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Why does Solar PV make a difference for compatibility with Charge Anytime?

  • 16 December 2023
  • 10 replies
  • 264 views

I’m a non-OVO user considering using the Charge Anytime tariff.

If I carry out the compatibility checks for my EV and charger for Charge Anytime it says I am OK - provided I lie about my solar panels and say I don’t have any.
If I click the radio button for ‘yes, I have solar panels’ (the truth) and re-submit, it tells me I’m NOT compatible for Charge Anytime.

What is the reason for this? I haven’t found anywhere that explains this restriction.

Thanks and regards 

10 replies

BPLightlog
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Hi @Walter Eagle , at present the main ‘system’ cannot distinguish if power is coming from the grid or solar PV which is why it tells you it’s not compatible. If you don’t tell the system about solar, you could end up paying for that as a source. 
You could use the Indra charger which has its own monitor for solar PV and is compatible with Charge Anytime

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Walter Eagle
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Hi @BPLightlog - thank you for the very prompt response. Much appreciated.

 

Not having that charger model would appear to exclude my set-up from this tariff (or exclude this tariff from my list of energy suppliers.) Oh well.

 

I'd been a very happy OVO customer until I acquired an EV. At that stage they had no appropriate tariff at all with off-peak charging unless I got a second meter installed. So I moved supplier, but I do keep monitoring what's available. I'll stay where I am just now, but who knows what the future may bring.

 

Thanks again. 

BPLightlog
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No problem. There’s a few of us pop in to see if we can help from time to time. 
Actually I recently moved as I wanted a tariff that I could shift my usage (solar and battery) out of peak and couldn’t get one with OVO

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Walter Eagle
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Ah, yes. I guess this forum is a wholly inappropriate venue to start discussing other, non-OVO, tariffs! 😉

BPLightlog
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Ah, yes. I guess this forum is a wholly inappropriate venue to start discussing other, non-OVO, tariffs! 😉

Actually that’s ok. They like the feedback and this forum has become the ‘go-to’ place for everything energy related. From my perspective, no supplier is perfect. I’m just keen to pass on what I’ve learned to help people become smarter with their usage. 

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Walter Eagle
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… no supplier is perfect ...

 

No indeed. It all ends up as a compromise of 50 different priorities.

My previous 5+ year experience with OVO had genuinely been excellent. As close to perfect as I could imagine. There’s a saying that “the best service is no service” and that was true with OVO. I never had to use their customer service team. Everything I needed was either available online or built-in to their supply system. That is, until I got an EV about 18 months ago.

Unlike other suppliers there was no obvious OVO tariff I could transition to, offering offpeak charging, without getting a second meter installed for Economy 7. And yet OVO had organised the installation of an SMETS2 smart meter a couple of years previously. They could already see my usage every half-hour. Strange. Anyway …

I moved to Octopus, who did cater for both offpeak charging and subsequently the SEG payments on the PV installation I also acquired. They are rated very highly by Which? and others but I find elements of their system lacking. I have had to contact their customer service team several times, and I find them slow and unconvincing. I’ve bumped across 3 or 4 different tariffs with Octopus, experimenting to see which one suits my lifestyle best. Currently I’m in the early stages of using their Intelligent Octopus Go tariff where they determine the best (most economical) times for EV charging. In theory my EV+charger+IOG passed the initial test charge to prove their compatibility, but since then there have been a few instances of the vehicle suddenly starting charging at high peak times. I’m still waiting on Octopus’ customer service team to investigate and respond. 

Thank goodness the electrons all these suppliers provide are identical!! Imagine if there were a difference in the quality of the electricity as well. I’d give up at that point and go back to firewood!

S
Rank

I recently opted for an Ohme ePod charger and have solar panels but still waiting on my car to be delivered. As of yet this setup is not supported by charge anytime however my intention was to turn my solar panels off at the circuit breaker which I have in my garage before charging. 

I was also advised this may not be an issue since the smart meter is bidirectional?? My solar panels were installed by the house builder and is no more than a 1kw system. 

BPLightlog
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The issue with CA is that the system cannot tell where the power comes from (unless you’re using the Indra charger) so whatever your solution, you might still get charged for power that you generate yourself

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Emmanuelle_OVO
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The issue with CA is that the system cannot tell where the power comes from (unless you’re using the Indra charger) so whatever your solution, you might still get charged for power that you generate yourself

 

Some helpful advice here from @BPLightlog.

 

I wonder if any of our other community members have been faced with a similar scenario & can give best advice for next steps? I see @Walter Eagle has spoken of their experience, which seems mixed. 

 

If the relationship between Charge Anytime & Solar Panels changes we’ll update all relevant forum topics. 

Renewable Energy? Big Fan.
S
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I'm assuming I will charge the car mostly through the night when the solar input won't matter and in reality for it's worth the small amount I do produce surely won't compare to charging my car and saving with CA. Thanks

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