if it's changed from the last session). But yes, I do have to remember to clock the Charge% when I park the car, or grapple with the hideous Peugeot app to query the Charge%.

And we have been able to get day time slots whenever we want them (like the 11:30am above), which has proved more useful than we expected. We do about 7 day slots for every 5 night ones, which has meant being able to use domestic appliances at the low rate more often than we thought, which helps the payback equation.

It’s not totally a 1-pedal drive: the regen setup is relatively moderate compared to some other cars. For me, it seems a good balance, but that may be just because I‘ve grown used to it.

I have Octopus Go and not intelligent octopus go. I just get reduced rates between 12.30 -4.30. I have a basic EO charger , which does not have the feature of settings charge times. Is is still possible to set the desired range to be added after which the charging process is terminated? Technically one could set it to charge up to 80% be calculating the deficit. Many thanks.