Intelligent Octopus and 2nd hand EV

BarelySentientAI

born_again said:

Reed_Richards said:

I think people get a wallbox EV charger because "it's the thing to do", without thinking through the necessity and the economics.  A wallbox will enable you to charge the car about 3 times faster than a "granny charger" but that is only useful if you have used a lot of charge one day and need to use a lot of charge the following day; otherwise you can spread the recharging over 2 or 3 nights of slower charging.  

I have done just over 6000 miles in the last year. My Ohme Home pro (£1K) paid for itself in 9 months. Comparing petrol costs to Electric costs using Intelligent Octopus.

No problems at all with the Ohme here 👍
So far no one has actually reported having to pay a subscription on Ohme facebook groups after 3 years. 🤷‍♀️

But we weren't discussing comparing petrol to electricity.

Compare electricity without the £1000 wallbox and electricity with it.

Keep_pedalling

Jellynailer said:

Have also recently bought a s/h EV and found I could not use public points because I do not have a smart phone. So I charged it from my el. socket more cheaply even on daytime rate but had to feed the plug end through my letter box. A wallbox would be cheapest charging option but it would take years to break even given high cost of intallation. So, I have had an outside el. socket fitted.

p.s. I love the car's extra features e.g. sat nav; automatic climate control and speed limiter = I toggle between 20, 30, 40 when on restricted roads so lots of green smiles on my journey to family thru villages and towns.

 

Most public chargers are contactless and do not require an app you just swipe with a debit or credit card.

Reed_Richards

Keep_pedalling said:

Most public chargers are contactless and do not require an app you just swipe with a debit or credit card.

That may depend on where you are.  I was in Scotland and my first three chargers in the town all needed a phone or a pre-paid card.  Well that was in principle, in practise the first two would not work with my phone and the third was completely out or order.  Finally after well over an hour of trying I found one that worked with a credit card and that was fine.  

born_again

Reed_Richards said:

born_again said:
  

I have done just over 6000 miles in the last year. My Ohme Home pro (£1K) paid for itself in 9 months. Comparing petrol costs to Electric costs using Intelligent Octopus.

Fine.  But the comparison I would like you to make is between the cost of using a Granny charger costing £100 on the Eon NextDrive tariff (7 hours overnight at 6.9p per kWh) and your Ohme Home charger (£1k) and the Octopus tariff of your choice.  You have somehow got to win back that extra £900 and I don't think you are likely to do that in 9 years, let alone 9 months.    

You are also missing the cost of a dedicated 32Amp socket. Another couple of hundred quid. Or are you really risking charging car overnight & hoping that your home set up can cope with the load over extended periods?

I'm also getting the benefit of daytime charging & home use at off peak 7p rate on IO. So my average unit cost is 12p, compared to the full price 23p.
With a 2 EV house the wall box is a big winner.

I'm more than happy as the biggest saving is against other fuels. 
Sometimes you need to look at the other benefits, not just the perceived savings.

MeteredOut

born_again said:

Reed_Richards said:

I think people get a wallbox EV charger because "it's the thing to do", without thinking through the necessity and the economics.  A wallbox will enable you to charge the car about 3 times faster than a "granny charger" but that is only useful if you have used a lot of charge one day and need to use a lot of charge the following day; otherwise you can spread the recharging over 2 or 3 nights of slower charging.  

I have done just over 6000 miles in the last year. My Ohme Home pro (£1K) paid for itself in 9 months. Comparing petrol costs to Electric costs using Intelligent Octopus.

No problems at all with the Ohme here 👍
So far no one has actually reported having to pay a subscription on Ohme facebook groups after 3 years. 🤷‍♀️

With that level of mileage (average 17 miles/day), it's likely that a granny charger would have saved you that £1,000 up front cost and also provided you with more smart slots for additional lower priced all-of-house electricity (assuming you have an IOG supported car).

born_again

MeteredOut said:

born_again said:

Reed_Richards said:

I think people get a wallbox EV charger because "it's the thing to do", without thinking through the necessity and the economics.  A wallbox will enable you to charge the car about 3 times faster than a "granny charger" but that is only useful if you have used a lot of charge one day and need to use a lot of charge the following day; otherwise you can spread the recharging over 2 or 3 nights of slower charging.  

I have done just over 6000 miles in the last year. My Ohme Home pro (£1K) paid for itself in 9 months. Comparing petrol costs to Electric costs using Intelligent Octopus.

No problems at all with the Ohme here 👍
So far no one has actually reported having to pay a subscription on Ohme facebook groups after 3 years. 🤷‍♀️

With that level of mileage (average 17 miles/day), it's likely that a granny charger would have saved you that £1,000 up front cost and also provided you with more smart slots for additional lower priced all-of-house electricity (assuming you have an IOG supported car).

I don't, neither does daughter. But do not want the trouble of a granny charger outside over night anyway.
Wall box is a lot easier & safer in my book.

Reed_Richards

born_again said:

You are also missing the cost of a dedicated 32Amp socket. Another couple of hundred quid. Or are you really risking charging car overnight & hoping that your home set up can cope with the load over extended periods?

This crops up again and again but I don't buy it.  My granny charger draws 2.35 kW, 10 amps.  All domestic sockets are specified for up to 13 Amps.  So casting doubt on a socket's capability to sustain a 10 Amp current is casting doubt on its ability to perform well within the level of performance that it is specified to achieve.

Wallbox buyers remorse?  

paulstevo

Agreed that is a loss that would take time to recoup. On another note ,and this may be a silly qustion.
Do i pay two standing charges for the electricity . I have just fixed for 12 months with octopus and will I incur another standing charge for the intelligent tariff ? Is the intelligenmt tariff activation immediate as Im already an Octopus customer as it has the option to sign up via the app connected to my account?

Reed_Richards

I'm sorry to tell you that you cannot have a 12 month fixed tariff with Octopus and also the Intelligent Octopus Go tariff.  That is unless you have two separate electricity supplies each with its own electricity meter (in which case you would pay two standing charges and must already be doing so).  You will have to choose one tariff or the other and if there is a penalty to exit the fixed tariff you will have to pay it.  I don't blame you for being confused, Octopus tariffs seem to me to be all about fancy names and you have to delve deep to find explanations.    

born_again

Reed_Richards said:

born_again said:

You are also missing the cost of a dedicated 32Amp socket. Another couple of hundred quid. Or are you really risking charging car overnight & hoping that your home set up can cope with the load over extended periods?

This crops up again and again but I don't buy it.  My granny charger draws 2.35 kW, 10 amps.  All domestic sockets are specified for up to 13 Amps.  So casting doubt on a socket's capability to sustain a 10 Amp current is casting doubt on its ability to perform well within the level of performance that it is specified to achieve.

Wallbox buyers remorse?  

No remorse at all. More than happy with the wall box & ease of use.

Yes sockets are rated at 13Amp, but they make no mention of how long. You are drawing 10Amp over a long sustained period. No other electrical product does this.

If you are happy that a std 13 Amp socket & trust that the connections & wiring are all OK,  then fine. That's your choice.
Personally I would not risk it. I know how hot some of these charger blocks get from Mrs mobility scooter.. Have to have them on heat sinks in garage.

Fitting a dedicated 32 amp socket if safer.

Quids in here & have a system built for my needs.