Economy 7 off peak home battery?

sebtomato

Hi,

Since my off peak rate is 2.6 times lower than my peak rate, are there some batteries that can be installed inside a flat, to be charged during the night and use during the day?

Would probably need a 2 or 3kWh capacity.

Dimanche_Prochain

None that are cost effective.

You're looking at 6 grand all in, and it will only last 15 years.

It's barely feasible with solar panels that generate "free" electricity.  It's going to be nowhere near that if you're paying for your electricity.

masonic

It probably would have been better to post this in the Energy section. Agree that battery storage probably wouldn't give you a saving overall. A better question to ask is whether an Economy 7 tariff is worth it. Does your flat have night storage heaters? Is it occupied during the day? If your off-peak rate is 2.6 times lower, that suggests your day rate will be considerably higher than for a non-E7 tariff.

sebtomato

masonic said:

It probably would have been better to post this in the Energy section. Agree that battery storage probably wouldn't give you a saving overall. A better question to ask is whether an Economy 7 tariff is worth it. Does your flat have night storage heaters? Is it occupied during the day? If your off-peak rate is 2.6 times lower, that suggests your day rate will be considerably higher than for a non-E7 tariff.

Yes indeed, not the best section.

About 65% of my electricity is used during off peak, between water heating and underfloor storage heating. Therefore, yes, I believe I am better off with economy 7/off peak.

fizio

off peak is definitely worth having if you have an electric car - which is by far the biggest use of energy in my case. Combine it with weekends being included then it can be very effeciemt. Tough am not sure how i will fare once my fixed deal ends in 2024.

I have looked at solar/battery but not yet got the sums to add up. It may well be a different story once I come off my fixed rate so I do think its a valid option to consider. Much like the OP, it may well be a good option to simply use the cheap rate to top up the battery which can then be used in the daytime. - especially in the winter.

Trouble is that its very difficult to make any decisions given the lack of being abl eto predict whats happeing with energy prices and no idea what economy 7 type deals may or may not be available in the next couple of years

masonic

fizio said:

off peak is definitely worth having if you have an electric car - which is by far the biggest use of energy in my case. Combine it with weekends being included then it can be very effeciemt. Tough am not sure how i will fare once my fixed deal ends in 2024.

There are still specialist smart tariffs for EVs that give discounted rates of sub-10p/kWh for several off-peak hours. We shall see what happens to these after the October rise... and the one after that. Standard E7 usually applies to the same time period each day, nothing extra at weekends.

It's going to be a sad day when my current off-peak rate of 4.5p/kWh comes to an end next spring.