Should I get an EV now I have solar panels?

Beanbag_35

Hi

I had my new solar panels and battery installed at the end of November (with huge thanks to this Forum and Screwdriva for the great advice and installer recommendations).  

We have a 10kWp array with 8 panels facing east and 12 panels facing west - so our winter generation won't be great (which is so far proving to be true). 

Having seen the tariffs on offer (Octopus) I'm considering whether to swap my much loved petrol VW Golf for an EV. I'd be interested in your views as to whether this is a daft idea.  

I don't do a huge number of miles any more now I mostly WFH - barely 5,000 per year.  I could swap at nil cost (my Golf for an MG4 with money left over for a home charger).  I'm thinking fuel and servicing savings would be partially offset by higher insurance costs, but there should be a small saving in there.  I would expect an MG4 to depreciate faster than the Golf - although I'd plan to keep whichever car I have until it falls apart.

So I'd be doing this mostly for the cheap overnight electric over winter (and probably go to Intelligent Flux over summer) ....... plus of course an EV would be greener and they are great fun to drive (test drove an ID3 and MG4, both good but liked the MG4 better).

Look forward to hearing your views.


PS - and while I'm here please can you confirm the definition of an "O" - I've been looking at the generation thread with interest and managed to track down a post explaining how O's came about.  Is it generation divided by capacity - so if I generate 10kWh in a day I've generated 1.0 "O"?

QrizB

You say you love your Golf, but you also say you've test-driven an MG4 - so you're not going to miss the Golf too much?

I'd say go for it. Mrs QrizB has an e-UP! which she really likes and it's a little electric roller skate of a car and we're paying an average of about 10p/kWh for our electricity at present, as we use the IOG off-peak period to charge our home battery in much the way you describe.

We use about 6kWh/day for the house (we're not exactly heavy users) and saving about 15p/kWh vs. standard-rate electricity so we're saving about 90p/day. Not a huge amount but it's still worth having.

Qyburn

Actually if you want and can cope with an EV go for it anyway. It's not necessarily appropriate to see solar panels as relevant, you're better exporting your surplus and getting paid 15p/kWh.

Netexporter

And you'll have cheap leccy for the battery, in the winter months, when there isn't much solar and your home consumption is highest.

Screwdriva

Beanbag_35 said:

I would expect an MG4 to depreciate faster than the Golf - although I'd plan to keep whichever car I have until it falls apart.

Hi Beanbag,

Glad to hear things worked out for you! 

If you're investing in an MG4, I suspect it won't be long before it falls apart relative to the Golf, based on anecdotal feedback I've received (friends, neighbour, colleagues). 

Given your low mileage, investing in a used EV with a better reputation for safety/ reliability/ longevity may be a wiser path to achieving your goals. I've heard good things about the ID3, Model 3, Leaf and Toyota's BZ4X. 

Hoping the road ahead is smooth! 

Paulrn

The solar panels shouldn’t really come into it. I have just gone to an EV and I use Octopus intelligent go. It is more cost effective to charge my car and my house batteries at the cheap rate and sell my excess solar to octopus. I pay 7p a KW at the cheap times and sell at 15p per KW so my solar panel never goes to my car.

Newbie_John

Also don't think of getting EV tarrif as benefit as there's few providers who don't require EV for that - Good Energy for example.

Petrol at 5000 miles costs you about £700 a year.
EV costs would be about £100 if 7p night rate (+ add extra for more costly day kWh prices) or £200 if you were using solar panels (instead of selling for 15p).
Either way about £500 saved per year.

Is it financially good idea if your golf is fine? No.

Martyn1981

Hi Beanbag, and welcome.

If you've driven a BEV and enjoyed it, then I'd say go for it. For your mileage (assuming it's not 10x 500 mile trips pa) then you don't need that much range. So a smaller battery BEV may be fine for you.

Loads of new and nearly new BEV's with big discounts on Autrotrader. If you plan to keep long term, then maybe a pre-Reg, again with a big discount? But, given your annual mileage, a SH car that's been hit with lots of depreciation already, will probably suffice.

You are right about the 'O's'. They were named after Oscargrouch who suggested the idea. O's are just our silly nickname on here, the correct term would be kWh/kWp. So just divide your generation by the amount of PV (kWp) on your roof(s).

Edit - Pleasant co-incidence, a vid from 'Electric Van Man' has just dropped, with a nice list of ~30 BEV's and the list price v's 'real' price. ID3 and MG4 and many others are on there. Probably worth a quick check.

Heavily Discounted Brand New EVs

carly

Based on my family's experience I wouldnt have an MG4.  It will be in the service garage more than out of it. Sorry to burst your bubble.  Look elsewhere.

Heedtheadvice

Yes, a poor reputation.

Better with a used EV that has a long warranty IMHO.

thevilla

We haven't had any problems (touch wood) with our mg4 but i have to say that the software is designed and implemented by chimpanzees. It is garbage and I'm probably being unfair to chimpanzees.

There's no logical flow to the screen and that quickly irritates. Not everyone want to use speed limiter, adaptive cruise etc but if you do it soon shows up it's shortcomings when on a journey. 

EVs are definitely worth while. I'd never go back to ICE.

We're finding with our 9 yr old 4.7 kWp and a 13.5 kWh battery on IOG were not buying much peak rate even with a heat pump.  Of course it will probably get colder 😁