Octopus Agile

NedS

Similar situation here - on Agile with an ASHP and 3kW inverter for solar (no batteries). During September, our average Agile import price was 14.9p per kWh, substantially lower than the SVR.

As @Spoonie_Turtle suggests, I use the Octopus Compare app to keep a close eye on Agile vs Cosy tariffs, and they look remarkably similar for my usage patterns. I think Cosy may edge it during Spring and Autumn when I could run the ASHP solely in the cheap periods, but Agile may be better during the full summer and winter months. Annually, they are probably very similar for my usage.

ccbrowning

Thanks. it estimates that the Cozy tariff is better than my current one even before winter descends upon us. I'm eyeing the thermostats which are down to 16.5 now in some rooms, so it's almost time.

bob2302

ccbrowning said:

Thanks. it estimates that the Cozy tariff is better than my current one even before winter descends upon us. I'm eyeing the thermostats which are down to 16.5 now in some rooms, so it's almost time.

IMO, It's a bit early to make comparisons involving heating, it's still very mild outside compared with December to February. 

I have heard it said that Cosy is a poor choice for a heat pumps; if it's still looking good in December it could be a sign that you are operating your heating inefficiently. 

ccbrowning

bob2302 said:

ccbrowning said:

Thanks. it estimates that the Cozy tariff is better than my current one even before winter descends upon us. I'm eyeing the thermostats which are down to 16.5 now in some rooms, so it's almost time.

IMO, It's a bit early to make comparisons involving heating, it's still very mild outside compared with December to February. 

I have heard it said that Cosy is a poor choice for a heat pumps; if it's still looking good in December it could be a sign that you are operating your heating inefficiently. 

I've not had the heating on at all. It's probably just since there are 1-2 people at home for most of the day (and it was only saying it was like £5/mo cheaper). We were coincidentally doing washing and drying mid-day anyway so it was overlapping with the cheap tariff. We do cook (so electric oven and/or induction hob) during the expensive tariff time, but it uses less power than other things.

NedS

My average price paid for import on Agile during September was 14.8p.

I estimate I used around 25kWh of cheap/free/negatively priced electricity during the month that I wouldn't have otherwise used, which brings down the average price paid slightly. My adjusted average would be closer to ~16.5p per kWh which is still not bad.

tlcgrantham

NedS said:

My average price paid for import on Agile during September was 14.8p.

I estimate I used around 25kWh of cheap/free/negatively priced electricity during the month that I wouldn't have otherwise used, which brings down the average price paid slightly. My adjusted average would be closer to ~16.5p per kWh which is still not bad.

Similar for me ( 14.87p ) but without batteries,solar, or EV just some load shifting. Saved £18.76 compared to SVT in September.

Netexporter

15.2p average for September, for me. Having an EV to charge during the couple of plunge price periods helped, though.

Spies

NedS said:

Similar situation here - on Agile with an ASHP and 3kW inverter for solar (no batteries). During September, our average Agile import price was 14.9p per kWh, substantially lower than the SVR.

As @Spoonie_Turtle suggests, I use the Octopus Compare app to keep a close eye on Agile vs Cosy tariffs, and they look remarkably similar for my usage patterns. I think Cosy may edge it during Spring and Autumn when I could run the ASHP solely in the cheap periods, but Agile may be better during the full summer and winter months. Annually, they are probably very similar for my usage.

This is really interesting to me as I'm going to be having a ASHP with Agile.

How much of September was your heating actually being used?

NedS

Spies said:

NedS said:

Similar situation here - on Agile with an ASHP and 3kW inverter for solar (no batteries). During September, our average Agile import price was 14.9p per kWh, substantially lower than the SVR.

As @Spoonie_Turtle suggests, I use the Octopus Compare app to keep a close eye on Agile vs Cosy tariffs, and they look remarkably similar for my usage patterns. I think Cosy may edge it during Spring and Autumn when I could run the ASHP solely in the cheap periods, but Agile may be better during the full summer and winter months. Annually, they are probably very similar for my usage.

This is really interesting to me as I'm going to be having a ASHP with Agile.

How much of September was your heating actually being used?

Very little.

4 Days in the first half of Sept when prices were negative or zero, so we had the heating on - why wouldn't you.

Then for the last week in September, we had the heating on for a couple hours per day as required, other than the day when there was negative pricing so again we took full advantage.

Our heat pump is oversized, so in this mild weather we really only need to run it for an hour or so to put some heat into the house, maybe once when we get up, and again in the evening, so we try to utilise cheaper slots where available, but usage is generally less than 5kWh/day at the moment. The heat pump doesn't get to run for long periods as we are up to temperature in an hour or so.

Assuming it's on most days going forward from here, Cosy would work quite well with cheap slots 4-7am to heat the house and DHW ready for morning, 1-4pm to heat the house ready for evening and top up DHW if required, and again at 10-midnight to warm up before bed. If sufficient heat could be generated in those slots and heat loss/insulation is good enough that the house does not get too cold in between, you can mostly heat at ~50% of the SVR or Cosy day rate.

Once you need more heat, then you are into the Cosy day rate which is broadly equivalent to the SVR.

Where Cosy is a clear winner is for anyone with large batteries, who can recharge during the cheap slots and use/discharge during the rest of the time thus running completely at the Cosy cheap rates (not sure how viable it is to charge/discharge a battery 3 times per day though, for battery longevity). Something like a Tesla Powerwall 3 may just about suffice for many UK homes.

ch_152

Not sure if this has been discussed, but the night rates on agile recently have generally been a little higher than the equivalent Flexible night rate. If that stays the same, and as it starts to get colder and more of my usage shifts into the night (night storage heaters), I could foresee a switch back to flexible providing savings.

However, last year over the winter, Agile saved me quite a few quid so I'm reluctant to jump ship too soon.

Anyone else having the same thoughts? Something I'm missing? Am I being neurotic? Worth holding out for a bit?