Green tech & greener living

Can anyone tell me what these particular settings mean please see photo 1 of FTC6 controller (I am still on the ASHP learning curve) - I am trying to grapple with whether the Flow Temperature settings are too high/too low/just right. At the moment the outside temperature during the day has been about 18 degrees, at night we have been having near freezing temperatures. See photo 2 from Melcloud. My system is set to run 24/7 which I believe is the most economical way - low and slow. I have been having the room control set to 17 in the day and I have put it up to 18 in the evening during my off peak hours. if I move it up or down it’s only by half a degree.  My problem is that I previously had old storage heaters and this thing is using a fraction of the electricity that they were using, so all the angst about 2.5kwh usage on this forum seems irrelevant to my situation. With my storage heaters I was using 40kwh a day on May 1st, if which 7kwh was all the other stuff including oven. The Ec

Have recently had solar panels installed and although I can check how much I am exporting via the main electricity smart meter I cannot see how I can see this info on my smart meter display - apparently I should see a pylon icon - have I got an old display (photo attached). Thanks. 

Updated on 06/03/25 by Ben_OVOThe Dimplex operating manual can be found here.I have asked before on this forum and still not had an answer. I have Dimplex Quantum storage heaters which were installed by my local authority after they ripped out gas central heating. Quantum meant to be economical and environmentally beneficial. However, to run just one of them is £25 per week I have 4 in total, but only run one of them. I am over £200 per month. I have two electric panel heaters which are more controllable and cheaper to run. But still over £200 per month for all my electric. I’m on economy 10 which I was told they should run on, but there’s hardly any providers can give this. I’m with OVO, formerly SSE. My next door neighbour still has gas central heating, is on a pre paid meter and is £125 per month for that and electricity. Same size house as mine. She runs her tumble drier umpteen times each week too.We’ve also got some great Forum topics which you might find useful 👇  

I’ve recently bought a house which has solar panels already installed (no battery storage) along with the FiT Scheme. I have transferred ownership and I just have a few general/basic questions regarding the solar panels/FiT scheme. I’m only querying this as my neighbour in the same size house/same number of occupants (2 adults) is roughly £40 a month cheaper than us in energy bills without solar panels.I have just submitted my first generation reading to OVO and will receive my first payment in December. OVO have said that I am paid for any excess energy that I generate. Are the solar panels directly powering some appliances in my house and if so why don’t I see the benefits on my energy bill?  On average we use roughly 380kW per month and have a smart meter just for our electricity. Apologies for the basic questions, I just want to make sure I understand it all before selecting our new tariff. Thanks

Hello, if I’m on the Premium plus monthly plan with Ovo, how does the Minimum % charge affect charging?  For example, if I set my minimum to 30% and my maximum to 80%.  With a “ready by” time of 7am.  Let’s say my battery is at 15%.  I plug it in at 4pm.  What happens if there’s no cheap electricity available that can come out my monthly allowance? will it charge from 15% to 30% at my standard electricity tariff and then switch to smart charging? or will it still only use my monthly allowance?  Thanks in advance

Eon put in a new smart meter in September 2025. We only have electricitry.  We have a tarriff with Peak and Off-Peak times.  We have an ongoing suitation where Eon constantly reverse the reading/unit cost by either sending us statements where the Peak use is actually the Off-Peak and the Off-Peak use is given as Peak use or the statements show the correct Peak and Off-Peak use but then charge us the wrong rate. They have now asked us to send photos of the meter taking “ spaced reads tests ...about an hour apart”.  I have asked why. My understanding is that with a smart meter the company can see any use at any time, possibly as frequently as every half hour. They also know what tarriff we are on  so wat added benefit will photos be ?I would appreiate any thoughts as to why Eon are seeking photos when they have the information at their finger tips.Thanks

Our Hot water tank no longer works since January this year (2026).Heating engineer checked the tank and said we must contact OVO because he reckoned OVO must have switched off our RTS signal. Twice we have explained as best we can on the phone to OVO our problem. In the first call to OVO customer services we were advised that the necessary software modifications had been made but if after 72 hours our normal Off-Peak service for the Immersion heated hot water tank still wasn’t working we should call the Technical department ( for which they gave us the phone number). After five days (well above 100 hours) the hot water tank still wasn’t working. We called OVO Technical department and were advised that everything was working at the OVO end. But how does this help if we still don’t have our hot water tank working? Can anyone suggest what to do now? 

Does anyone know why I have suddenly been charged a £2 “Bonnet Boost” charge. This is not something that I am aware that I signed up to in any sense. (Not directly nor through a Charge Anytime Plan.) Clueless!

I'd like to install a 22v EV charger and a kiln at home so it’s probably time for 3-phase electrics - but I have solar panels (inherited rental arrangement) - what are the knock on effects of going 3-phase?Here’s my initial thoughts for things to investigate.  What am I missing and what do I need to consider/ask - and who do I need to involve? I’d really appreciate advice so I can go into this with my eyes open.replace current consumer unit replace current smart meter (fairly old) - OVO says they don’t have any 3 phase meters - should I accept this or try to find someone who can do this? replace solar inverter? anything else ref solar panels connections? any rewiring needed in general? - is that likely? install of EV charger install of battery (one day! - not permitted under solar rental agreement) install of kilnanything else?​@Transparent if you’re still active in the forum, I read your (historical) discussion with MarkC about his phase 3 install etc and was mightily impressed with y

What is the best make of PV panels for the UK?

Hello, So my plans when installing a 8kw solis hybrid inverter and 16kwh lifepo4 battery were not for export, just a protection for blackouts (the house now runs on UPS). It is also a first step to lower electricity expenses, as they will only grow when we get an ASHP. Eventually we may add some PV.  Our battery install is ready.  🙂Since our DNO uk power networks stated they would approve us to do 5kw export, taking the next step while it was all fresh seemed simpler.  I now have an export MPAN, actually with 8kw approved. Our smart meter is export-ready. But we do not have MCS nor flexorb (as I had no plan to export now, I saved the expense).  Is there an advantage to get MCS paperwork vs short-circuiting and setting up export to an utility operator that does not require it? Or is there anything to gain with MCS?  😉 

Hello!I wonder if anyone can tell me why IHD is saying gas disablement suspended?  

Hi , can someone please explain to me how is charge anytime credit added to my balance , i can see it on my bills but missing the point where my current balance is adjusted. Thanks 

I briefly charged my car this morning which drained my solar battery of 1.8kWh. I usually set the solar battery to HOLD when I charge the car but this time I didn’t.The Charge app now says I used 1.8kWh and for that power I will be charged 24p instead of 49p so I’ll have 25p credit on my next bill. (I’m on the standard OVO14p/kWh tariff)Interestingly, like everyone, my bills are based on my meter readings and the 1.8kWh won't have “passed through” my meter since it didn’t come from the grid supply. (at least that’s what I assume to be the case). So, that implies that OVO will be giving me 25p for the 1.8kWh I used from my solar battery. Essentially, it seems, OVO will be giving me 14p/kWh every time I charge my car from the solar battery.This all sounds too good to be true so it probably isn’t! - can anyone see where my thought process is wrong?

I currently have a peak/off peak smart meter with my current supplier for electricity with an  SSC  (Standard Settlement Configuration )  id 0939. Do anyone know is all electricity company suppliers must offer this ?  Thanks . Much appreciated

Evening, Just about to have an Indra Smart Pro charger fitted to a very thick brick pillar on the garage. I want the install as neat as possible so to have the cables enter from the rear. Plan is to pre drill the holes so it's as easy as possible for the installer. I've contacted the installer who reckons the hole centres are at 3.5". Tbh I have a feeling that's wrong from scaling up a plan view image on screen. Posting up here on the off chance someone here might have one they can measure for me.  Many thanks in advance  

I submitted my last FIT reading on 17th June & have since received my statement but have no payment. It is now more than the 8 weeks so I’m wondering if I need to contact someone.

I keep getting invitations to get a smart meter and I really don’t want one is there a way to stop these invitations ? How do I make it clear to OVO that I dont want a smart meter ?

Hi, Would it be possible to add a time window say 15 to 30 minutes pre the scheduled charge time to allow for pre conditioning the car, quite often ours is finished before the set time and the app seems to cut supply to the car unless we overide it with boost. It's something I use frequently with the car, currently I boost the charger to use it from the wall but would be nice if this could be an automatic feature. 

Struggling with getting my car to charge without having to go out, unplug and replug then keep monitoring the app.Ohme account deleted, integration to OVO Charge done (have deleted connection & app then reinstalled & connected)This is our only car currently so need to be able to rely on it charging.Any help??Edit to add: I'm using the Ovo Charge app not the Anytime app 

Hi all,Just moved into new rented accommodation with electric heating and water with a combi boiler which seems to be showing about £2.70-£3 an hour estimated cost on the smart meter when heating is on. When boiler is on and ticking over is even showing about £2.30 an hour even when heating is off.  Is anyone else on a similar system and know if this is normal as it seems a lot? Sorry have come from being on oil so not used to this type of heating.CheersChris

So recently decided to use Ovo boiler service, instead of my regular person. They sent someone on 27th Sept who said the boiler was in PERFECT CONDITION! A week later, boiler is showing signs of pressure loss, and unable to fill back up. When I called them I am told I do not have service cover & they can’t do anything. The boiler has been working fine ALL YEAR, till they showed up. Now I have to write to complaints and it will take 14 days to respond. This is just the worst result from using a so called reputable company. 

Well I tried. I have been a big fan of OVO for nearly 4 years. Once I honestly believed the best EV tariff going, yes even better than the Purple multiple armed one..and let people know. That changed to the new offer, which despite having a great Beta team assigned who were responsive, quick at fixing issues and genuinely wanted feedback. I can’t continue.  The new Charge Anytime just does not work for me. The Rates for “Free” charging are too high and too inflexible and push the risk to the driver to “Guess” how many miles they will do in a month. You can’t adjust the packages quick enough and if you do run out, then get charged the full tariff amount. External charging worked via app the one time I used it but to get the best deal again you would have to buy a “Boost” Battery check did not bring a code up for me, something found during Beta testing and again in reality is a bit pointless as an extra 15% off expensive tyre subscription is pointless Charger cover was nice but not worth

I am hoping someone can enlighten me as I am struggling to understand.   We have growatt solar panels and battery.  For an example - on 13.2.26Our Load Consumption - 17.90Solar Panels - 7.40Export to Grid - 0.20From Battery 2.20on that day OVO usage for the day was 17,49kwh Is this correct?