Octopus Saving Session

matt_drummer

Ryan_Holden said:

Echoing the sentiments of many, these are basically worthless to me. Seems unfair to reward people who use more and not reward people who are already running lean.

I use relatively little electricity so this does little for me although we do take part.

But that is not the point of it, we are already inclined to use less electricity and during off peak times if possible.

These schemes are designed to encourage people who are not already doing so to switch some of their use from times of high demand.

I did not need to be encouraged with more money to do this but some people will need more of an incentive to participate.

Petriix

I typically use very little peak electricity - about 1,000kWh total in 2022. However, with the wonky IDA calculation, I've shifted a bunch of usage that would normally happen off-peak into the IDA window (as well as shifting some heating from gas to electric).

Until today I was paying 24p peak so using 30kWh cost me £7.20 but earned me ~ £25 so a net £17.80 profit. At my new peak rate of 44p that's still £11.80 profit.

So, even if your normal usage is low, you can still benefit. 

matt_drummer

Petriix said:

I typically use very little peak electricity - about 1,000kWh total in 2022. However, with the wonky IDA calculation, I've shifted a bunch of usage that would normally happen off-peak into the IDA window (as well as shifting some heating from gas to electric).

Until today I was paying 24p peak so using 30kWh cost me £7.20 but earned me ~ £25 so a net £17.80 profit. At my new peak rate of 44p that's still £11.80 profit.

So, even if your normal usage is low, you can still benefit. 

I barely use 30Kw a week.

There is little I could possibly move from other times to fit into that 3 hour window.

I don't charge my car at home and have no charger at home in any case.

There is nothing I have that could use 10Kw an hour for 3 hours, let alone something that I would have used later that I could move into that 3 hours.

To use 10Kw an hour I would have to just turn stuff on an for no reason whatsoever just to save more when I turned them off.

A silly way to calculate savings but it is what it is. I guess Octopus and the others don't care as they sold more electricity and gained £2 per Kw for the `savings'

masonic

Ryan_Holden said:

Echoing the sentiments of many, these are basically worthless to me. Seems unfair to reward people who use more and not reward people who are already running lean.

The objective is to avoid blackouts (or burning coal to avoid that) during the session, so it is by design that high users are being incentivised to take action by load shifting away from this period of peak demand. I don't think anyone here is going to defend the current calculation, but it seems to be achieving its objective, albeit not a particularly efficient manner.

bristolleedsfan

Points for 23rd have been added 

masonic

bristolleedsfan said:

Points for 23rd have been added 

They must still be in the process of adding them as they haven't got to me yet.

Edit: now showing

70sbudgie

I have E7, an EV, solar PV and young children. For the first saving session, I shifted load till after the saving session and didn't make very much. Then I learned that the trick is to shift load to the 3 hour window before. With each session, I have got better at shifting my load and more imaginative at how to do it. For example, I might cook something in the slow cooker earlier in the day and either dish it up to eat during the savings window, or reheat after the savings window.

I use the in day adjustment period as a motivation to get my ironing done. Or I rearrange the order in which I do my laundry, so the hottest wash is during the adjustment window. With the morning session, I programmed my car to charge from 5am till 7am (even though the IDA was until 8am, I still couldn't bring myself to charge my car during peak rate period). 

I have made just over £16 in 6 savings sessions, including a couple bonuses for 3 in a row. So not huge amounts, but I have enjoyed seeing how much I can save. When the saving session is has a big impact on whether we make bigger or smaller savings, as we have a fairly fixed routine there are some days when I only manage a small real saving and my maximum to date has only been a fiver.

_Sam_

"So far you've earned 57474 octopoints (or £71.78) over 3 saving sessions"

First of these sessions was only 464 points... it is true that little can beat charging EV during the adjustment hours! Still we had 15-16kwh going last time, so at least 8kwh of non-EV leccy. That included oven (cooking and cleaning), electric heaters, dehumidifier, and hoovering.

(Although it looks we’ll be spending the reward on the electrician’s visit! There was loud buzzing from the CU, not sure yet if it were sockets or oven (or both!)

The_Hawk

Got over 12,000 points for the 23rd, as I brought forward an overnight EV charging session.

It's still way behind what some on here are doing. The military precision some are undertaking reminds me of a scene in the film Saving Grace: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eMYxkEtxlM&t=2s

vic_sf49

Am I right in thinking that Octopus still has a test session left this month?

Or can it class one of the live saving sessions as its test?

^^ aimed at you expert folk, that have read the rules and criteria and stuff.