Octopus tariffs - API & choosing best tariff - Electricity, Tariffs, Monitoring, Electrics & Providers

RE: Octopus tariffs - API & choosing best tariff

Toodles — Fri, 18 Aug 2023 17:01:20 +0000

Having heard about Octopus Energy introducing ‘Power Ups’ in a trial area at present, I yhought others might like to know more here: https://octopus.energy/press/free-whizz-octopus-launches-power-ups-free-energy-when-the-sun-shines-and-the-wind-blows/

Regards, Toodles.

RE: Octopus tariffs - API & choosing best tariff

Toodles — Wed, 02 Aug 2023 15:48:57 +0000

Again, tomorrow (Aug. 3rd.) there are some very cheap half hour slots to avail oneself of for heating water / charging battery type purposes; my DHW will cost less than 10 pence for a day’s supply ;-) Regards, Toodles.

RE: Octopus tariffs - API & choosing best tariff

Toodles — Sun, 30 Jul 2023 15:32:28 +0000

I think I was ‘spoilt’ yesterday/today as tomorrow’s half hourly slots are rather more expensive! I have instructed Eddi not to ‘spend’ more than 10 pence per kW/h to heat the water tomorrow! Ah well, you win some…. (Of course this is still very a good rate by today’s reckoning, but Ill leave any PV output to export where it can as this still rewards me at 15p per kW/h.!) Regards, Toodles.

RE: Octopus tariffs - API & choosing best tariff

Toodles — Sun, 30 Jul 2023 08:35:51 +0000

@tim441 No hot tub here or EV for that matter but, tomorrow’s laundry is running a day earlier and the oven is now on a an autoclean cycle! The battery is charging nicely and DHW is up to temperature. I have never been a gambler - that is until Agile came along.;-))) Regards, Toodles.

RE: Octopus tariffs - API & choosing best tariff

Tim441 — Sun, 30 Jul 2023 07:20:36 +0000

@toodles yes...very nice! presumably wind is blowing nicely ..

Tracker is down at 12.06p as all day rate so I'm not unhappy with that. My Gen1 Givenergy inverter can only charge batteries at 2.6kwh.

Charging batteries as well as EV ... and heating hot tub!

Key question will be what happens over the winter - I'm hopeful that barring black swans out of Russia/Ukraine/China etc we will see overall wholesale prices well under standard rates

RE: Octopus tariffs - API & choosing best tariff

Toodles — Sat, 29 Jul 2023 15:35:07 +0000

@tim441 I see that tomorrow (Sunday 30th. July) Octopus Agile has a peppering of very cheap and some negative priced periods available. Guess who has just set up their Eddi to charge the DHW and also set the Tesla app to some negatively charged half hours to fill the battery?! Regards, Toodles

RE: Octopus tariffs - API & choosing best tariff

Tim441 — Mon, 17 Jul 2023 06:30:09 +0000

one of the reasons its harder for me to take full advantage of periods of lower time of use tariffs is that my Givenergy Gen1 inverter can only charge/discharge from batteries at 2.6kwh. Gen2 and the new All in One offer much better options. My ASHP is a large one ... so again needs bigger throughput to take full advantage. its not worth upgrading as the system works fine and Tracker import with Fixed export is giving a very fair cost.

Overall very happy with the setup - installed 2021 .... before battery & material prices took off.

RE: Octopus tariffs - API & choosing best tariff

Toodles — Sun, 16 Jul 2023 09:47:11 +0000

@tim441 Similar rates here on Agile tariff Tim441, last few bills show average unit rate of between 18 -22 pence. Having the luxury of 27 kW/h of storage, I hope that this winter, I’ll be able to find a couple of periods in any 24 hours where I will be able to recharge the Powerwall battery at a low rates and thus ride through the peaks without resorting to the grid. Like ypu, I’m using weather compensation and the ASHP is on 24/7; I have only had the system up and running since Feb. 19th. but think I have my LWT etc. in the right ball park but am ready to adjust it in late November if the need arises; I had hoped to have a Homely Smart Thermostat and controller installed by now. The software requires more work before it can cope with my Daikin unit and a low loss header and secondary pump; I had hoped to be able to use Homely’s API for Agile which might have made the system even more efficient as the API should take the Agile rates into account in a similar way to MyEnergi’s Eddi. My ASHP is not running in the warmer months normally as my DHW is catered for by the Sunamp Thermino ePV 210 unit via Eddi. OK, I’ll own own up to being a SuperNerd who peruses the 48 daily Agile rates and like to think I am using the cheapest periods and take advantage of negative rates too! The Tesla controls do not allow for ‘on demand’ discharging as they are set to only export solar excess. Regards, Toodles

RE: Octopus tariffs - API & choosing best tariff

Tim441 — Sun, 16 Jul 2023 07:22:14 +0000

Octopus Tracker yesterday was just 11.66p for IMPORT and today 8.44p!!! I guess weekend rates with lower industry working, summer days with minimal heating or A/C .... and winds producing excess power has enabled that. Agile half hourly rates are negative for some periods.

So batteries emptied at 15p... and now refilling!

I have not checked exactly but afaik the average Tracker price since 1st Jan is around 20p and last couple of months 18p.

I will stay with Tracker rather than Agile because it suits me best in winter (vast majority of my usage then) with ASHP that I use on weather compensation. So don't want to turn it off to avoid peak rates - smooth operation 24x7 is noticeably more efficient in my case and just one or two degrees setback overnight.

Fixed export 15p definitely best option for me.

Cosy, Intelligent etc don't suit me but everyone needs to look at own usage profile etc.

Have to keep an eye on T&Cs when switching tariffs. I think a switch away from Tracker means you cant switch back again for 9(?) months.

RE: Octopus tariffs - API & choosing best tariff

Toodles — Sat, 15 Jul 2023 17:24:36 +0000

@tim441 Tariffs have taken a fair bit of my attention over the last year, (I have been with Octopus Energy for one year today) and my circumstances have been very fluid in this time having added 8.1kWp of PV, first one Powerwall 2 and now a second, had an ASHP installed in February and upped our insulation last winter. Octopus Agile has been my preference so far (even though, just today, my newly renewed contract attracts double the standing charge!) and though I have glanced at some of the other offerings: Cosy for one, I am still of the opinion that with dynamic pricing that Agile enjoys, by the time I have taken as much advantage as I can of plunge pricing such as I have been enjoying yesterday and today, I am unlikely to obtain a better deal with any other tariff. We are retired and can adapt our demand to use TOU to our advantage and with 27kW/h of energy storage on top of the solar PV contributions, I am hoping that this winter we will be able to power the ASHP with mainly low cost energy from this tariff. I had been using Agile for the exported energy and noted the significant reduction in pence paid per kW/h in recent months and so have swapped to the fixed rate (15 pence per kW/h) for the summer but may review this if I have any significant amount of energy to export during the gloomy months but suspect I’ll not have enough to concern myself about. I’d be interested to hear how other readers have tackled this very complex subject please.