Hi @TD12345 ,

I’m afraid OVO Drive and OVO Drive + Anytime are currently not available at the moment due to the price cap changes, but will return in the future. There’s plans to make it all work with any charger via a Direct To Vehicle option, so as long as your EV is on the supported list, it’s charger agnostic.

You only need these things if you’re going for the Drive + Anytime add-on however. Regular OVO Drive doesn’t need special chargers but both versions are dual-fuel only. Smart meters aren’t required for these offers because OVO can get the required data either from the charger or EV as applicable - Smart meters don’t get used for this purpose.

If you get one of the chargers OVO offers but later leave OVO, the charger will still work just fine, don’t worry about that. You might lose some features, but it will always retain the ability to recharge whatever EV you plug in no matter what you do or which energy supplier you’re with.

so at the moment i can only charge my car on the plan i currently have with ovo?   so

it doesnt matter what charger i buy?

That's correct 

oh wow thanks - what a waste of time.

@TD12345 The limitation you have is that you are electricity-only and therefore not currently eligible for the EV tariffs from OVO.

This may well change in the future when tariffs are released again, but that doesn't help you in the meantime.

The only cheap off-peak EV tariff currently available to new customers that I'm aware of (as of 2/9/22) is the Octopus Go/Go Faster/Intelligent range. These all require a smart meter in order to send 30 minute readings, so you'd need to have one fitted before you could move onto the EV tariff. Go/Go Faster work with any cars and chargers. Intelligent requires a compatible car or charger (currently Ohme chargers).

thank you.

Buying an electric car isn’t as straight forward as i had hoped.  I dont think ohme charges 

come untethered,  

im going to have to look again tomorrow at my limited options.

Yes, I think you're correct that Ohme chargers are now only available tethered. I have the older Type 2 charging cable, but I think that the cable is now only available for a commando socket.

What EV do you have or are getting?

we are getting a golf 8 style ehybrid - and looking at getting a Easee one charger?   its untethered because we may get another in the future.   

At this rate though i wish i didnt get the golf… -)

The golf is a good move. Most new cars will have a Type 2 socket, so getting a tethered charger isn't really a big issue (it's one reason that there are less options for untethered chargers now). 

I have an MG ZS EV and an original Nissan Leaf (with a Type 1 socket), so I use an untethered charger. But now Nissan has moved over to Type 2 on the newer models.

I may get a slap on the wrist from the OVO mods for saying this, but I believe the VW Golf could well be compatible with the Intelligent tariff and so give you 6+ cheap hours each night without needing to have a specific charger. I know VW IDs are not compatible yet but other models of VW should be, but worth checking if this includes the e-hybrid. If it does, your car has just unlocked the 6 cheap hours for household use for you, so well worth having.

i think i need to look again at the tethered and untethered - i thought that if tethered i 

would only be able to charge my car.    silly question but there isnt a type 3 socket in the pipeline? -)

And lastly i have not heard about the intelligent tariff!!?  i will look into that.   do i need to contact ovo to get this?   ( dont worry you can tell me, no one is listening...)

Tethered chargers are usually compatible with any EV that has a matching connector. So a Tethered EV Charger with a CHAdeMO cable will recharge basically any Nissan Leaf but unfortunately not much else because very few manufacturers use CHAdeMO in Europe.

On the other hand, a Tethered EV Charger with a CCS cable will recharge any EV with a CCS connector, which is over 80% of EV’s in Europe.

I think that’s right, neal?

Close @Blastoise186 

ChaDeMo and CCS are the connectors used on public rapid chargers. Your car would use one or the other. CCS is becoming the standard, ChaDeMo is a bit Betamax.

For home charging the car will either have a Type 1 or Type 2 socket. Type 2 is the most common now (even on new Leafs)

If you are buying a new EV it's very unlikely you will need a Type 1 cable, so a tethered Type 2 should be fine. No sign of Type 3's, that would just be cruel!

ok great - so even though i have a cable in the back of my car it would be better to

get a tethered ?    is that what most people buy ?    i just think untethered looks better.

The main advantage of tethered is that if it's been raining you don't have to roll up a wet cable and stuff it in your car

There’s also less risk of the cable being stolen. Because sadly… EV Charger Cables are so tempting for thieves...

got it!

I’ve learnt a few things reading this thread, awesome knowledge sharing!

One thing to call out, currently the Anytime terms state a smart meter is required, and set to half hourly...

If your still looking for a charge, not sure if all ovo customers ar eligible for the £70 off a smart indra Pro, but we had one installed untethered, we prefer untethered as we used to have a leaf and could charge different cars with different cables, plus you never know if a type 3 eventually comes out, unlikely but I like the option to change.

I also feel its less likely someone will pull up and plug in on an untethered charger…

The indra Pro charges fine upto 32amps, our previous pod point would regularly trip out above 27amps, although it was a dumb one and over 5 years old and didn't have a CT clamp either. 

Below is the list of cars that work with Anytime no mater what charger you have. this will continue to grow over the coming months making the charger type irrelevant 

Audi A3 Sportback e-tron 2015+
Audi A6 Avant TFSI e 2019+
Audi A7 Sportback TFSI e 2019+
Audi A8 L TFSI e 2019+
Audi A8 TFSI e 2019+
Audi e-tron 2019+
Audi e-tron GT 2021+
Audi e-tron Sportback 2020+
Audi Q2L e-tron 2019+
Audi Q3 Sportback TFSI e 2019+
Audi Q3 TFSI e 2019+
Audi Q5 Sportback TFSI e 2018+
Audi Q5 TFSI e 2018+
Audi Q7 TFSI e 2017+
Audi Q8 TFSI e 2019+
Audi R8 e-tron 2019+
Audi RS e-tron GT 2021+
BMW 225xe 2015+
BMW 330e 2015+
BMW 530e 2015+
BMW 745e 2015+
BMW i3 120 2014+
BMW i3 60 2014+
BMW i3 94 2014+
BMW i4 2021+
BMW i8 2014+
BMW iX 2021+
BMW iX3 2021+
BMW X1 xDrive25e 2015+
BMW X2 xDrive25e 2018+
BMW X3 xDrice30e 2015+
BMW X5 xDrive45e 2015+
Ford Mustang 2020+
Jaguar E-pace PHEV 2019+
Jaguar F-pace PHEV 2019+
Jaguar i-pace 2019+
Mini Cooper SE 2020+
Mini Countryman Hybrid 2020+
Opel New Corsa 2020+
Opel New Mokka 2020+
Porsche Taycan 2020+
Renault Captur Hybrid 2019+
Renault Clio Hybrid 2019+
Renault Megane Hybrid 2019+
Renault Zoe 2020+
Seat Leon 2020+
Seat Mii 2020+
Skoda Citigo e iV 2020+
Skoda Octavia Hybrid 2020+
Tesla Model 3 2017+
Tesla Model S 2012+
Tesla Model X 2016+
Tesla Model Y 2020+
Volvo S60 Recharge 2019+
Volvo S90 Recharge 2019+
Volvo V60 Recharge 2019+
Volvo V90 Recharge 2019+
Volvo XC40 Recharge 2019+
Volvo XC60 Recharge 2019+
Volvo XC70 Recharge 2020+
Volvo XC90 Recharge 2019+
VW e-golf 2015+
VW e-up! 2018+
VW Golf GTE 2016+
VW Passat Estate GTE 2016+
VW Passat GTE 2014+
VW Tiguan Hybrid 2018+
VW Touareg eHybrid 2018+

I keep getting invites to join above, but when I fill in details it says I am not eligible, my home charging unit (Wallbox Pulsar Plus) is is compliant but my EV, LR Discovery PHEV does not appear on list of compatible vehicles, the Jaguar E pace (which has identical technology and EV charging system  as the Discovery, as confirmed by JLR) is there, any reason LR are missing.

I’m also not eligible because I use a 2kW charger. I do have a compatible Zoe though. I could pay £1,000+ and have a compatible charger. What I see with Charge Anytime is a lot of restrictions. At least 90% of my charging is done from 10pm - 4am so the electricity is mostly going to be as green as it’s going to be for that 24 hour period. The ‘greeness’ of the generation generally doesn’t change that fast. The car is very seldom plugged in before 6pm and I need the charging to be done by 6am.

When we get to the end of this energy price crisis and Ovo are still only offering this very restrictive package I’m very seriously thinking of moving to Octopus with their 00:30 - 04:30 cheap rate (I can change my charging habits, and yes, I can make this work with my usage pattern) or move to someone who will do Economy 7. The pay back time to comply with the restrictions is going to be too long to justify a compatible charger. As far as I understand it I only get credit for charging under Ovo’s control. If anything goes wrong with the charging command or there is a loss of WiFi signal (not all chargers seem to maintain a good WiFi connection with their router - check this out and also what you need to do when you change your broadband supplier / router!) then you either don’t get a charge or you don’t qualify for the credit. The first one you will know about the next morning. The second one you will only find out later when you see the bill. With Octopus or Economy 7 it’s simple. The car is charged and you get a bill for when you charge. No ifs or buts. Sorry, but Ovo’s offering is far too complicated, restrictive and has potential pitfalls (think of all the things that have to function correctly to get a charge and get a credit for it).  A shame because I’ve been with you since 2014 (your office was just round the corner from mine at Temple Point) and I’ve never had any reason to complain about your service with the very minor issue of having lost my half hour readings that you restored recently when I asked.

Finally, it’s worth noting that I got my car in July 2021. At the time Ovo said that the EO Mini Pro was a compatible charger (it was a selectable item on their set up web page) for their system but by the time I had got the quotes for its installation it had been dropped. They agreed to allow the installation of the EO unit and then I discovered the looping issue with my neighbour and dropped the installation. This turned out to be fortunate because the EO Mini Pro turned out to be a nightmare with maintaining a reliable WiFi connection even with a good signal level and even more fortunate when it was reported that they were were found to be filling with water (Speak EV). Before buying the car I had put 90% of my effort in choosing the car and 10% choosing the charger. With hindsight it probably would have been better the other way round.

Sorry for the long read - it’s been a long journey to get to this point.

Peter

Good reply Peter, it seems every energy company makes it so simple to charge your EV car at competitive rates, I also charge my car between midnight and seven o’clock which is surely the greenest time to charge, like you I have been with OVO since the changeover from SSE and find it so frustrating that because of the energy crisis we have been unable to switch, roll on the end when we  EV owners can switch to Octopus.

Just for clarity. The energy crisis has not stopped anyone from being able to switch at any point.

Actually, that’s a very good point. The price comparison sites are not working because there are no deals on atm. You can still switch though. Thank you for that.

I’m sort of waiting for someone to come on here to defend Charge Anytime either as a user or in a semi-official role for the company. The time to switch to CA is now because as time goes on and energy rates subside back towards what they were, (although they will never return completely) this erodes the case for investing in a compatible charge point (the charger is in the car). It may be the case that you will never get your money back bearing in mind that having bought the charge point doesn’t mean it won’t go wrong and then you have to spend a large amount of money having it fixed or just replacing it.

I think this is the central issue with the eligibility rules being so restrictive but perhaps the rules are necessary to make Type-of-use work. But I don’t see how this competes with Time-of-use and a charge point you already have. Perhaps someone has a view as to why they would prefer Type-of-use rather than Time-of-use and also, was any market research carried out to indicate a demand for this?