My smart home

Discussions around the latest tech at home: EVs, solar, smart heat, battery storage and more

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398 Topic threads

Transparent
Carbon Catcher***
TransparentCarbon Catcher***
Posted in My smart home

Installing wet underfloor heating: Domestic Heating How To series Part 3Tutorial

Part 3: Installing wet under floor heating  (a) In solid floors When building a Solid floor, the pipework gets installed at an early stage in a construction/renovation project.The usual strategy is to compact a level sub-floor of hardcore, topped off with a layer of sand to ensure no sharp points are left.Place a damp-proof sheet on top of the sand, bringing it a good 250mm up the walls.Place a double-layer of insulation boarding on top of the DPC, overlapping it to ensure there are no gaps. You require the total insulation to be 100mm minimum depth (under current Building Regs).  Use plastic push-in staples to hold in the place the UFH pipe as you snake it across the floor. I’ve used pipe runs 320mm apart.The pipe specification was discussed here in Part-2.  Around the edges of the floor that adjoin an exterior wall, fit a 100mm upstand of insulation board. I’ve used 40mm thick. This prevents heat from the floor leaking though the outer walls.  Pour concrete to a minimum depth of 100m

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Tim_OVO
Community Manager
2 years ago
NinjaGeek
Carbon Catcher***
NinjaGeekCarbon Catcher***
Posted in My smart home

A Guide For Electric Vehicle Batteries, Apps and All Things EV!Tutorial

Updated on 26/05/22 by Jess_OVO​​​​ Hello All!Throw in a bit of Jim from Friday night dinnerI hope everyone is doing very well with things slowly going back to normal. It has been around 4 months since lockdown. People may now start being brave and venturing outside to look for a new vehicle, specifically an EV! You may be thinking, with the EV’s sitting for such a long time, will this effect the battery. To be perfectly honest, I wouldn’t know the definite answer but would certainly look into purchasing an OBD dongle and Leaf Spy Pro if you are purchasing a Nissan Leaf of course. OBD Dongle - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01JU11EZE/Leaf SpyiOS - https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/leafspy-pro/id967376861Android - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.Turbo3.Leaf_Spy_Pro&hl=en_GB With Leafspy, you are able to check the following* Voltage of each of the 96 cell pairs (highlighted if shunt active)* Minimum, average, maximum cell pair voltages* Histogram of cell pair voltages* Ba

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Ed_OVO
Retired Moderator
2 years ago
S
New Member***
Stargazer8t6New Member***
Posted in My smart home

User experience of Tesla Powerwall 11 - Energy cost savings and best energy plan to support battery charging?Blog

I had a Powerwall 11 installed on 21st May with back up Gateway. My specification was to be able to have a self-powered home. I.e. I didn’t want to buy any grid electricity at all, or at least reduce my dependency on Grid supplied energy.My solar array is some 6 years old and performs very well but the inverter is grid connected such that if there is a grid power failure/outage I have no power in the home – so not even the gas boiler will work! The Tesla back up gate way keeps the house energised even if the grid is down. Solar power continues and or the Powerwall depending on the time of day.The installation was straight forward and was completed in 2 days. Things to look out for if considering a Tesla installation. Get at least three quotes and make sure any installer is Tesla accredited – Tesla won’t allow non accredited installers near their kit. The gateway needs to be connected to the internet - ideally three different ways. It comes with a SIM for remote monitoring by Tesla supp

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J
Carbon Cutter*
2 years ago
Gibbsy
New Member*
GibbsyNew Member*
posted in My smart home

Tesla Powerwall thoughts

Updated on 09/05/22 by Jess_OVO Thinking about investing in a Home Energy Storage solution? Join in the conversation below!You might be interested to hear the trials we’re running in this area with Sonnen - or read this member account of getting a Tesla Powerwall.Exciting stuff!  I'm thinking of installing a Tesla Powerwall and would be interested in your thoughts. We are thinking of connecting it to solar panels to be installed on the flat roof of our 1930s semi giving us free electricity in the summer months. The installer has also suggested connecting the Powerwall to an electricity tariff that offers cheap units between 11pm and 6am so that during the winter months the battery charges up with cheap electricity overnight and then you run your appliances off the battery during the day. The idea is to go off grid as much as possible.

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Tim_OVO
Community Manager
2 years ago
M
New Member*
majidshaNew Member*
posted in My smart home

Discussion: Charging EVs without a driveway - should the council do more for EV owners?

I bought a tesla recently and without a big driveway i was charging it on road running cable throught pavement.Went fine for two weeks and now had a visit from local police station because someone compalined they were not happy with a cable running over pavement.local council is not helping and taking any responsibility.I either need to sell the car or buy a new house which i cant afford.I cant understand when there is no encouragement from council for electric charging when you dont have private drive how people will switch to electric cars?

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E
New Member*
2 years ago
D10hul
Carbon Cutter****
D10hulCarbon Cutter****
Posted in My smart home

Great Vehicle to Grid (V2G) Video made by an OVO engineer - Check this out!News

Updated on 26/05/22 by Jess_OVOOur V2G trial has moved to the next phase and is no longer accepting new participants - read more about this here.Some trialists have been sharing an update on the impact the V2G charger has had on their energy costs over here or check out this hilarious video explaining how V2G works - made by one of our OVO engineers!  Great Video @Tim_OVO   

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D10hul
Carbon Cutter****
2 years ago
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Carbon Cutter*****
peterb999Carbon Cutter*****
Posted in My smart home

Fully Charged Video review - Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) chargerBlog

Updated on 26/05/22 by Jess_OVOOur V2G trial has moved to the next phase and is no longer accepting new participants - read more about this here.Some trialists have been sharing an update on the impact the V2G charger has had on their energy costs over here or check out this V2G video review:  I don’t know if any of you follow the youtube channel Fully Charged but Robert Llewellyn has joined the Ovo V2G trial and got a V2G charger installed.If you skip to 9 minutes and 40 seconds you can see him with the charger.Unfortunately as he’s got a very old first gen leaf it doesn’t have a bi-directional Chademo port so he can’t use it fully yet, but he does have a leased 40kWh Leaf (in Bristol, haha) that he should be able to use. 

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Tim_OVO
Community Manager
2 years ago
K
Carbon Cutter****
Karlkb15Carbon Cutter****
Posted in My smart home

My V2G charger is not working - kept flashing red and tripped main battery?

V2G charger has not worked since day 1, kept flashing red and tripped main battery and 12 volt battery in car, got harder and harder to turn the car on. Then the fan came on and wouldn’t stop, pressed the emergency stop button 4 times which did nothing, turned it off at the isolator switch in house and haven't dared turn it back on. Sent maybe 10 emails to kaluza reporting every problem but haven’t had reply since I turned it off 4 days ago. I wanted to know if it was safe.

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Ed_OVO
Retired Moderator
3 years ago
Andras
Carbon Cutter*****
AndrasCarbon Cutter*****
Posted in My smart home

Am I allowed to share my Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) charger with other EV owners in need of charge via Zap-map?

I would like to add my charger to the zap map, not for profit but for helping out others who are in need of a bit of juice. I wonder if we are allowed to do that? Andras

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Tim_OVO
Community Manager
3 years ago
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Carbon Cutter*
Rishi the FoxCarbon Cutter*
Posted in My smart home

V2G Tariff, Smart Meters, and Solar Panel Export Payments - how does it all link up?

I am hoping someone from OVO will be able to help me with this.With your new (upcoming?) V2G tariff which pays for exported energy:1) Does this work with a smart meter (SMETS2?) which keep track of 'exported' energy kWh via a separate reading? Therefore it's counting both the EV car's exported energy and the solar panel's exported energy together?2) Would someone with solar panels therefore be paid by you on the basis that they're outside of the FiT scheme (opting-out or never registered for FiT export payments?)3) Does the solar panel energy have to first be 'fed into' the V2G car battery, and then exported out to the grid via the V2G connector, or e.g. when the car isn't connected to the charger and is out on the road, and there is excess solar energy being produced at home, would that energy be exported and counted by the smart meter directly and would this exported energy still be paid for by you regardless?4) Is it a REQUIREMENT that we have an EV car and/or purchase an EV charger

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Nancy_OVO
Retired Moderator
3 years ago
Brummiejon
Carbon Cutter*
BrummiejonCarbon Cutter*
posted in My smart home

Just a newbie introducing himself, his Nissan Leaf EV and on-street EV charging solution!

Updated on 24/05/22 by Jess_OVOConsidering making the change to an Electric Vehicle? Check out the great advice our community members have shared on what to consider when buying an EV over here.We’ve also got some great EV owner reviews like the one below and this Tesla Model 3 review.Already got an EV in the drive or a purchase planned? Check out our OVO Drive + Anytime plan!   Hi, I’m JonI live in Whitstable, KentI live in a terrace house with a small front garden and I have installed a 3Kw solar voltaic system that is connected to the grid. I own a Nissan Leaf I was refused a dropped kerb and vehicle crossing because my front garden was 200mm too short...so I applied to the local authority for an on street charge point which they refused on the grounds that my street was too narrow... I now charge my car at home by parking outside whenever I can and running a cable across the pavement through some proprietary heavy duty rubber cable trunkingI have been lobbying the council because t

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Transparent
Carbon Catcher***
3 years ago
Delboy
Carbon Cutter****
DelboyCarbon Cutter****
posted in My smart home

Check out my V2G (Vehicle to grid) installation with OVO Energy!

Updated on 24/05/22 by Jess_OVOOur Vehicle-to-Grid trial has now moved on to the next phase and is no longer accepting new participants.Check out OVO Drive our new Electric Vehicle (EV) tariff here. Not invested in an EV yet? Find out what our current EV owners would recommend when researching EV options!  I had my V2G installed yesterday so it's been less than 24 hours but here's what happened.The guys (5 of them) turned up on time and were really nice, and after a cup of tea they started work.As you can see there is a lot of kit and fortunately it didn't rain.A word of warning, these chaps can drink tea at an astonishing rate, make sure you have lots of tea bags and a reliable kettle ☺.The install took about 6 hours in total and they cleared away all the rubbish and left the place clean and tidy. Once the hardware had been installed and double checked for safety etc it was time for the big switch on.There seemed to be a communication problem between my unit and V2G control but once t

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Tim_OVO
Community Manager
3 years ago
L
Carbon Cutter*****
Leo MoranCarbon Cutter*****
Posted in My smart home

Driving an Electric Vehicle (EV) in the winter - Top EV driving tipsBlog

​​​With the first frosts of the winter I’m reminded there will be a whole group of new EV owners who will not have experienced dark winter nights on the road and there are a few important things they need to remember.  :triangular_flag_on_post:Each winter drivers stuck in queues of traffic increasingly see EVs parked by the side of the road with no lights on and no hazards, giving the impression they have run out of fuel in their batteries...yet another bad advert for EVs against ICE cars…..but it can all be avoided with a little common sense. How does an EV actually work? The way a diesel or petrol car works is the engine runs an alternator which supplies the ancillary (12 volt) battery. Therefore when you see diesel or petrol cars stuck in traffic they will all have their engines running to stop the battery going flat. An EV works in a similar way...ish.An EV has a 12 volt ancillary battery, just the same as an ICE car which supplies power to the lights, radio interior light, heated

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Carbon Cutter*****
3 years ago
G
Carbon Cutter*****
GifCarbon Cutter*****
Posted in My smart home

Who should I contact to install an additional consumer unit for an Electric Vehicle (EV) charger?

Had an EV installer around today. Took a look around and decided it was too difficult to wire back to the existing consumer unit and the easiest option was to fit an additional CU in the meter box (the charger unit will be adjacent to it). He suggested that my supplier might be able to arrange it as the job would entail isolating the meter while the work was done. Is this something Ovo do or could arrange and if so how do I go about it? Chris

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Transparent
Carbon Catcher***
3 years ago
E
Carbon Cutter*
Eyes0penCarbon Cutter*
Posted in My smart home

Can I get my smart Electric Vehicle (EV) charger moved to my new home?

Hi all,  We are current EV Everywhere customers with a smart charger fitted in July 19. We are now moving house and need to figure out what do with our smart charger. Ideally we’d have a charger fitted in the new house but I don’t know if we transfer kit from old house to be house? If we don’t transfer the charger would there be an additional cost as we have already used the government grant with the first charger?  ThanksRebecca

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Tim_OVO
Community Manager
3 years ago
NinjaGeek
Carbon Catcher***
NinjaGeekCarbon Catcher***
Posted in My smart home

Choosing which EV to go back to - Volkswagen eGolf - EV ReviewEV Review

Updated on 25/05/22 by Jess_OVO​​​​​ Hello all, Before I start, it has been a while. I have not been as active as I used to be. This is due to my baby boy arriving in under 9 weeks now! The time has flown by and I cannot wait for him to be here in my arms. I have been a busy guy trying to get things ready, for one, my man cave had to go for his nursery (R.I.P) man cave. Anyway, I am sick and tired driving an ICE car. It really frustrates me to the bone these cars are about and people choose to drive them :joy:  I have been away from and EV for too long and deciding to go back to one. I have raised my budget to a bit more than what it used to be so I have a bit more flexibility to what I can get.  Please read my article I wrote moving away from ICE to EV. https://forum.ovoenergy.com/owning-an-ev-87/my-transition-from-petrol-to-ev-1892Over the weekend 21/09/2019. I had the opportunity to test drive the 100% Electric Golf. I am not a VW person, I can’t stand how they are built. I prefer m

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C
OVO Staff
3 years ago
A
New Member**
ApplesNew Member**
Posted in My smart home

What size are my meter tails? Getting a 100 amp fuse and need to know if tails are 25mm or 16mm for EV charger

Hi all,I had an OVO SmartMeter installed in 2017.We've just bought an electric car (a PHEV - a second hand Mitsubishi Outlander).To fit a charging point in our driveway I've engaged ChargedEV, who have forwarded the enquiry to UK Power networks to install a 100 amp fuse.In advance of that I need to identify if our meter tails and consumer unit tails are 25mm (rather than 16mm).As I understand it, OVO 'own' the meter tails.I (or at least a qualified electrician) 'own' the consumer unit tails.UK Power networks 'own' that fuse.How do I work out what size the Ovo meter tails they are?(And any advice on the same for the consumer unit connection welcome!)Many thanks, Neil 

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Amy_OVO
Retired Moderator
3 years ago
C
New Member*
ChubbaNew Member*
Posted in My smart home

Comparing lighting options - What's the cheapest/greenest lightbulb wattage?

Hi Now, I know for a like for like type of light bulb the title will be the case - e.g. 3w LED bulb will be cheaper to run than a 7w LED light bulb and a 5w energy saving bulb will be cheaper than a 10w energy saving bulb and so forth. But what if I am comparing different types of bulb? So is it still the case that a 5w energy saving bulb will be cheaper than a 7w LED bulb? All the advice I've read seems to say that LED is pretty much always cheaper 'in the long run' but that also takes into account the purchase cost of the bulb in the first place. I am only interested in the running costs and disregarding the purchase costs. Then what if I have a combination of bulbs? Would I just add up the total wattage? So in this example, will an uplighter using a 5w energy saving bulb be cheaper than a ceiling light using two 3w LED bulbs? Many thanks in advance

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Transparent
Carbon Catcher***
3 years ago
R
Carbon Cutter****
richardoCarbon Cutter****
Posted in My smart home

How do I correct the "subject" of a post on this Forum?

I have put a question into the wrong subject heading. How do I correct this?

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J
New Member*
4 years ago
L
Carbon Cutter****
LlamedospeteCarbon Cutter****
Posted in My smart home

New batteries being installed - is it worth going to eco 7 to charge them overnight?

HI guys I am having batteries installed on the 19th Jan and my question is, is it worth going to eco7 to charge them overnight in the winter so I get next day at cheap rate until proper time of use tariffs become available?

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L
Carbon Cutter****
4 years ago
L
New Member*
lori107New Member*
Posted in My smart home

Who do I contact to upgrade the main fuse 'service head'?

we are having a new kitchen fitted with lots of high tec appliances.I have been told by my electrician that because the new hob draws power of 48 amps we need to have our service head upgraded and the tails also need upgrading.He told me to contact my energy supplier to arrange this but I’m having trouble getting through.Who do I contact to sort this service head out for me if I can't speak to OVo?Appreciate any adviceLori

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normans_IHT
New Member***
4 years ago
D
Carbon Cutter*
DancingdaveCarbon Cutter*
Posted in My smart home

I've had smart meters installed but want to replace my storage heaters with Dimplex Quantum.... any advice?

Hi ,I've had a liberty 110 smart meter installed and I'm thinking of replacing old storage heaters with dimplex quantum The meter has a 5th terminal for storage heaters ,but is this a 24/7 power supply running alongside economy 7 ? Any help would be appreciated

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D
Carbon Cutter*
4 years ago
NinjaGeek
Carbon Catcher***
NinjaGeekCarbon Catcher***
posted in My smart home

My transition from a Petrol car to an Electric Vehicle (EV)

Updated on 24/05/22 by Jess_OVO We’re big supporters of Electric Vehicles (EVs) here at OVO.If you’re thinking about making the leap to a greener form of transport why not check out the advice from our active EV community members here. Not sure about making a full-on purchase yet - OVO also have a partnership with Vanarama offering EV leasing - find out more here.Already made the EV upgrade and looking for an EV energy plan - Check out our latest EV offering - OVO Drive. ​​​​​ I was like a lot of people with 100's of questions such as "What is the range like? How long does it take to charge?" But from spending £150 a month on fuel for my Fiesta I thought to myself I will risk it for a biscuit on the range so fast forward to April 2017 I purchased my first EV which was a 2014 Nissan Leaf Acenta. After owning the vehicle for a few months with people saying it was the worst mistake I could have made. How was I meant to drive up to the West Midlands to see relatives if it could only realis

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PeterR1947
Carbon Catcher***
4 years ago

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