Solar with Battery - Winter alternatives to Octopus Flux ?

Jonboy1889

ecraig said:

Magnitio said:

Jonboy1889 said:

Is it me or is Flux a lot less attractive now vs agile outgoing, esp as the days get shorter? 16p vs 15p. I guess at least it's more predictable on import

If you have solar and battery, then you might want to consider Agile import and Fixed export at 15p. When rates are low you can charge the battery from the grid and export all your excess solar generation during the day. When rates are high you can charge from solar (if you have any excess). This week (being a tad windy) there have been plenty of half-hour slots where you get paid to charge the battery. The downside will be those miserably dark, cold days when the wind doesn't blow and electricity rates are very high, such as we had for a couple of weeks in December last year.

If you want a predictable tariff though, Flux is fine.

The problem though is that if you have a battery you really want to be charging it up for 15/16p in the off peak pricing. Last year between November and December there was around 5 consecutive weeks where agile pricing was more than 15p. That’s a bitter situation at a time of the year where you’re going to want to use electricity.
seriously recommend plugging your usage numbers and modelling how much it would cost between each type of tariff…

True- for battery users flux is probably better - altho outside those 5 weeks the lower cost may offset and you may be in the same place over 4-5 months. We don’t have a battery (just solar) so can be more flexible around our usage, plus work from home so can benefit from the often lower early afternoon rates 

Magnitio

ecraig said:

Magnitio said:

Jonboy1889 said:

Is it me or is Flux a lot less attractive now vs agile outgoing, esp as the days get shorter? 16p vs 15p. I guess at least it's more predictable on import

If you have solar and battery, then you might want to consider Agile import and Fixed export at 15p. When rates are low you can charge the battery from the grid and export all your excess solar generation during the day. When rates are high you can charge from solar (if you have any excess). This week (being a tad windy) there have been plenty of half-hour slots where you get paid to charge the battery. The downside will be those miserably dark, cold days when the wind doesn't blow and electricity rates are very high, such as we had for a couple of weeks in December last year.

If you want a predictable tariff though, Flux is fine.

The problem though is that if you have a battery you really want to be charging it up for 15/16p in the off peak pricing. Last year between November and December there was around 5 consecutive weeks where agile pricing was more than 15p. That’s a bitter situation at a time of the year where you’re going to want to use electricity.
seriously recommend plugging your usage numbers and modelling how much it would cost between each type of tariff…

I agree. I was on Agile last year and it was quite a roller-coaster. Only just changed back to Agile last week and average rate I have paid so far is 3.7p/kWh, but it has been quite windy.

pensionpawn

Flux export paid for both my gas and electrical import during September, leaving the S/C to be paid from my generation FiT. Only four days would I have been better off on flat rate export and then to the tune of just under £1 in total. Flux should still work for me during October offsetting today's charges by £1.44. November - February inc will be a different story...

Jonboy1889

pensionpawn said:

Flux export paid for both my gas and electrical import during September, leaving the S/C to be paid from my generation FiT. Only four days would I have been better off on flat rate export and then to the tune of just under £1 in total. Flux should still work for me during October offsetting today's charges by £1.44. November - February inc will be a different story...

Yes very much case by case, depends on each persons set up and usage-  I’m guessing you have a huge set up. For your average set up, by now flux is probably not any better than Agile + 15p export. Based on Flux’s new rates my export would be 18p on Flux, while on agile I spend c10p less per KW vs Flux on import. That means my export needs to be more than 3 times my import to be better than agile (tho am aware that may well change as the cold months come!)- quite unlikely at this time of year unless you have a lot of panels. I have 4.7kw, and only once in the last week have I exported 3x more than I use (which is just 4kw a day).

pensionpawn

Jonboy1889 said:

pensionpawn said:

Flux export paid for both my gas and electrical import during September, leaving the S/C to be paid from my generation FiT. Only four days would I have been better off on flat rate export and then to the tune of just under £1 in total. Flux should still work for me during October offsetting today's charges by £1.44. November - February inc will be a different story...

Yes very much case by case, depends on each persons set up and usage-  I’m guessing you have a huge set up. For your average set up, by now flux is probably not any better than Agile + 15p export. Based on Flux’s new rates my export would be 18p on Flux, while on agile I spend c10p less per KW vs Flux on import. That means my export needs to be more than 3 times my import to be better than agile (tho am aware that may well change as the cold months come!)- quite unlikely at this time of year unless you have a lot of panels. I have 4.7kw, and only once in the last week have I exported 3x more than I use (which is just 4kw a day).

I have 4 Kws due east and 3.12 kWs due west. Modelling against a flat 15p export Flux came in as £17.79 better for September. Of course as the peak period export tends to zero through October, as the days get shorter, I'll be just reliant on day export and cheaper overnight electric for the dishwasher / washing machine. Ultimately the litmus test is when does peak import cancel out overnight savings and daytime export, and by how much? I also have the advantage of being semi retired and moving our main meal to noon when convenient socially and meteorologically. For us this is a significant cost reduction, however we're cautious of not letting an energy tariff dictate our lifestyle. I'm fairly convinced that I'm going to stick with Flux throughout the winter just to see what the energy cost balance is like after 12 months. My ambition is to have a £0 annual energy bill (or very close to that) rather than trying to make the most money, and committing precious time and effort to that end.

Raxiel

Currently mulling whether to move away from Flux.

With the October prices, daytime exports are worth less than even overnight imports, meaning it no longer makes sense to run appliances overnight and then export during the day.

Switching to flex/fixed would be a no brainer, but I don't have a battery. When I signed up the T&C's explicitly didn't require a battery, just stated the tariff was designed for use with one. More recent wording apparently does, so I might not be able to switch back in the spring. Need to calculate if it's worth paying a bit more for a few months.

EcoScruples

I am now set on TOU for charging and will knave it on that from Oct through to mid March. I'm happy with the savings I'll make over autumn/winter compared to last year by sticking with Flux.
Experimenting for a year is always a nice option.

pensionpawn

Raxiel said:

Currently mulling whether to move away from Flux.

With the October prices, daytime exports are worth less than even overnight imports, meaning it no longer makes sense to run appliances overnight and then export during the day.

Switching to flex/fixed would be a no brainer, but I don't have a battery. When I signed up the T&C's explicitly didn't require a battery, just stated the tariff was designed for use with one. More recent wording apparently does, so I might not be able to switch back in the spring. Need to calculate if it's worth paying a bit more for a few months.

True, however if the clouds appear daytime imports are still more expensive that night time ones!

arty688

I have recently moved from Flux to EONnext drive as it work out much cheaper for me. The switch seems to have gone OK although Octopus have yet to give me a bill.

Its worth doing a whole market check Octopus are not always the best.

cm4ever

arty688 said:

I have recently moved from Flux to EONnext drive as it work out much cheaper for me. The switch seems to have gone OK although Octopus have yet to give me a bill.

Its worth doing a whole market check Octopus are not always the best.

Hmm, comparing Octopus Flux (a PV or PV & battery storage tariff) with E.ON Next Drive EV tariff, somehow doesn't seem a fair comparison - oranges and apples?

"To be eligible you must own or lease an Electric Vehicle and must pay by direct debit."