Octopus Energy tariffs??

mickyduck55

Netexporter said:

yp70479 said:

One other thing that might influence you is where your battery is located and where you live. If your battery is located outside (not in a garage, but out on the wall of your house) the temp can drop quite sharply over the winter. Batteries will generally still power your house if their internal temp drops below 0 degrees C, but they won't be able to charge up. As temps are generally colder at night, this could affect your ability to charge at a cheap rate from the grid overnight. However, all the time your battery is "working" fairly hard it generates heat, which keeps it in the operating temp range. This is where economy 7 can be useful - because all through the coldest period you can set your battery to do a long slow charge - this keeps it warm and you have a full battery in the morning. Flux is great for the summer, but it has a limited charge time and finishes by 5am - which is usually the coldest point of the night.

That is a very good point. I've been pondering the pros and cons of indoor/outdoor location for my planned battery installation. That has tipped the odds in favour of indoor.

My batteries are inside my unheated garage and charge at a much slower rate in winter

Netexporter

Well, I say indoor. It is actually an integral garage at the moment but will be converted to a kitchen and utility room, at some point.

Magnitio

Some batteries have built-in heating mats to help maintain a good working temperature. This does of course use additional energy to provide that heat.