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Blindvet
Rank 1
July 25, 2025
Solved

Is the two hours of free electricity a waste of time?

  • July 25, 2025
  • 7 replies
  • 407 views

I use my 2hours of free electricity with washing machine tumble dryer and steam generator .i only get £020 back off my bill,  seems a waste of time,surely it should save me more in free electrics or am I being stupid?

Best answer by waltyboy

Hi ​@Blindvet, the maximum you could get from your two-hour slot would be 2 free kWh, assuming you judged things perfectly and used exactly the maximum 1 kWh allowed for each of those two hours. Depending on your tariff, that then would generate an eventual total credit of around £0.45.

 

If it turns out that you actually buy more electricity than 1 kWh during a “free” slot, that wouldn’t affect your credit of 1kWh, you would get the 23p or whatever credit and just pay for anything used during the hour over and above the allowed maximum of 1 kWh.

7 replies

waltyboy
Rank 8
waltyboyBest Answer
Rank 8
July 25, 2025

Hi ​@Blindvet, the maximum you could get from your two-hour slot would be 2 free kWh, assuming you judged things perfectly and used exactly the maximum 1 kWh allowed for each of those two hours. Depending on your tariff, that then would generate an eventual total credit of around £0.45.

 

If it turns out that you actually buy more electricity than 1 kWh during a “free” slot, that wouldn’t affect your credit of 1kWh, you would get the 23p or whatever credit and just pay for anything used during the hour over and above the allowed maximum of 1 kWh.

Walt. 2013: 3.2kW PV East/West + Fronius IG, >26MWh (of which, to date mid-2025, 20MWh exported). 2023: 2.4kWh LiFePo4 battery. 2024: Tadö wireless smart stat v3; Electriq split unit 2.6kW AAHP (“air conditioner”).
    Newcomer
    pete 1
    Newcomer
    July 25, 2025

    Hi Blindvet, waltyboy is right, the most that I can save in the 2 hour slots is 44p, like you said it seems a waste of time. Just to try it out I put my washing machine on a 45 minute wash, when finished I had a shower, I also ran an extra / booster UV light on my Koi tank. 

    I watched my display and used up my massive 😂 1KW of free electric, so I saved a total of 22p 🤣

    I mentioned on someone else’s post I think that it’s a publicity stunt / gimic.

     

      Blastoise186
      Super User
      Blastoise186Super User
      Super User
      July 26, 2025

      What you do with the free power is up to you. However, it is only natural that if you light up the entire house, you’ll burn through the 1kWh pretty fast.

      However, using 1KW of juice for one hour = 1kWh.

      Don’t knock free stuff… Unless you want to never be offered it again...

      Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way! Remember, I'm just like you - AI Powered Evil Geniuses aren't Staff!
        Newcomer
        pete 1
        Newcomer
        July 26, 2025

        To get 44p a week off a £3 billion company, happy days 😂

        Blastoise186
        Super User
        Blastoise186Super User
        Super User
        July 26, 2025

        Do you realise how that makes you sound somewhat… Ungrateful and shows a bit of a self-defeating attitude? I’m sorry to say this, but it’s attitudes like that which may cause OVO to reconsider offering these things at all.

        That 33p is multiplied by however many other customers are taking part - and this is funded by OVO directly as there’s no-one else paying for it so it comes directly out of the profit margins which are already razor thin.

        The usage you described means you got precisely 1kWh of usage out of that hour so you effectively did all that stuff for free. If you don’t want free stuff, simply don’t take part!

        Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way! Remember, I'm just like you - AI Powered Evil Geniuses aren't Staff!
        Newcomer
        pete 1
        Newcomer
        July 26, 2025

        They just as well forget the massive freebee and reduce the standing charges which are a rip off.

        Blastoise186
        Super User
        Blastoise186Super User
        Super User
        July 26, 2025

        Getting rid of freebies ain’t gonna knock down Standing Charges one bit.

        If you truly want a Zero Standing Charge tariff, they exist elsewhere in the market. Except those suppliers will get the Standing Charges from you anyway by hiking up the Unit Rate for the first couple of units each day to counter the 0p/day SC. Whether you like it or not, those Standing Charges pay for the infrastructure and OVO has little to no control over that.

        The harsh reality is that it is what it is. Blame the 30+ suppliers who went bust in the last few years for a start (and those who steal electricity from the grid)!

        Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way! Remember, I'm just like you - AI Powered Evil Geniuses aren't Staff!
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