Octopus Flux for Me?

TractorFactor

I'd use the cheap energy club but what's throwing it out is I have solar so will want to export.

I don't mind setting my battery to charge during off-peak times or whatever but I don't want to constantly look at energy prices every half an hour.

Current tariff is with Eon Next but they've been terrible so want to leave them.

Currently on NextFlex and Next Export v3:

53.05p standing charge, 30.03p day rate, 13.92p night rate, 13p export (ends in 2027).

Gas: 28.78p standing charge, 7.19p rate.

I'll still go through the cheap energy club anyway but is Octopus a sensible choice?

TroubledTarts

Can you get all the electricity you need in the cheap 3 hours for your batteries in winter?

As for Octopus they are struggling as they have grown so fast with customer services and drop a few clangers.

QrizB

I'll still go through the cheap energy club anyway but is Octopus a sensible choice?

The like-for-like comparison to your current tariff would be Octopus 12M Fixed July 2026 v2 which (at least in my region) is slightly cheaper on both day and night rates. How does it look for you?

Octopus Flux import has a more expensive "cheap" rate than the 12M fix, and (as TT says) you might appreciate the 7 hours on Fixed vs. the 3 hours on Flux.

The only real advantage Flux has, for someone with solar and a battery, is the 29p export rate between 4pm and 7pm. How much of your exporting do you think you could do in that window, vs. being paid 10p the rest of the day?

TractorFactor

Ahh, I didn't read into the cheap rate on Flux.

The 7 hours would be better for me. I guess I'll have to look at unit rates as 10p vs 13p isn't a huge amount.

debitcardmayhem

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82066570#Comment_82066570

You get paid 12p on Octopus outgoing not 10p I was on cosy , in March changed to Intelligent Flux (just before they pulled it 😎) but I would have stayed on cosy if i was forced.

pete-20-11

Is the Prime export tariff live now?

Gives a better export rate in the evening peak if that's handy.

NedS

Flux is a great summertime tariff if you have solar + battery, and you generate more than you consume (i.e, are a net exporter).

You would normally export your battery during the 4-7pm peak for ~29-30p, import during the rest of the evening/night at ~25p to power the house (so not worth saving any battery for this period), 3h of which is cheap rate at ~15p, and then recharge from excess solar during the following day. Any excess solar that cannot be stored or used is exported during the day at ~10p. It's not worth grid charging the battery at 15p overnight if it's going to be sunny and you would be exporting excess solar for 10p. You would only grid charge if the battery is not going to be full by 4pm.

Depending on your generation/usage, and the size of your battery, you may be able to export the majority of your excess solar during the peak at ~29-30p which gives significant gains over any SEG based tariff paying 12-16p.

The import price is largely irrelevant, as long as it is the same or less than the price you are paid for export. It only becomes relevant once you are no longer a net exporter, at which point it maybe worth switching to an alternative tariff during winter.

Flux is the best currently available tariff for us in summer due to the near 30p paid for peak rate export. YMMV depending on generation, consumption and storage capacity. We switch back to Octopus Cosy for the cold winter months due to low solar generation and high ASHP usage.

TractorFactor

Lots to think about.

I don't really want to be switching tariffs twice a year though.

We currently charge out battery in the cheap rate for us, which is 00:00 - 05:00 - even throughout the summer when the sun would charge the battery fairly quickly. But doing this means we start the day with a full battery and use it through the winter months, or use it and then sun in the summer months. The system will always recharge from the solar panels to keep the battery as full as it can but ONLY charges from the grid in expensive times if it's empty. I'm happy to stick to this as although we may pay a bit more, the night rate is 13p and the export rate is 12p so not a huge amount in it.

Half way through the year, not sure changing to Flux now would be worth it (perhaps so near the beginning of the year so I get the most out of the export rates with the sun). But I'm not sure whether I want to export my battery power during the peak rates as I am more concerned with the wear and tear on the battery with many more imports and exports.

The standard fixed rates for Octopus for me are:
25.10p - day rate
50.31p - standing charge

That's cheaper than my current eon next, but no cheap overnight rate for charging the battery.

If I signed up to the Flux rate, for me it's:
24.22p - day rate
14.54p - night rate
51.06p - standing charge

However the killer is the high evening rate at 33.91p (16:00-19:00).
This might still work for us but last year, we still used some grid power in the evening as our shower is an electric one so draws large amounts of power - generally for us between 17:30 and 18:30 as we shower our little ones before bed.
But from what I saw last winter, it only happens maybe once a week at best. When I have enough money (probably Winter 2027 at this rate!), I'll be adding another battery, which would serve all our power needs throughout the day easily (current battery is 8kWh).

In the summer, the 27p export rate would be great but I wouldn't like to export all my battery power during that time (yet!) as then I'd have none to cover the peak usage. But the 9p any time isn't so much different to the 12p I get now, plus if I did any exporting in the peak time, that 27p would make up for the difference between the 9p and the 12p.

Thanks for reading and letting me write it out so I can sort it in my own head.

I think either way, Octopus will be cheaper.

MWT

Just wanted to check, you do not have an EV? … so just solar + battery?

Generally, Flux is a decent tariff if you are a net exporter, so your export kWh total exceeds your import kWh total.

Qyburn

Are they still no accepting sign up to Intelligent Octopus Flux?

NedS

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82071959#Comment_82071959

No. There was a rumour they are trying to restart IOF in August, but rising gas prices may have put paid to that for now.