Best EV Tariff 2024 vs Agile Octopus

Scheff

Hello, can anybody advise me on the current best EV Tariff. Looking for one with a good overnight rate. Considering Agile Octopus but not sure if I would be better off with an EV Tariif I know the price of upfront.

Magnitio

Intelligent Octopus Go is definitely worth considering, though it doesn't work for all chargers/cars and can be a bit of a challenge for some to get working reliably.

Keep_pedalling

Which EV and charge point do you have? Intelligent Octopus Go is not compatible with all of them.

MeteredOut

Just in case its not clear from the above, you don't necessarily need a car charger so long as you have a compatible EV. I just moved to Intelligent Octopus and am still using a 3-pin charger (it took a few attempts for the test connection to take though).

MattMattMattUK

The car/charger needs to be able to access wifi (or have an onboard mobile connection that functions reliably when the car is off) so that it can charge on demand. 

peter3hg

Ovo offer a tariff similar to Intelligent Octopus.
You need a compatible car or charger again but it operates differently in that you only get cheap charging for the EV (not the whole house) and this is not at a fixed time, just when Ovo schedule the charge. They will also charge you the full amount and credit the EV charge at the end of each month.
The advantages are that the EV rate is slightly less than Octopus (7p vs 7.5p) and there is no loading on normal rate.

MeteredOut

Here's the OVO car-or charger compatability list

https://www.ovoenergy.com/electric-cars/charge-anytime-cars-and-chargers

Chargers is a small list, but cars covers many of the main manufacturers.

kpk2000

I have an EV/charger combo that is currently incompatible with Octopus Intelligence so am currently on Octopus Go which gives 4 hours cheap electricity per night (12:30-04:30) but I play slightly more (about 1p per KWH) for power outside these times.

Moving washing/drying & dishwasher cycles to this time period saves me about 25p a day when not charging the car and it costs me £3 for 140 miles on a 7KWH home charger. As most of my mileage is quite local I don't need to charge more than twice a week so do washing on the other nights. Takes a bit of scheduling/time to organise but will save money over the whole year compared to a standard tariff without even considering the money saved on the EV charging.

I had a major dilemma when I got my EV about which tariff to go to and was seriously considering one of the Octopus Agile/Tracker tariffs. We moved to Go as a first step into the world of non-standard tariffs but the amount saved is proving to be good enough so will analyse again after the colder winter months.

MeteredOut

kpk2000 said:

I had a major dilemma when I got my EV about which tariff to go to and was seriously considering one of the Octopus Agile/Tracker tariffs. We moved to Go as a first step into the world of non-standard tariffs but the amount saved is proving to be good enough so will analyse again after the colder winter months.

Same process as I'm going through.

I've only recently moved to Intelligent, but suspect that for low EV users (or those than can't load shift other stuff to the overnight rate) then the Agile or Tracker tariffs might ultimately be cheaper.

But, I've only recently got my smart meter too so don't have the historic data to back that up for my use, so did the safer move to Intelligent first, knowing that I can shift other stuff overnight (tumble drier, dishwasher). After a few months of usage data, I'll run the numbers and see whether its worth switching over.

Somersetjen

I'm lucky to have had some savings to blow on a second hand EV, EV charger, solar panels and 7.5Kw battery, so during the autumn, winter and spring for the last two years, I top up the batteries from the grid during the Octopus Go nightly four-hour cheaper period, plus charging EV and running washing machine/dishwasher. The batteries keep the house running for a variable chunk of the day, and on sunny days, the panels take over generation before the house batteries run out, apart from the darkest months. Ironically, I'd probably be eligible for all sorts of installation grants now (and have some savings left!); however, the outgoings for my all-electric house are considerably less eye-watering than they would have been.