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Solar PV plus battery storage - how to make best use of the battery and what's the best type of energy tariff?

  • 18 October 2022
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W
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I have recently installed Solar PV plus a home battery and have a smart meter. Through the winter, I want to be able to charge the battery at night at a cheap rate and then use that stored electricity through the day. This seems a pretty standard requirement these days. However, I am struggling to find a supplier who can do this for me. The tariffs I have found are limited to charging EVs overnight at a cheap rate. 

  1. Does OVO offer a tariff to meet my need?
  2. Can the community suggest any other supplier (I have switched to Octopus but they are on hold at the moment as they are having to convert their tariffs to fit within the Government’s cover and Green Energy have dropped their TIDE tariff)
  3. Can I take on an Economy 7 tariff using a smart meter?
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Best answer by will4jan 20 October 2022, 16:19

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nealmurphy
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Hi @will4jan 

Lots of solar / battery experts are on the forum so they should be able to point you in the right direction.

Yes, you can theoretically load an Economy 7 tariff on a smart meter, so this could well be an option if you don’t have an electric vehicle to make use of the EV tariffs. (Octopus have released their updated tariffs, but off-peak prices have gone up compared to before, so Economy 7 may come into play, especially if you need slightly more cheap hours for your battery charging).

Emmanuelle_OVO
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Hey @will4jan,

 

Welcome to the OVO Online Community!

 

Unfortunately, if you are currently Single Rate we don’t have the functionality to change your meter to Economy 7. 

 

@nealmurphy is right we have many Solar PV and Home Battery experts on the Forum….

 

Have @sylm_2000, @PeterR1947, @Heatherd got any advice for @will4jan?

 

We have some similar threads on these topics which you may find helpful:

 

 

 

Hope this helps. 

Renewable Energy? Big Fan.
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I have economy 7 and a smart meter. With enphase. I am charging 1 hour night time going to 2 in nov and 4 in dec, jan and feb is 3 then 2 in march. I take on time of use in march and turn off in july so i can use excess power all day. 7 out of 10 times i use dishwasher and washing machine plus over one at a time during day in summer. At night time in winter. 

Emmanuelle_OVO
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Thanks @Heatherd 😊

 

Back again- Just found this great thread with lots of helpful advice from @BPLightlog you may also find useful:

 

 

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BPLightlog
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The question from @will4jan has a common theme but there seems very limited options at the moment. For those who can, charging overnight and limiting grid use at peak times is in line with all requirements (carbon reduction, grid limitations etc) but people need an incentive to do this. 

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The incentive is your usage and pocket. I have an ASHP as well. A biomass would have been better. Just keep one hungry item at a time. No kettle and oven on at same time. Keep an eye oon your in home thermostat. I still only get 33% independence. But in summer with TOS  off june to sept were over 75% savings. 

BPLightlog
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@Heatherd yes, I understand but at present many (including me) can’t get an off peak (or tou) tariff and so when charging we pay the same rate. Given that battery technology has inherent losses, there is no incentive in that case

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PeterR1947
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I’m on a Tide tariff with GE UK, it’s 30.08p daytime 6am to 4pm and 7pm to 11pm and weekends, 9.52p 11pm to 6am but, from 4pm to 7pm weekdays it’s 67.02p (all rates subject to VAT) So, having V2H & V2G I discharge at 4kWh between 4pm and 7pm to avoid paying this, Could you do this from your battery?  They also pay 12p per kWh for export.

W
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Thanks everybody. I’d like to ask Ovo why their EV tariff is limited to EV users when there must be a growing number of people with Solar PV plus battery, wanting to charge their battery off peak during the winter (and willing to discharge some of that in the peak). Isn’t there an opportunity there to sell some off peak power and cut demand (and increase supply) at peak times ?

GE aren’t offering the TIDE tariff to newcomers at the moment; that’s exactly what I am looking for.

nealmurphy
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The simple answer is they'd lose money if they offered an EV tariff to battery users in the current market.

From all that's been said I think Economy 7 would work the best for you now as this would give you a lower night time rate for topping up the battery and also allow you to export at peak times at a reasonably high p/kWh rate. But keep an eye on when time of use tariffs become available again as these could work out better if you are not importing that much during the day.

W
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Yes, you can theoretically load an Economy 7 tariff on a smart meter, so this could well be an option if you don’t have an electric vehicle to make use of the EV tariffs. (Octopus have released their updated tariffs, but off-peak prices have gone up compared to before, so Economy 7 may come into play, especially if you need slightly more cheap hours for your battery charging).

 

I have economy 7 and a smart meter. With enphase. I am charging 1 hour night time going to 2 in nov and 4 in dec, jan and feb is 3 then 2 in march. I take on time of use in march and turn off in july so i can use excess power all day. 7 out of 10 times i use dishwasher and washing machine plus over one at a time during day in summer. At night time in winter. 

 

I’m on a Tide tariff with GE UK, it’s 30.08p daytime 6am to 4pm and 7pm to 11pm and weekends, 9.52p 11pm to 6am but, from 4pm to 7pm weekdays it’s 67.02p (all rates subject to VAT) So, having V2H & V2G I discharge at 4kWh between 4pm and 7pm to avoid paying this, Could you do this from your battery?  They also pay 12p per kWh for export.

 

I’d like to ask Ovo why their EV tariff is limited to EV users when there must be a growing number of people with Solar PV plus battery, wanting to charge their battery off peak during the winter (and willing to discharge some of that in the peak). Isn’t there an opportunity there to sell some off peak power and cut demand (and increase supply) at peak times ?

GE aren’t offering the TIDE tariff to newcomers at the moment; that’s exactly what I am looking for.

 

The simple answer is they'd lose money if they offered an EV tariff to battery users in the current market.

From all that's been said I think Economy 7 would work the best for you now as this would give you a lower night time rate for topping up the battery and also allow you to export at peak times at a reasonably high p/kWh rate. But keep an eye on when time of use tariffs become available again as these could work out better if you are not importing that much during the day.

 

I found a very helpful website www.energy-stats.uk which showed the prices under the Agile Octopus tariff which are different every half hour. This gave me sufficient confidence that the night time prices were low enough (11.4p per unit for 4 hours yesterday) to charge my battery cost effectively and justify the move. So that’s what I have done, and am also selling my excess solar to them under Outgoing Octopus but keeping it simple for the time being and taking the 15p per unit rate. If anyone switches to Octopus because of this post, you can get £50 credit (as can I) if you join using this link https://share.octopus.energy/rust-mink-945

nealmurphy
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The new Agile cap is a whopping 100p/kWh. Possibly to put off people who don't want to go with that level of risk. More dips recently, but it will be interesting to see daytime prices as we get into the winter.

W
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The point of having a battery is that you can top up off peak. The rates at the moment on Octopus Agile are minimal. Some appliances draw more than the battery’s capacity and need grid power as well such as the immersion heater so a degree of active management is needed. I agree that I don’t know what the winter rates will be but it’s a long way from zero or near zero to be above the SVR.

R
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@will4jan I’m in the same position. I’ve got 6.4kw of panels and a 10 kwh battery at the moment I’m getting enough solar to heat up the water and top up the battery during the day to around 60-70% - but I’d like to top it up at night (or when it’s cheap), but it’s just not worth it at the moment on the SVR. 

It’s really disappointing that Ovo do not have smart tariffs or offer Economy 7 options. I don’t particularly want to leave Ovo, but other companies seem to have much better deals.

I mean 4p SEG is also awful, you could incentivise your customers more by being competitive there as well.

BPLightlog
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@will4jan I’m in the same position. I’ve got 6.4kw of panels and a 10 kwh battery at the moment I’m getting enough solar to heat up the water and top up the battery during the day to around 60-70% - but I’d like to top it up at night (or when it’s cheap), but it’s just not worth it at the moment on the SVR. 

It’s really disappointing that Ovo do not have smart tariffs or offer Economy 7 options. I don’t particularly want to leave Ovo, but other companies seem to have much better deals.

I mean 4p SEG is also awful, you could incentivise your customers more by being competitive there as well.

Exactly so @revanite . We don’t have quite as large an array as yours but as we are supposed to be focused on limiting carbon emissions it is really disappointing that OVO don’t have options. Most of the other power companies have limited access to their ‘Time of Use’ tariffs so there’s virtually no switching option. 
You would think with the need for global action to reduce climate change, power companies would be doing their part 

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@revanite. All I can say is that I am currently very glad I switched to Agile Octopus - see my post further up the chain.

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@will4jan I’m in the same position. I’ve got 6.4kw of panels and a 10 kwh battery at the moment I’m getting enough solar to heat up the water and top up the battery during the day to around 60-70% - but I’d like to top it up at night (or when it’s cheap), but it’s just not worth it at the moment on the SVR. 

It’s really disappointing that Ovo do not have smart tariffs or offer Economy 7 options. I don’t particularly want to leave Ovo, but other companies seem to have much better deals.

I mean 4p SEG is also awful, you could incentivise your customers more by being competitive there as well.

Exactly so @revanite . We don’t have quite as large an array as yours but as we are supposed to be focused on limiting carbon emissions it is really disappointing that OVO don’t have options. Most of the other power companies have limited access to their ‘Time of Use’ tariffs so there’s virtually no switching option. 
You would think with the need for global action to reduce climate change, power companies would be doing their part 

 

Couldn’t agree more - I mean I appreciate in this game it’s all about profit etc… but there’s profit and profiteering, and I can’t help but feel there’s a bit of the latter going on. I mean I’ve been with Ovo for 6 years because of their sustainability credentials (which is important to me).

Clearly I’m going to be lowering my monthly costs (even now my daily usage is around £2 per day) and that should be incentive enough, but I’m over producing some days and whilst I am exporting, I’m selling my energy to another company because Ovo don’t make it appealing and there were so many horror stories about lead times.

Also we have been told not to use the grid during peak times - I’ll gladly help - offer a decent rate for when sustainable energy production is high (i.e. at night time for wind) and I’ll top up my batteries so that during the day I can minimise my use from the grid, especially between 4pm and 7pm. 

It’s not rocket science. 

Does anyone that make decisions actually read these forums or get feedback from the amazing suggestions that I’ve read across the boards (despite only joining to contribute recently)?

R
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@revanite. All I can say is that I am currently very glad I switched to Agile Octopus - see my post further up the chain.

I’ll be honest, I’m pretty keen to do so myself - which is a shame as 6 years of being with Ovo I feel sad because they’ve been on the whole pretty good - but they’re just not being competitive at the moment.

BPLightlog
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@revanite I’m not sure who gets to see all of this. I know there’s @Tim_OVO and @Emmanuelle_OVO but there’s so many threads, comments etc - I’m not sure this is the right place to feed into OVO. 
We left our FIT with our original source and so don’t have any issues there but we need some joined-up-thinking to get things moving!

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@revanite I’m not sure who gets to see all of this. I know there’s @Tim_OVO and @Emmanuelle_OVO but there’s so many threads, comments etc - I’m not sure this is the right place to feed into OVO. 
We left our FIT with our original source and so don’t have any issues there but we need some joined-up-thinking to get things moving!

True there are just too many conversations here - but I’m sure a little bit of innovation / data scraping could bring some common themes out of these discussions that the OVO CX and Strategy teams could explore and work with…. perhaps I’m too naive to think this could be an option (although this is what I’ve been doing professionally for a couple of decades!)

 

Thanks Bryan :)

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