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MandyC
Rank 1
September 2, 2026
Question

Charging an Alpine gts

  • September 2, 2026
  • 10 replies
  • 91 views

There doesn’t appear to be an Alpine option on the compatible cars list for ev charging? For Alpine gts 

      10 replies

      Ben_OVO
      Community Manager
      Ben_OVO
      Community Manager
      September 3, 2026

      Morning ​@MandyC and welcome to the OVO Forum. I’ve added the EV badge to your profile.

       

      Thanks for your post - it’s nice too see someone on the Forum with an Alpine - very cool cars! The Alpine GTS isn’t compatible with Charge Anytime, however you can use any EV with Charge Anytime, so long as you have a compatible charger.

       

      Do you already have a smart charger installed? If so, hopefully it’s one that’s compatible. You can view all compatible charger types here. If you don’t have a smart charger already, you could look at getting one installed through OVO.

       

      We’ve got a handy FAQ article about Charge Anytime on the Forum here:

       

       

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      MandyCAuthor
      Rank 1
      September 4, 2026

      I’ve checked and we are already on charge anytime as we have a Renault 5 which is on the list of supported cars so we did not need a smart charger. So am I right in saying if we install a smart charger now that we will be able to charge both cars on it on the same scheme? Does the charge anytime scheme allow 1000 miles per month per car?

      Abby_OVO
      Community Manager
      Abby_OVO
      Community Manager
      September 7, 2026

      Hey ​@MandyC 

       

      The allowance on the Monthly Plan is based on the total monthly EV charging, rather than being a separate allowance for each vehicle.

      If you get a compatible charger, you can use that charger to manage charging for multiple EVs. As we'd be communicating with and controlling the compatible charger rather than the individual vehicle, the cars themselves don't both need to be on the compatible vehicle list, so your Alpine GTS would then work via the compatible charger.

      As to your other question about the kWh price, the charging allowance works out at an equivalent cost of around 14p/kWh based on the current Charge Anytime rate.

       

      I hope this helps.

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      MandyCAuthor
      Rank 1
      September 4, 2026

      How much is the charge per kWh when used through a compatible charger please? We don’t have a compatible charger a the moment but I am arranging to replace our old charger with a compatible one shortly.

      Rank 6
      woodstok2000
      Rank 6
      September 8, 2026

      It’s expensive (compared to other suppliers).  Ovo charge about 14p per kWh at the moment, compared to half that with Octopus, EON,  EDF etc.  Their monthly subscriptions range from 15p per kWh upwards (ignoring the add-on benefits like a battery health check).

      I had a VW partner rate for a long time which was 7p per kWh - I believe some Volvos may still be eligible for that but I’m not 100%.  As soon as that ended I switched away and it’s saving me a fortune.

      Doing around 2000 miles a month, 99% charged at home, currently costs me £34.50 on my new tariff (with EDF).  With CA it would be costing me £70.  The monthly subscription would be £79.50.

       

      Annual Cost:

      EDF - £414

      OVO CA - £840

      OVO Sub - £954

      Rank 6
      Nealeb
      Rank 6
      September 8, 2026

      When I bought my EV back in March I was already with Ovo so signed up for CA as an easy option but without really knowing how my personal home/public charging split would work. I went for the basic £27.50/month option which I mentally broke down into 175 kWh at 10p/unit and £10 towards my £120 annual public charging allowance. Seemed reasonable. 

      What I have found in practice is that some months I have quota left while this month, for example, I have already run out of quota. This fixed amount doesn't suit me. I have also used my public quota already.

      The whole "which tariff?" thing is not easy and very personal. Even more complicated with solar+battery setup. After a lot of spreadsheet studying I am now moving to Octopus, partly because the 8p/unit overnight rate can be used for anything including charging my house battery leaving me to sell PV energy at a higher rate during the day. I'm hoping that the increased flexibility will work for me. Even then, my sums suggest that annual saving will still only be around £50/year - but this is all on paper and how do you factor in the occasional extra-sunny month? Still, the flexibility wins it - for me - so I don't have to do so much planning around charging. 

      What I had not realised is that public charging costs me about the same per mile as my previous diesel.

        Peter E
        Super User
        Peter ESuper User
        Super User
        September 8, 2026

        ​@Nealeb

         

        You are right. It is very complicated and even more so when you add solar and battery tech. Being able to create spreadsheet models of charging with solar and battery it becomes obvious that the best tariff to be on is strongly dependent on your individual usage for domestic and EV and also the time of year. In the summer you have solar and and winter you effectively don't have that. This means that the best tariff is sometimes different for each case. Exit fees mean you can't change every six months.

         

        The advantage of the simple fixed amount is just that. Simplicity. As soon as you can work out it may not always be the cheapest option snd it matters to you then you probably have the motive and the ability to work out what is better and that is what you have done. For some people it simply doesn't matter. For others it matters that they can show that they have saved every last penny. Everyone else fits in between those extremes.

         

        From what I know about SEG rates (I don't have solar or battery) you are right to charge the EV at the cheap rate and sell the excess solar for SEG although that is only true if your EV charging rate is less than your SEG.

         

        In my case reliability is paramount so I choose a ToU tariff that is cheaper than fixed price/SVT but zero rules and no exit fees. I can use the electricity for anything I like at any time. How much I save depends on how much effort I want to put into saving money but the car will always charge from it's timers.

         

        Peter

        Reducing my yearly fossil fuel usage with an EV (-900 litres petrol saving about £950/year), A2AHP (-8,700 kWh gas, cost neutral) and Timed Immersion heater (-1,500 kWh gas, £20/year more expensive but getting less)
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