EV Tariff for storage heaters???

wittynamegoeshere

To be fair, it does state upfront that if you don't already have an EV then you'll need an order number for one...

https://octopus.energy/go/

It may as well state that only rich people are allowed to save money.  But there's absolutely nothing to stop someone with an EV using it for their storage heaters, washing machine, tumble dryer etc etc, and I'm sure that many already are and have said so on this forum, and this will already be skewing whatever numbers someone may or may not be measuring, making that argument invalid.

If I had storage heaters I'd be inclined to give it a try and see what happens, I suspect they'll just sign you up, supply your power and be happy.  I very much doubt you're going to be prosecuted for fraud or sent to the naughty corner as a result.

MWT

wittynamegoeshere said:

... and this will already be skewing whatever numbers someone may or may not be measuring, making that argument invalid.

It doesn't skew the numbers when you have the car and other use as it is relatively trivial to tell the difference due to the charge rate of typical home EV chargers and data from people with cars and other use is still good data. 

... but ultimately the answer remains the same, if the tariff requires a car of a type you do not possess then this is not a tariff for everyone...

There is also granularity within EV tariffs, some of them are brand specific for example or some require compatibility with specific protocols or chargers...

It is an evolving area of the industry and there are likely to be reasons both technical and commercial why some tariffs are not going to be available to everyone.

wittynamegoeshere

I guess it's down to the OP to decide whether to or not.  But it's probably wise not to say here if doing so, as there are a number of staff from the energy suppliers posting and reading here.

rp1974

The worst that'd be likely to happen if you were found not to be within the terms you agreed to,for example not having an EV when you claimed you had would be that you might be charged at whatever other rate applicable.
At the end of the day if you find a supplier who will allow you to join such a tariff without a V5 then the choice is down to you really.
Pretty unlikely to be classed as fraud though,so your probably not going to jail,directly to jail,or being fined £200.

wittynamegoeshere

rp1974 said:

The worst that'd be likely to happen if you were found not to be within the terms you agreed to,for example not having an EV when you claimed you had would be that you might be charged at whatever other rate applicable.

I doubt they'd even be able to do this, as they'd have already agreed to supply at the EV rate so couldn't backdate additional payments.

It's likely that it will all be fine, nothing will happen, the consumer unit will not explode and all will live happily ever after.  One person will be a bit less hard-up, and the energy industry cartel will be very slightly less profitable.

MWT

wittynamegoeshere said:

I doubt they'd even be able to do this, as they'd have already agreed to supply at the EV rate so couldn't backdate additional payments.

The most likely outcome I'd have though is that they would be moved to a tariff that they did qualify for, and although the supplier could back-date the charges as the agreement was based on false representations, so would not be valid, I wouldn't have thought it likely that most would actually do that.

Obviously we can't encourage people to lie on this forum in pursuit of money savings, but the risks attached to trying are not high I would guess. Even though many suppliers do report to the credit agencies I've not yet heard of any of them putting a Cifas fraud marker on someone for this sort of thing. 

Boogins

Mstty said:

Boogins said:

@QrizB I'm an electrician so I'd have no problem in fitting a time switch and contactor for switching purposes. We use between 10,000 and 12,000 kWhs a year, haven't looked at exact usage per day. Insulation is not great, loft is up to current spec but as it's a cottage the loft is small and we have what are classed as 'rooms in roof' where part of the ceiling is the roof. These parts have poor 1980s insulation in them. Walls are mainly solid clay lump so not great either. If it wasn't a rental property I'd already have improved both walls and ceilings upstairs. Might have to look in to rooms in roof insulation again. Had thought about insulating wallpaper as we have some particular cold spots that condensate in winter and cause mould. Think the rats have been up there and gone through the felt and removed insulation from that particular section!

Hi @Boggins

If you use between 10,000-12,000 kWh a year then that isn't £25 a day.

If you use 80% at night as you have stated let's take the 12000 kWh figure that's 9600 night rate and 2400 day rate.

9600 kWh night rate @19p = £1824
2400 kWh day rate guessing 35p =£840

Say £90 for standing charge

Total £2754

£229.50 a month £7.55 a day on average

This is correct using an average over the year. What I said was during winter I would use this much! 

Boogins

wittynamegoeshere said:

You said you're spending £25/day, which is £750 a month.  At that sort of consumption you'd be better off checking into a Travelodge.

It will be required to be a C rating by 2025.  This may not be possible with solid uninsulated walls.

Whatever the supposed rating, there's something very wrong with your house.

Before the price hike we were on average £1200-1400 a year on electric. Bearing in mind we are out in the sticks with no gas supply and oil isn't an option. £1200 a year wasn't too bad. I know people with similar properties and new builds that pay more using oil and electric. 
The £25 a day is just a guess, but could be a reality due to the ridiculous price of off peak.
My real grudge is that the off peak shot up from 7p to 19p nearly three times the original. Day rate only went up a few pence in comparison. 
As our EPC is valid until 2030 I don't think we'll be getting anything done until a new certificate is required, I might be wrong.

MWT

Boogins said:

My real grudge is that the off peak shot up from 7p to 19p nearly three times the original. Day rate only went up a few pence in comparison.

This can happen when you were reaching the end of an older cheap fix, for most people on the standard variable rate the increase was much lower as their night rate was already at least 12-14p, so this is more about how fortunate you were to be on such a cheap rate for so long after the prices had already gone up significantly.

I know it doesn't feel like that for you though...

bristolleedsfan

MWT said:

wittynamegoeshere said:

I'd say if you're happy with it then tick whatever box and get it, nobody will be harmed and all will be fine.  If they ask tell them you're going to get one - almost everyone can honestly say this, as we'll probably all have one eventually anyway, perhaps in a decade.

The harm is that the aim of the tariffs for Octopus at least is to build a group of qualified customers and collect data about use patterns, then to use that data with their partners to develop new products and tariffs to further refine and target the offering, so it is unhelpful to have people who are not part of the target cohort in the dataset.

For years when there was lots of competition/deals elsewhere, Octopus only apparent interest was getting as many new customers/retaining existing customers.

Until last October they were more than happy for anyone with a smart meter to switch to Octopus Go,

XXXX amount of customers not only are already on the tariff without an EV ("skewing the data") they are currently getting renewed on Go Faster at 2019 rates.

The real apparent reason they suddenly tried to deter anyone with a smart meter signing up to Octopus Go

Heavily loss making tariff + no competition/deals elsewhere = .........          "its about not skewing the data"

As far as I know all the other EV tariffs elsewhere only ever allowed EV charging during very cheap off peak rates including those who had EVs,  If Octopus were genuinely interested in the data not being skewed they would only have ever allowed EV charging during very cheap off peak rates on Octopus Go.