Which solar seasonable tariffs best?

doctheclown

I wonder if I could just put some questions out there about tariffs, solar and changing over to Octopus etc as my head hurts from trying to work it all out and knowing there is a lot of experience out there on the forum it seems to makes sense to ask those in the know.  

We will shortly have 16 x 500 panels and a Tesla PW3 with a 5kw DNO limit (approx. usage 2,700 a year).  

I am currently with BG with a £100 exit fee for each fuel with a year still to go.
I can get a 15.1p for SEG with BG
I could move across to a new tariff with BG with a £50 exit fee without penalty for 13 months fixed tariff

I could move over to the new tariff with BG and then just move over my Elec to Octopus (therefore reducing my exit penalty to match the introductory offer (using one of the many links I have been offered) with Octopus).
Is there any benefit to moving my Gas over also and if so I am presuming the Octopus 12 month fixed is the way to go.

With Octopus I know IOF makes sense in the spring  / summer but wasn't sure what is the best idea for the autumn / winter as I can't get Go / Cosy (not having an EV or heat pump etc) (when I am presuming I won't be exporting but just using anything I generate and importing at night?).
I'm guessing I am not able to move my Elec over to the Octopus 12 month fixed now as I would want to move onto IOF in the spring (and the fixed element would restrict this).  
So I am guessing I would need to be on Flexible Octopus for the autumn / winter (and just fill my battery overnight)?

Am I missing anything else I need to take into account? Is there a better way of doing this?

Thanks for all your help

Netexporter

This might help:

Optimise your solar tariff

There's a link to Tim's latest comparator app in the notes.

doctheclown

Thanks Netexporter for the link, very handy - I am having to guess about my annual generation but it looks like Tim's comparator is recommending Flux in the winter and IOF in the summer, but his website assumes the Flexible tariff to be non Economy 7, and I wondered if it was possible to sign up for E7 which shows a better rate? 

debitcardmayhem

doctheclown said:

Thanks Netexporter for the link, very handy - I am having to guess about my annual generation but it looks like Tim's comparator is recommending Flux in the winter and IOF in the summer, but his website assumes the Flexible tariff to be non Economy 7, and I wondered if it was possible to sign up for E7 which shows a better rate? 

I am currently on IOF, and am soon to change , probably mid October, and am thinking Cosy for winter with Octopus outgoing for export. My reason is that Flux(I was on that last winter) has only 3 hours of flux at 16.4p day 27.33 and peak 38.2. , vs cosy 8hrs @12.76p  day 26.01 and 39.02 peak. 

If it’s sunny during day flux pays 10.11p vs 15p, and 29.32 peak vs 15p, but I can use the battery during peak for household use.(We often need light cooking at peak times)

Time of course will tell.

NedS

Netexporter said:

This might help:

Optimise your solar tariff

There's a link to Tim's latest comparator app in the notes.

Tim's latest comparator and previous 'rule of thumb' spreadsheets are excellent, and I too recommend using these as a starting point.

IOF is excellent whilst you are generating as much or more than you use (net exporter). Even after the cross over point from becoming a net exporter to an importer, it's not a bad tariff as it's ~22.3p day rate which is cheaper than the Ogem capped SVR rate, and the battery will offset any peak rate usage, so you could stay on IOF all year round knowing summer will subsidise your winter use. Any tariff that gives you an import rate lower than the IOF day rate will probably be better for you in winter, depending on usage and generation.

For us, with a compatible battery and a heat pump, a summer/winter choice of IOF/Cosy clearly work best, but I still use Tim's spreadsheet.

NedS

What's your daily usage in winter?

How much will your solar array generate? You can use the PVGIS website to accurately predict your monthly generation.

Another option to consider in winter is Agile. The pricing can get a bit mad at times, but you will always have your battery to see you through peak periods, and often you can charge for very little, even negative pricing. Your average import pricing may be quite low, but this does either require some 3rd party automation or significant input from yourself to maximise the half hour pricing.

Screwdriva

I believe Cosy does not require a heat pump and I know of several on Octopus Go despite not owning an EV. 

A comparison of both tariffs to your existing tariff would be wise. For the next 6 months, reducing your cost of import will make more fiscal sense than maximizing the amount earned for export.

Qyburn

I have the same sort of system, although Solaredge rather than Tesla. I've only just got our meter working properly so I'll remain on Go/Outgoing until Spring then look into switching to IOF.