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Abby_OVO
Community Manager
Abby_OVO
Community Manager
September 25, 2026

Hey ​@madgolfermk80 

 

Welcome to the community, I’ve added a badge for your battery.

 

I wonder if some of our users might have some advice they can share on this, who they’re with and if they do this. ​@juliamc ​@BPLightlog ​@waltyboy ​@EverythingNeedsAUserName 

Currently Playing: She's Electric
    Peter E
    Super User
    Peter ESuper User
    Super User
    September 25, 2026

    As ​@juliamc has said if you can combine it with another changing tariff like EV then it can work out quite well but watch your total demand charging both at the same time. Some people put washing machines on at the same time to make use of the discount rate. Never be tempted to run the tumble drier overnight. They are the worst for catching fire and make sure you remove the lint and fluff from the filters on a very regular basis if not every time.

     

    If you don't have an EV then it can be more difficult. I've got a Time of Use tariff varies over the day and I charge my EV when the rate is best. You could have a look at those. If you have solar with a good SEG then it's best to sell the solar and charge up on discount tariff but it gets complicated very quickly and the best tariff may even change between summer and winter. Something that you can't do if you have an exit fee.

     

    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 reducing as the gas price goes up)
    BPLightlog
    Super User
    BPLightlogSuper User
    Super User
    September 25, 2026

    Yes - but it needs to be controlled.

    Any I do is at an off peak rate and the battery condition (no. of cycles; charge/discharge levels) need to be understood.

    What are you looking to achieve?

    Bring me Sunshine ~ E&E {Solar PV, Battery Storage, Hybrid EV, ASHP and Home Assistant automation}
    juliamc
    Rank 20
    juliamc
    Rank 20
    September 25, 2026

    I do, I’m on Octopus Intelligent Go as we have an EV so get a cheap rate period overnight. It also charges on excess solar (that’s very much a summertime thing as there’s rarely excess solar the rest of the year). Unlike BP I haven’t taken battery condition into account ! Oops ! 😳

      Peter E
      Super User
      Peter ESuper User
      Super User
      September 25, 2026

      ​@juliamc 

       

      Battery condition is what it is. The capacity drops with age and equivalent complete cycles and there is not a lot you can do about that. More recent batteries are better than older batteries. LFP are better than NMC for the total number of cycles. Just use it.

       

      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 reducing as the gas price goes up)
        juliamc
        Rank 20
        juliamc
        Rank 20
        September 25, 2026

        Thanks ​@Peter E I will !!

        It’s a GivEnergy and as I haven’t paid for the monthly subscription I can’t now see exactly what’s going on with it now anyway.

          Rank 7
          EverythingNeedsAUserName
          Rank 7
          September 25, 2026

          Yes, in winter, on an economy 7 tariff. Night is about a third the cost of daytime. 

          Summer, the battery is left to its own devices. Mostly it doesn't need anything other than solar.

          Spring and autumn. I tried charging to a lower % but it broke the on board system controllers. I got free replacement batteries and a warning to always recharge to 100%.So far in September we had one really grimy day with cloud and drizzle, on which we imported 7kWh. My batteries won't allow the charge to drop below 10%.

           

          Once the sun's power has gone we change to overnight charging. Typically mid October to 1 March. 

           

          I'd love the ability to do what ​@BPLightlog suggests. My phone and tablet batteries have lasted far longer than expected by setting a max 80%. Note you'll use slightly more kWh due to inefficiencies in charging. Your battery capacity also has to allow for any system minimum and any battery conditioning upper limit your system allows.

          3.99kW solar 2015, 12kWh batteries 2022, Tado.
            juliamc
            Rank 20
            juliamc
            Rank 20
            September 25, 2026

            Ooh. ​@EverythingNeedsAUserName  We just charge our EV to 80% but I didn’t know it was a thing for phone batteries. Mine is forever needing to be recharged, is it too late to keep it to 80% max ?

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